With its roofscape of turrets and gables, its warm-coloured walls and its position at the head of Loch Ness, Aldourie Castle fulfils anyone’s dream of a romantic Scottish castle.
In the past ten years, these traditional highlights have not only been enhanced but to some extent transformed by the addition of two gardens by Tom Stuart-Smith.
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The first of these, the West Garden, fills a space between castle and loch. Originally nothing more than a sloping lawn, it now features two large parterres that flank a central lawn, to reflect the Scottish tradition for highly structured gardens. The parterres are animated with beech topiary, clipped into a range of theatrical shapes that mirror the playful and varied architecture of the castle, and are criss-crossed by paths that wind through contemporary-style naturalistic planting to create an immersive, tartan-like tapestry.
The second space, the Walled Garden, lies hidden away behind majestic Victorian conifers to the northeast of the castle. Created from scratch, it has replaced a sloping rough orchard. In both gardens, there is ample evidence of Tom’s skill at spatial design and his plantsmanship.
“The development of the West and Walled Gardens was part of an attempt to have a clearer distinction between more managed garden areas and the wilder park and woodland landscapes,” explains Tom. “The idea for the West Garden was to create a more formal setting, which complements the Scots baronial architecture.
The Walled Garden was developed to have an outer area for ornamental planting, as well as providing a central area for vegetable and fruit production.”
In the West Garden, Tom restructured the existing broad but plain terrace in front of the castle, slightly reducing its width, so it is more in proportion with the castle, and added a broad but shallow central flight of steps. He also placed diagonal sloping ramps on either side of the terrace, lined with yew hedges to give a great sense of motion.
In late summer the Walled Garden is a luxuriant Eden of vegetables and fruit, with more rarefied, exotic delights in the nearby glasshouses
In the Walled Garden, he levelled the sloping one-and-a-half acres into a large main area, with a secluded lower section below a retaining terrace. He also sunk two of the four new granite walls that enclose the area – to the south and west – where the garden is sufficiently sheltered by the neighbouring beech and conifer trees.
Despite its northerly latitude, Aldourie’s sheltered location on the edge of Loch Ness gives it a surprisingly mild microclimate. Throughout the five years it took to construct the gardens, the challenge was less the cold than the wet winters and periods of extended drought during the summer. “We were quite surprised by the dryness of summers and how traditionally moisture-loving plants struggled unless protected by shade,” says Tom.
The parterres are animated with beech topiary, clipped into a range of theatrical shapes that mirror the playful and varied architecture of the castle
As a result, alongside many plants you might expect to find in Scotland’s damp climate – molinias, deschampsias, rodgersias, astrantias, actaeas and rhododendrons – Tom was able to experiment with some more unusual, less hardy planting in the Walled Garden, including several drought-tolerant plants, such as Parthenium integrifolium and Echinacea pallida, which have thrived.
This exciting new planting is a delight for everyone who visits Aldourie, but it is particularly appreciated by the eight-strong garden team, led by head gardener Elliott Forsyth. “The design has really transformed Aldourie,” he says. “It’s been a real education for us to be involved in the making and maintaining of this garden.
We have all benefited from working with such a great range of plants and beautiful planting designs.” Prominent among this great range of plants are several of Tom’s favourites, including Hakonechloa macra, Eutrochium maculatum ‘Riesenschirm’, Geranium ‘Nimbus’ and Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Erica’. But both in the West and Walled Gardens, the outstanding quality is the repeat planting; choosing and then combining in repeat patterns a particular palette of plants that are as notable for their combined effect as their individual qualities of shape and colour.
When the castle was rebuilt in the 19th century, its kitchen garden would have contained substantial borders and an impressive combination of fruit, vegetables and flowers for cutting, with glasshouses nurturing further produce. The new Aldourie Walled Garden has all these elements, arranged on a similarly impressive scale and yet unmistakeably modern. In late summer, the large central area is a luxuriant Eden of vegetables and fruit with more rarefied, exotic delights in the nearby glasshouses.
Structure and symmetry come from low domes of clipped yew, occasional striking shrubs and the repeated use of perennials and grasses
On the garden’s upper, east side, long gravel paths stretch between deep borders planted with mixtures of perennials and grasses. Structure and symmetry come from low domes of clipped yew, occasional striking shrubs such as Clerodendrum and, again, the repeat use of perennials and grasses. Stipa calamagrostis and molinias are among these grasses, which grow alongside characterful perennials such as persicarias and veronicastrums, Ligusticopsis wallichiana with its umbels of white flowers, brilliantly coloured Lythrum virgatum ‘Dropmore Purple’ and great clumps of Geranium wallichianum Havana Blues (= ‘Noorthava’), which spills out over the gravel paths.
In brief
- Name Aldourie Castle. What New formal and walled gardens at a Highland estate. Where Near Inverness.
- Size To acres of formal gardens and a one-and-a-half acre walled garden within a 500-acre estate.
- Soil Light textured, sandy, quite stony loam. Acidic (pH 5.3-6.6 across the site) and in some places almost 80cm deep.
- Climate Temperate with own microclimate that is milder than normal for this part of Scotland.
- Hardiness zone USDA 9a.
Ten years on from the start of the project, the garden is now well established, and development by the garden team is mostly focused on balancing competitive and aesthetic relationships as the planting matures.
The development of the gardens was an attempt to have a clearer distinction between managed garden areas, and the wilder park and woodland
“It’s also important to continue the refining process, making small adjustments aligned with the spirit and intention of Tom’s designs,” says Elliott. “Even the best designs can unravel over time, as nature is in constant change.
Planting designs are not static and need accurate, timely and insightful interventions.” This combination of expert ongoing care by Elliott’s skilled team of gardeners, and Tom’s supremely accomplished design flourishes, mean this historic garden is firmly on track to continue to intrigue and delight long into the future.
Useful information
You can stay at Aldourie Castle: both the castle itself and a selection of cottages are available as holiday rentals. Visit: aldourie.scot