Garden Expert
Meet James Hannaford from Inverewe
June 30th 2017Meet James Hannaford, First Gardener at award winning NTS Inverewe set amongst the rugged landscape of Wester Ross in the North West Highlands of Scotland. At 58˚ north and on the same latitude as Labrador and St Petersburg, Inverewe has been described as ‘an exotic paradise’ with plants from around the world flourishing in the […]
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Meet Andrew Glaister from Castle of Mey
June 2nd 2017I started my career in gardening whilst still at school by growing vegetables on the railway embankment behind my back garden at home and in my father’s garden. When I left school I studied at the famous Scottish Agricultural College at Auchincruive, Ayrshire and for three years I worked in the lovely gardens situated beside […]
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Meet David Knott from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
April 25th 2017Discovering a fascination for rhododendrons By David Knott They say ‘The delicate mauve of a rhododendron flower cannot be imitated in any other flower, but in spite of their beauty, growing them can be challenging’. Rhododendron is a large genus of some thousand known species. They form a large group of plants and come in […]
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Meet Edith Barnes from Drummond Castle
March 31st 2017The beautiful beech lined main drive leads the visitor to a hidden treasure. This historic garden consists of noble mature trees and a formal Italian-style parterre, centred on a 17th Century sundial attributed to John Mylne, architect and mason to King Charles I. The layout is based on the Saltire with marble statues and fountains […]
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Meet Mary Stansfeld from Dunninald Castle Gardens
February 24th 2017Let’s enjoy our gardens more this year And there’s no better start to the season than the Snowdrop Festival All new year’s resolutions aside, this year I have resolved to “just enjoy” my gardens more and not get bogged down by the endless […]
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Meet John and Wendy Mattingley from Cluny House Gardens
November 15th 2016John and Wendy Mattingley from Cluny House Gardens in front of their 160 years old champion redwood Let nature do its magic Cluny House Gardens evolves naturally and offers treats throughout the seasons John and I have been looking after Cluny full time since 1987 after my parents who, in 1950, began the creation of […]
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Meet Diana Robertson from Drum Castle Garden
July 21st 2016Roses are like spoilt teenagers To flourish, they need your love and full attention, but don’t expect to win It is said that if you want beautiful roses in your garden you must carry roses in your heart. For a non-rosarian like myself, this is oh so true. I was brought […]
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Meet Dougal Philip and Lesley Watson from New Hopetoun Gardens
April 4th 2016DSG Garden Expert Profile for New Hopetoun Gardens Husband and wife team, Dougal Philip and Lesley Watson, own and run New Hopetoun Gardens and plants are their passion! The garden centre has 20 small themed demonstration gardens designed by Lesley and Dougal to inspire, entertain and help their customers to choose the best plants for […]
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National Trust for Scotland Gardens Adviser Ann Steele
December 16th 2015‘Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree’ The German Christmas carol ‘O Tannenbaum’ (‘Oh Chrismas Tree’) speaks of the pleasure we get from our festive trees – and no artificial tree is ever a patch on the smell and texture of the real thing. Writes National Trust for Scotland Gardens Adviser Ann Steele: “Lots of people […]
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John Hawley, Head Gardener, Gordon Castle Walled Garden
October 24th 2015John Hawley, Head Gardener, Gordon Castle Walled Garden, Fochabers I count myself privileged to be part of, what is currently one of Scotland’s largest horticultural renovation projects. I started work here at Gordon Castle Walled Garden at the beginning of 2015 after working in horticulture for over twenty years, with much of that time spent […]
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