Inverewe

It's bee a busy week, sorry I haven't posted sooner.

I'm thinking we should leave the landscape gardens behind and go back to some of our favourite gardens in England and Scotland, gardens that actually have flowers!  Inverewe is on the far north-west coast of northern Scotland, and it can grow some amazing plants (like Palm trees), because of the passing warm water current, the Gulf Stream.

Inverewe was established by Osgood Mackenzie starting from a very barren landscape in 1862.  Tons of soil were brought in to create conditions for growing, starting with a shelterbelt of pines to protect the area.  Today it has been described as the best garden in Scotland due to its outstanding collection of plants, especially trees, from around the world.

The highlight for most visitors is the walled kitchen garden, replete with flowers as well as veggies.  It sits in a cove facing Loch Ewe, terraced up the slope, providing a very protected space for growing.

This is simply an outstanding space to wander through as you enter the garden, now run by the National Trust for Scotland.

The house, built in the 1930s after the original burned down, now functions as a museum, with beautiful flower borders outside.

And beyond that is the beautiful parkland of trees, including many species of Rhododendron.

I leave you with the outstanding selfie of yours truly, standing under the huge Gunnera, the first time I had seen that plant up close.  In my mind those are still enormous rhubarb leaves!