Abriachan garden highlights
Collections connected to the gardeners’ lives
The garden is full of vivid interesting plantings and plants from the countries where we have previously lived and gardened
New Zealand plants
Donald and Margaret met in New Zealand and return there regularly. They’ve built a collection of New Zealand plants including mānuka, kānuka, kōwhai, hoheria, and hebe, as well as a few Tasmanian natives.
Falkland Island plants
After they married, Don and Margaret lived in the Falklands for a decade. Now they grow a small collection of Falkland Island species in a southern hemisphere bed. They’d love to grow more, but plants that like windy southern archipelagos don’t tend to thrive in northern woodlands.
Old primulas & auriculas
Visit our extensive collection of rare old primroses and auriculas in spring. We display them in an auricula theatre and in raised beds so you can enjoy the delicate detail of these exquisite plants.
Primulas and auriculas are easy to grow. Don’t starve them, put plenty grit in their compost, keep them dry in winter and not too hot in summer. They are all hardy and some have done well with us in open ground for many years.
Woodland plants for dry shade
We've dry, sandy soil that gobbles compost and leaf humus. We spend a lot of time feeding the hungry earth, and the woodlands are a showcase for plants that thrive in dry shade, with blue poppies, snowy woodrush, candelabra primroses, and cardiocrinums, the giant Himalayan lilies.
Hostas also grow well in the woodland shade; their luxuriant leaves bely how drought tolerant they truly are. Shrubs can also handle the dry shady conditions. Hamamelis, hollies, and daphne are our midwinter stars, giving way to cornus mas, forsythia, and flowering currants in spring.
Plants suited to Scottish conditions
We grow plants suited to the north of Scotland. Many plants sold in Scottish nurseries are imported from Europe and struggle to deal with the cold. Whereas we choose plants we know thrive here and grow them to be hardy because we like to set locals who buy plants from us up for success.
Peonies do well here, as do old roses. Other good summer doers include helianthemum, campanula lactifloria, red valerian, and centaureas.
We also sell Scottish natives, and you can see them in situ before you buy. The spring woods are full of primroses, anemones, and bluebells. In summer, giant Scots thistles grow six foot tall, while bell and ling heather bloom in the garden as they cover the hills with a purple haze.
Old-fashioned beauties
We’ve always had soft spot for old-fashioned treasures. Margaret and Don were snowdrop aficionados in the eighties, long before they became newly fashionable. And we’ve been building our extensive collection of old-fashioned primulas and auriculas for many years.
Nostalgic spring beauties like wallflowers, honesty, and lilacs make way for summer border favourites like old roses, campanula, Livingstone daisies, mignonette, night scented stock, columbine, old varieties of asters sourced from local gardeners, and masses of herbs.
Old roses are another Abriachan treasure, with the little white Jacobite rose of Scotland an enduring friend, while old rambling roses Rosa Wickwar and Rambling Rector form opulent midsummer swags in the woods.
“Not the type of garden with neat rows of flowers … It's got a wild feel to it flowers and greenery grow comfortably along with each other … Lots of the older flowers of my youth and great to see them all again.”
— June 2018