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Achamore Gardens 
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Achamore Gardens tel: 01583 505388 Area: Scotland |
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| Visitor Information | www.gigha.org.uk -- email: jacqui {at} gigha.org.uk | |||||||||||
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Achamore Gardens |
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| Opening Days and Hours | ||||||||||||
Every day; dawn to dusk. |
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| Parties
/ Coaches: Yes Helpful to book, but welcome. |
Groups
/ Coaches need Appointment: Yes Telephone Hotel. |
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House
Open for Viewing: No |
National
Garden Scheme days: No |
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| Best
Times of Year to Visit: May and June |
To
see: Rhododendrons and azaleas |
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| Admission Prices | ||||||||||||
| Adult £3.50; Child £1.50 (under 10's free); Season £10 Tours for 20+ can be arranged and are led by the Head Gardener - please contact Dr. Eleanor Logan for details. |
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| Onsite Facilities | ||||||||||||
| Parking:
Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes |
Shop:
Yes Plants for Sale: Yes Lunches: No |
Teas:
Yes Light Refreshment: Yes Picnics: Yes |
Dogs
Allowed: Yes On Lead only: Yes Special Events: Yes |
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| Other
Facilities: Teas, coffee and meals available in hotel or boathouse. Partial access for disabled. Season shop selling teas and cakes, and seasonal plant sales. For events see own website. |
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| Garden Features | ||||||||||||
| Formal and informal group plantings, the use of exotics and the more unusual plants growing within a collection of Rhododendron, superb bryophyte and fern collection and a compartmental woodland garden with stunning views out toward the sea. The Isle of Gigha is probably one of the easiest, least expensive and one of the prettiest of all the Hebridean islands to visit. |
English Heritage Garden Grade: | |||||||||||
| National Collection: Horlick Collection of rhododendrons. | ||||||||||||
| Description of Garden | Designer:
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| Achamore Gardens are accessed by a footpath from the village hall which winds through woodland to the Entrance Glade. Here massed plantings of Gunnera Manicata from Brazil are seen with Kniphofia (Red Hot Pokers) and a fine specimen of Cercidiphyllum Japonicum (the Katsura Tree). The Colins Garden is a small but pretty garden with the centre plant being Ailanthus Altissima (tree of heaven from north China), surrounded by a colourful display of young Camellias, Azaleas and Hydrangeas, along with a fine specimen of Anopterus Glandulosa (Tasmanian Laurel). The North Walled Garden has an excellent collection of specimen conifers including Abies Kawakamii (a rare fir from Formosa). This section of the walled garden also contains greenhouses which have a fine selection of tender and unusual plants. The South Walled Garden has been reclaimed and planted in a similar way to the north section. The central herbaceous border has been retained however and there is a fine Pinus Montezumae (Mexico). The lower slope of the George Taylor Garden has two of the beautiful small Enkianthus trees. These have lovely clusters of flowers in May and excellent autumn colours. The Malcolm Allan garden is named after the head gardener who devoted 52 years of his life to the gardens (1918 -1970). Planted around the Quercus Cerres (Turkey Oak), this garden provides colour in a variety of ways throughout the year. The Pond Garden relies mainly on herbaceous plants for colour, Hostas, Gunnera, Astilbes and Primulas among them. Lysichiton (yellow skunk cabbage) surrounds the pond. Other gardens and drives have a magnificent collection of rhododendrons. |
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| History of Garden | ||||||||||||
| The Clan McNeill became the undisputed Lairds in 1590 after a fierce power struggle between the MacDonalds and the McNeills. At the end of the 19th century Captain William Scarlett, the 3rd Lord Abinger, purchased the estate and built the listed 'B', Achamore House in 1884 to the design of John Honeyman. The main areas of woodland to the north and south of the house were planted by William Scarlett to provide shelter from the strong winds and salt spray and game cover. When Sir James Horlick acquired the estate in 1944 he wished to establish a garden to grow his more tender Rhododendrons. He managed this by cutting small clearings in the Ponticum and trees and by 1970 the garden was full and looked magnificent. On his death he left some of his collection to the National Trust for Scotland so that rare species could be propagated and shared with other great gardens. On the 15th March 2002 the Island was purchased in a Historic buy-out by the inhabitants of Gigha. It is now owned and managed by the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust. |
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| Nearby Scotland Hotels, Facilities & Amenities | ||||||||||||
| Hotels
& Accommodation: In Hotel other B&Bs on the Island, see website for details |
Restaurants: At Hotel. |
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| Inns & Pubs: |
Villages / Towns
/ Sightseeing: Isle of Gigha is a very picturesque Southern Hebridean Island. |
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  - Scotland |
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*Information
Updates
Garden guide and review © Gardens-Guide.com and Armchair Travel Co Ltd Armchair
Travel Co Ltd also operates these Click HERE for more details
0462_Achamore.jpg - Achamore Gardens (Scotland)
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