Cawdor

Holidays in the UK have so much to recommend them. This country has such a diverse range of scenery, culture and history, that it would be impossible for anyone to ever say they were familiar with Britain. As a keen gardener and golfer we have been drawn to many of the less travelled parts of the country. Earlier this month we were in the North East of Scotland in what I had imagined to be a little off the beaten track. However, the lure of some brilliant golf, some special scenery, the whiskey trail, not to mention the history and hospitality meant that even into autumn there were full hotels and plenty of visitors.


The Moray coastline is quite spectacular but it is the gardens at Cawdor Castle which I have featured below. The award winning grounds are most definitely worth a detour. Dating back to the Renaissance, it is not surprising that The Walled Garden is the oldest garden at Cawdor Castle and probably the highlight.

 The family archives indicate the presence of orchards on the site of the current Walled Garden. Developed over the years and with the addition of a host of exotic seeds in the late seventeenth century. The Walled Garden naturally developed into one of the finest Victorian Gardens of its kind. Due to increasing number of visitors to the Castle, and with many of them helping themselves to the gardens treasures, it was eventually closed to the public.

Remodeled in 1981 by Lord Cawdor and incorporating over 1200 holly plants, the top half of the Walled Garden was developed into a maze. Taking inspiration from the mosaic floor of the ruined Roman villa of Conimbriga in Portugal. In classical form depicts the Minotaurs Labyrinth in Knossos in Crete.

In addition, some years later in 2015 American born sculptor Gregory Ryan created the Minotaur that stands visibly and proudly in the middle of the Cawdor labyrinth.

Surrounding the maze on three sides is the Laburnum arch offering a waterfall of yellow flowers from late May until June.

Front Garden Succession

  

The garden at the front of the house has always played second fiddle to the garden at the back and the patio. I suppose this is because we do not sit out and relax at the front and neither to we encourage Mili and Hecate to go out onto the front.

In addition, I have always thought this space to be at its best in winter and into spring. The snow drops are at their abundant best before anything else has dared to show its first shoots. The front of the house is where the only naturalized daffodils are found and, of course there is the clematis and the bluebells, all of which are early season beauties.

However, it struck me this week that the front garden has held its own well into the summer this year. The steps up to the front door are currently flanked with the colourful flowers of the hardy fuchsia and the orange crocosmia. The latter is a new addition and I have been really pleased with the way it combines with the burnished colours of the weeping copper beech. 

The whole area is densely packed with shrubs and flowers. The only lawn is on the other side of the drive. This makes it probably the least labour intensive area of the entire property.

It is now back to school time and so we drift gently into autumn. While it is tempting to think that we have had nothing but dismal weather over recent weeks, the evidence of some of my photographs would suggest otherwise. There is till plenty of time for enjoying the richer hues and the insect life that are drawn to them. Mili, as usual, is keeping a close eye on my activities, so much so that I am sure she has missed the butterfly approaching her from 11 o'clock.

 

This is also the season for the heathers that we have, to come into flower. They too attract plenty of interest from the insect population and the hover flies seem to particularly enjoy this part of the garden. Heathers do well in our acidic soil and being raised above the level of the patio they do get plenty of sunshine.

I have not always been over enamoured with the heather bed. I seem to struggle to get a pleasing balance between the different varieties. There always seems to be one more vigorous and dominant species. However, if I had one top tip it would be to trim them back promptly once the flowers have gone over. Otherwise leggy plants will inevitably be the result.