Scotland’s Best Gardens
Beautiful gardens in a stunning setting make this one of Scotland’s national treasures
Ayrshire’s Culzean Castle is a horticultural wonderland!
The National Trust for Scotland supports 70 gardens which display a variety of around 13,500 flowers and plants. Over the last few months, we have focused on some of the best across Scotland. This month we continue with the gardens at Culzean Castle, Ayrshire.
ASTUNNING castle bordered on one side by 46-metre (150ft) cliffs and on the other by 2.6 sq km (1 sq mile) of beautifully-constructed gardens, it’s small wonder that Culzean Castle and gardens is one of the gems of the south-west coast.
The gardens can be traced back as far as the 1500s and there is evidence of a gardener being employed as early as 1653. It’s a legacy that is now in the hands of head gardener Iain Govan.
“The remarkable thing about Culzean’s gardens is their scale and variety, with pockets of manicured garden set throughout woodland and designed landscape,” he says.
“As a result, the gardens can almost be seen as a collection of individual gardens with each having a unique feel.
“I can think of very few places which have so many distinct gardens as opposed to one garden sectioned into smaller areas.”
The north walled garden focuses very much on fruit and vegetables while the corresponding south walled garden leads into a tropical jungle area that is dominated by huge cedars and the Indian Bean tree.
Added to that is a woodland walk called Happy Valley that is rich in rhododendrons, crinodendrons and luma, rolling lawns and shrub collections of the main estate and a 140-metre (460ft) run of herbaceous borders where geraniums, crocosmia and achillea and much, much more provide a wonderful spectrum of colour. Variety is certainly the operative word at Culzean.
The only area of the garden within view of the castle is the terraced garden called the Fountain Court. This has a unique climate due to its proximity to the coast and its sunny and sheltered location allows it an almost tropical feel. There, a collection of unusual shrubs flourish, including chusan palms and the pineapple guava.
“I think the longevity of the garden has afforded a maturity that is impossible to recreate,” continues Iain.
“The sheer scale of some of the trees and specimen shrubs gives the whole garden a timeless presence which makes even the newest feature feel as if it has been there forever.”
Over the centuries, the gardens had a reputation for growing peaches and it’s a tradition Iain is eager to preserve.
“We are always keen to try new plants and are particularly interested at trailing slightly tender species in areas such as fountain court due to its unique climate,” he says.
“However, we are also interested in preserving the stories of the past and so continue to cultivate peaches in the same way and we grow heritage varieties of vegetables, including the famous Ailsa Craig onion which was developed here.”
But there’s more to the gardens that just flowers and foliage.
Out-buildings and follies play a huge part in Culzean with a tea-house-cum-summer-house, a camelia house, an orangery and a vinery. There’s even a military battery situated to the west of the castle.
It begs the question – is there anything Culzean gardens doesn’t have?