Attadale, Strathcarron, Wester Ross IV54 8YX
Attadale Garden sits on the edge of Loch Carron and from the hillside behind the house there are spectacular views westwards towards Skye. This is one of the west coast’s most celebrated gardens and at this time of year, when the rhododendrons are in full flower, it is also one of the most colourful.
Some of the species rhododendrons here were grown from seed collected by famous Edwardian plant hunters and recent severe pruning has rejuvenated them, restoring their vigour and performance. These will soon be followed into flower by hundreds of scented azaleas and by the time these are in bloom Attadale’s famous water gardens will also be starting to perform.
The water gardens were created as a response to severe storms in the 1980s that brought down many trees and today the canals, with their dense ribbons of lush, streamside plants, are one of the gardens most recognisable features.
These plants, which include Rodgersia, Astilbe and many different kinds of Primula, have become even more floriferous since much of the invasive Rhododendron ponticum that had colonised the woodlands has been removed, allowing more light to reach flowers at ground level.
Rhododendron ponticum is native to Portugal and northern Spain, where it is a well-behaved plant, but in Scotland’s mild and wet climate this vigorous shrub, with purple flowers, has become invasive and many gardens have had to dedicate time and resources to removing it.
Maintaining a mature garden sometimes calls for drastic decisions and amongst these have been the removal of some of the many trees that were planted in the 1990s and were in danger of becoming overcrowded. Now that these have gone, many wildflowers that had lain dormant for decades have now started to bloom again and have added to the annual flowering of the primroses that flourish in the moist conditions.
Constant reinvention is one of the themes at Attadale and one of the newest creations is a cut flower garden where annuals are raised for the house and for holiday cottages on the estate.
Elsewhere there are statues and sculptures and a giant sundial that marks the hours on bright, west coast days and a conservatory filled with tender plants.
VISIT MORE GARDENS
Carolside House in the Borders
Explore a heritage haven rich in flora and fauna
Broughton House Garden, Kirkcudbright - visit famous artist's garden
Attadale has been in the care of the MacPherson family for three generations and each one has put its own stamp on it. As well as many Himalayan shrubs there is also a Japanese garden, a newly-revamped sunken garden and a geodesic dome that houses tender tree ferns.
Despite its location, Attadale draws visitors from around the world and since the development of the West Coast 500 touring route, many more people have discovered its delights. However you don’t need a car to get here. Attadale sits on the train line from Inverness to Kyle-of-Lochalsh where a gate on the platform leads directly into the gardens.
A helpful guidebook providing details of the development of Attadale and of its plants is available for sale from the ticket booth and the famous Midge Bite cafe from Achnasheen operates a DIY facility in the garden.
Details: Attadale Gardens are open daily, 10am - 5pm.
Tickets: £10/free (under 16s) Tel: 07860 403605 www.attadalegardens.com
In association with Discover Scottish Gardens www.discoverscottishgardens.org
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here