Scotland’s gardens month will take place for the first time this year during the course of September.
The 9th month of the year offers an ideal view of Scotland’s gardens as this time is when the gardens are considered at their very best in September.
From Tuesday September 1 until Wednesday September 30, gardens will be dedicated to celebrating the beauty and diversity of some of the most amazing spaces in the country.
The event has been launched by Discover Scottish Gardens who count many of the gardens in Argyll amongst the best of their kind in Scotland.
Fortunately, locals of Argyll and Bute will have the opportunity to explore participating gardens during this time.
This is due to both Benmore Botanic Garden and Ardkinglas Woodland Garden being part of the group of gardens who will open their gates to this project this month.
Benmore Botanic Garden is across a steep hillside near Dunoon and features plants from Chile, Bhutan and Japan, while visitors are met at the entrance by an avenue of Giant Redwoods that were planted 150 years ago and are still growing.
A restored Victorian fernery contains ancient examples of some of the world’s oldest plants and Red squirrel feeding stations provide close encounters with wildlife.
Ardkinglas Woodland Garden is the ‘mightiest conifer in Europe’, an Abies alba with a girth of 10 metres is just one amongst many exotic conifers that have grown to huge dimensions since they were planted during the 19th century at the head of Loch Fyne.
Other immense trees include a 64m Abies grandis and a Patagonian cypress, which could live for more than 500 years, eventually reaching 70m.
The opportunity to explore both of these incredible local gardens is outstanding now more than ever.
However, outwith the Argyll and Bute area, there are a handful of other gardens participating in ‘Scotland’s Garden Month.’
Among these are: Dunollie Castle, featuring old trees, ancient woodland and towering rhododendrons provide atmosphere in the gardens surrounding the ruins of Dunollie Castle and Museum near Oban.
Ardmaddy Castle Gardens – The Ardmaddy estate spreads out around a horseshoe-shaped bay, 10 miles south of Oban and it has native woodlands, a walled garden full of flowers, produce and climbing plants.
Hydrangeas flourish in this coastal climate and some have grown to 20m.
A number of gardens across the country will be hosting special events, offering visitors the chance to immerse themselves in historic pleasure grounds, formal parterres, natural settings, contemporary designed landscapes and kitchen gardens burgeoning with fresh produce.
Many also have important tree collections which, as the month progresses, will start to take on their autumn colours, providing yet another compelling reason to explore these many world-class green spaces.
Throughout the month the focus will be on flowers, both wild and cultivated; on the stories and sculptures that inhabit many of the gardens and on the specialist growers and garden centres that provide top quality plants.
There will be an emphasis too on adventure and discovery, elements that have helped to shape Scotland’s gardens and which are still having an impact today, and there will also be a chance to encounter the odd and amazing, those ‘strange but true’ elements that help to make gardens here different from anywhere else in the world.
A full list of participating gardens can be found by visiting www.discoverscottishgardens.org.
