Queen Elizabeth II Walled Garden

Dumfries and Galloway holiday 17

The Queen Elizabeth II Walled Garden, an impressive five-acre terraced garden, was created over several years from a muddy, derelict site, though its perimeter walls are the original 18th century walls. They alone took a full two years to restore. It encompasses herbaceous borders, summer flowering beds, boxed parterres, glasshouses and lawns divided by pathways. 

It has various shelters around the perimeter, including the magnificent Belvedere (above), designed in close collaboration with King Charles himself and decorated with wyverns, which are mythical heraldic dragons. 

Central to the garden is a 'Thistle' fountain (below), created - like the water feature at the front of the House - by William Pye.   

The long delphinium border was in full flower and looked marvellous. I just love those deep blues. 

The TV programme I watched had quite a lot of coverage of how the garden was created. It involved tons of earth moving and hard landscaping before the planting could begin. One of the concerns was a large sycamore tree, which predates the original garden and is over 350 years old. It was in a precarious state and they were worried about losing it, but it is now thriving thanks to some expert arborist care.

Adjacent to the Walled Garden is the Kaufmann Education Garden, which introduces vegetable growing to hundreds of visiting school children each year and incidentally supplies some food for use in the estate's kitchens and restaurants. The gardens are also home to a Royal Horticultural Society training centre, as part of the vision for the whole estate to be a place of regeneration and growth. 

Since Charles became our King, his initials have been spelled out in flowers on the banking: 

I really enjoyed my visit to Dumfries House, despite the intense sunshine and hot temperatures. (They do sell ice cream in the café in the Stables!)  From conception to implementation, it's a visionary and inspiring project, and I think King Charles should consider it one of his greatest achievements. One hopes it will go on to inspire other similar projects, as well as preserving vital heritage skills and supporting hundreds of people to gain careers and qualifications through their involvement there. If you ever get chance to visit, I highly recommend it.