When green, green grass of home surrounds castle

Keeping the grounds of a castle shipshape is no mean feat, as Nora McElhone discovered when she caught up with Mary Stansfeld of Dunninald Estate

As I speak to Mary Stansfeld on a sunny May morning, it is hard to imagine a more beautiful setting than the walled garden at the castle which has been in her husband’s family for five generations.

Open to the public as part of Scotland’s Garden Scheme, the 100 acres of woods, wild garden, policies and that beautiful walled garden provide year-round interest at Dunninald. The bluebells have provided a spectacular display in recent weeks but the focus will soon turn to tulips and the walled garden, which really comes into its own in terms of interest and colour in the summer months.

Dunninald Castle was purchased in 1811 by Peter Arkley, who commissioned James Gillespie Graham to build a new house. Designed in the Gothic revival style, this house was completed in 1824 and remains largely unchanged today. Peter’s grandaughter married a Stansfeld and Dunninald has been in the family ever since.

For many visitors, the walled garden is the highlight, as Mary explains: “It is a very traditional Victorian walled garden. In the 1980s my mother-in-law transformed the garden with herbaceous borders to lower the workload and increase the interest. She is still very involved but is winding down.

“My father-in-law, John Stansfeld, died in March, and his real pleasure and lasting legacy are the wild gardens. We have 100 acres of wild grass and parkland, we try to grow British trees to attract wildlife and have a good red squirrel population.”

Managing such a huge property is a big job, Mary agrees: “Last year our full-time gardener left and we decided to go in a new direction with a part-time gardener. We are a very good team. I potter, and mother-in-law potters with a bit more direction!” Dunninald recently welcomed a new gardener, Simon Baillie who works with the family and with Barry Watson who is in charge of all the grass cutting, “He takes such pride in his grass and his edges,” Mary adds.

The Stansfeld family have been involved in the Open Gardens scheme for nearly 30 years.