Just before the storms really hit, and in a rare break from thundering rain, Baby Wild & I spent a great morning exploring the private gardens of the
Blair estate in Dalry. The castle dates back to 1105, & is the oldest continually inhabited mansion house in Scotland that has not been rebuilt, and is still privately owned by descendants of the founding family. The gardens are normally closed to the public although you can walk around the grand estate all year round. Once a year however the holds the Annual Garden Open day, a charity day raising funds for the SGS Charities, CLIC Sargent and The Glasgow Passion. There are marquees hosting teas & coffees, a plant stall, kids face painting and home baking, but unfortunately we were too early for these!
I was keen to go simply to see what grew locally, as some of the plants I am trying to grow in my own garden are not doing well at all, and I am struggling to work out more exciting plants that will thrive in our weather. In this respect the gardens let me down a little, as it stuck resolutely to traditional hostas, poppies, bluebells, peonies, beautiful rhododendrons etc. Although very beautifully planted with great care and consideration to location, there were few plants that I thought 'wow I need to get me some of that for my place!'. There were a few exceptions of course, a few fabulous shrubs which I have not come across before, but overall this is clearly not the aim of the gardens - they are making best use of the grounds and landscape in a natural style.
So off we troddled, setting out early to try and avoid the inevitable rain. We were the first to arrive which gave us the pleasure off having the gardens all to ourselves. I thoroughly loved imagining living there myself and having such stunning grounds complete with swimming pool and the croquet lawn as my own playground!
Baby Wild was nuts about the Bombo Burn (which was more of a torrent due to all the rain we're getting this month) so we spent quite a lot of time throwing leaves & sticks in from the quaint various bridges crossing at intervals.
While I wandered around looking for the fossilised tree, dog's grave and other hidden treasures, Baby Wild could not be tempted away from the puddles, splashing around in her brand new wellies, as toddlers do I guess.
I really admired how although overall the gardens are quite manicured, there is a great harmony between the cultivated and wild, growing alongside each other in complimentary colours.
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| Having spoken to both the owners of the estate and playing with their dogs, Baby Wild takes a break from the long walk on their door step. |
We went foraging yesterday in Spiers Garden, Beith in the sun and found hundreds of ripe raspberries to gather!
