Scottish garden where you can see some of the world’s rarest conifers

Visiting now, when the canopy is aflame with autumn colours, it is hard to believe that when the gardens creators, Bobby and Betty Masterton, arrived here in the 1950s, there were few trees apart from some firs and beeches and a couple of juvenile Wellingtonias.

The Mastertons, however, had a vision of what this garden, overlooking the River Tay could be and so they set about raising Himalayan species from seed.

Some of these were supplied by their great friend, George Sherriff, who in 1949 had travelled to the remote kingdom of Bhutan collecting the species that grew there.

A metasequoia at Cluny (Image: free)

These high-altitude trees thrived in Perthshire and today many are reaching maturity. Alongside them grow species from South America, including the Fitzroya cupressoides, which is threatened with extinction in its native Chile, and Pilgerodendron uviferum, which is the most southerly-occuring conifer in the world.

Cluny is now part of an important project to conserve some of the world’s rarest conifers, amongst them the Torreya taxifolia, which has all but been wiped out by disease in the only sites in Florida and Georgia where it grows.

Since the 1980s Cluny has been expertly cared for by the Mattingley’s daughter, Wendy and her husband John Mattingley and despite challenges, such as Storm Arwen which caused devastation when it struck in 2021, the garden continues to flourish.

Amongst the October highlights is the extensive collection of Acers, which are now turning scarlet and copper; a rich understory of berrying shrubs and the Tibetan cherry, Prunus serrula tibeticana, which has deep red polished bark.

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At other times of the year there is an abundance of flowers, including primulas and Blue poppies, and the giant Himalayan Lily, which can reach 3m in height.

And then there is the wildlife, which the Mattingleys have worked very hard to encourage, including red squirrels, pine marten and stoats. The gardens provide food and shelter for woodpeckers, owls and many other birds, and Red Kite, Osprey and Golden Eagles are sometimes spotted wheeling overhead.

Cluny is a wild garden and so much of the work of caring for it involves weeding out invasive species while allowing native plants to flourish. Weeds and fallen leaves are collected and stored for several years to rot down into mulch, which is then returned to the garden.

Fallen leaves, dead branches and damp conditions provide the ideal conditions for fungi and this year’s weather has provided the perfect environment for a spectacular show of toadstools and mushrooms.

Meanwhile, at 150-years-old, the Wellingtonias that were already growing here when the Mastertons arrived are still considered to be young for their species, but one, with a girth of 11m, now holds the record as the widest tree in the UK.

The gardens are open every day (Image: free) Details: The gardens are open daily, 9am-6pm.

Tickets: £5/ £1 children Tel: 07818 065966 wmattingley@btinternet.com www.clunyhousegardens.com

Directions: The garden sits on the north side of the River Tay, close to the village of Weem.

In association with Discover Scottish Gardens www.discoverscottishgardens.org