The Outsider

It may feel counterintuitive to head north for an early spring, but Hannah Gardner is visiting Scotland in search of snowdrops and uncommon trees

Horticulturist Hannah Gardner heads north to Scotland in search of snowdrops and uncommon trees

Dumfries and Galloway lies in the tranquil southwest corner of Scotland. Often overlooked in the rush to the Highlands and Islands, this lush, low-lying region has diverse natural beauty, a rich romantic history, traces of the poet Robert Burns and a mild microclimate, warmed by the Gulf Stream. Little-known historic estates with notable collections of uncommon trees, an impressive botanic garden and specialist nurseries, such as the late Michael Wickenden’s Cally Gardens, put this region on my horticultural map.

Here, rich, free-draining, lime-free soil and high rainfall provide optimum growing conditions for ‘champion’ trees, rhododendrons, camellias and magnolias. You can breathe the scent of the sea, wander through towering evergreen woodlands, tiptoe through carpets of naturalised snowdrops and shelter beneath swaying palms all in the same afternoon.

Inspiration for the trip

Botanic gardens would be nothing without their intrepid plant hunters, modern day and historic, and some of the most successful collectors have been Scottish. The arboreal seeds collected during early expeditions have now reached maturity.

In Japan (where the blooming of a popular wildflower can demand a news bulletin), I picked up the habit of celebrating a favourite species at its zenith. In February, this would have to be snowdrops in Scotland.

When to go

The Scottish Snowdrop Festival runs from late January to mid-March.

Where to go

Many country estates, botanic and private plantsmen’s gardens fling open their gates and light the fires in their tearooms in celebration of this diminutive woodlander. At Logan, a satellite garden of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, you are never more than about a kilometre from the sea. The garden lies in a sheltered hollow (its name means ‘small hollow’ in Gaelic) and encloses the picturesque ruin of Castle Balzieland. As well as snowdrops, it houses a dynamic collection of exotic plants, and cultivates them using experimental methods, such as growing Meconopsis sp. and rhododendrons in peat walls and colonising antipodean tree fern trunks that once arrived on these shores as ships’ ballast.

Notable shrubs, such as the luminescent Rhododendron ‘RW Rye’, R. dauricum ‘Hokkaido’ and the serene Camellia saluenensis, flower freely here during the early months of the year. With dark, neat leaves and single, softly swirling flowers in pastel shades, the latter stands apart. Hardy exotic climbers clamber over walls and also impress. Given the shelter of a wall, Clianthus puniceus, a confident New Zealander, offers bright, waxy flower racemes and a mass of fresh foliage during the darkest months. Snowdrops are naturalised throughout the garden and make for an interesting juxtaposition.

The majestic gardens and ruin of 16th-century Castle Kennedy occupy an isthmus between two lochs. This is a wide landscape of water, mature woodland, sweeping curved banks and 19th-century landforms that feel contemporary. It has a well-tended, enchanting walled garden where choice snowdrops such as Galanthus woronowii thrive under unusual mature trees and shrubs. As part of its festival, it opens a wonderful snowdrop route through private areas of the estate.

Plants to grow at home

I first encountered Polylepis australis growing in the walled garden at Logan, where they have a gnarled 40-year-old tree. I just had to stop and examine its abundance of extravagantly peeling bark. Thick, rough and an attractive cinnamon brown, it is densely layered for protection against low temperatures. Don’t be fooled by the name, though. The genus name is accurately descriptive of the many layers, but this is no Australian native. A maverick member of the rose family, it’s a windpollinated evergreen that originates in the central spine of the Andes. Thriving in mountain ravines at a higher altitude than any other flowering woody plant (up to 3,000m), its hardiness is not in doubt, but it does require shelter from high winds.

As a medium-sized garden tree it is seldom grown, but well worth seeking out. It has a characterful growth habit and dense pinnate foliage, and the year-round interest of its bark certainly attracts attention. Insects shelter in the papery rolls of bark, and birds, especially blue tits and wrens, duly follow to feed and nest. As an elegant evergreen, it is also useful for screening. It is a good alternative to Acer griseum and Betula jacquemontii, both grown for their bark despite their naked presence in winter.

Besides requiring a sheltered spot and protection against deer if necessary, this pest- and disease-free tree is easy to grow. It prefers neutral to slightly acid soil, and once established it seeds itself around a little, so it’s fun to dig up a seedling and nurture your own Polylepis forest.

Gardens to visit

Castle Kennedy Gardens Stair Estates, Sheuchan, Castle Kennedy, Stranraer DG9 8SL. Tel 01581 400225, castlekennedygardens.com Logan Botanic Garden Port Logan, nr Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway DG9 9ND. Tel 01776 86023, rbge.org.uk

Guides and maps

Stranraer and Glenluce OS Landranger Map #82 (Ordnance Survey, £8.99) Dumfries and Galloway: Guide to 200 Walks and Climbs, by Robert Denison Walton (Dinwiddie, 1980)

Where to stay

For a stylish country house, look no further than Knockinaam Lodge, Portpatrick, Dumfries and Galloway DG9 9AD. Tel 01776 810471, knockinaamlodge.com