Welcome to Part 2 of my post about Scotland. If you missed Part 1, feel free to jump back to take a look. Today I’m moving on to gardens and other miscellaneous delights.
Strolling through a well-designed garden is, artistically speaking, every bit as rewarding as wandering the galleries of a museum. While inherently different, they are wonderfully similar. Visiting a museum is akin to stepping into a time capsule to witness freeze-frame moments caught in time. But while a garden within an historic setting may bring the past to mind, one is still always conscious that what surrounds us is never still; it is constantly growing and transforming.
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Nothing is more the child of art than a garden.” -Sir Walter Scott
Abbotsford, the home (“palace of imagination”) of novelist Sir Walter Scott, is situated on the River Tweed and looks like an illustration from a fairy tale.
Taking in this view, I couldn’t help but think of Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem The Land of Counterpane. which my mother read to me when I was very young and home sick.
Scott created three successive gardens.
My favorite was the walled kitchen garden which covers an acre and apparently looks much the same as it would have in Scott’s time. It is a mix of flowers and scented plants, herbs, fruits, vegetables.
Separate from the house gardens, there is also a mini-sculpture garden/woods walk on the property. With a name like “Witch Corner”, I couldn’t resist. The chainsaw sculptures are inspired by Scott’s writing.
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Dating back to 1372, Glamis Castle was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother of Elizabeth II. Frankly, I was more interested in the fact that it is said to have been the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
The Italian Garden at Glamis Castle
The two house-shaped allées captured my heart immediately
Having never seen a Himalayan Blue Poppy before, our timing was perfect.
Turrets, blue poppies and a house-shaped allée – definitely not in Kansas (or Vermont) anymore
A garden can claim innumerable artists — botanical wizards who have contributed their personal brushstrokes across years and trends. Unlike Whistler’s Mother who will still be seated stoically in her black dress and lace cap next year and next century, the garden you wander through today will be different from that of yesterday, tomorrow, or any other day – ever.
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Branklyn Garden in Perthshire is a 2 acre hillside garden, created in 1922 using seeds collected by plant hunters. It is now overseen by the National Trust for Scotland.
I took lots of photos but this one, with that central red rib in the midst of all the different shades of green, is the one I find most inspiring.
Other than hoping to avoid crowds and midges, we had no particular goals or expectations of Scottish gardens in early May. But luck was with us. Those we visited were much farther along than anticipated, offering bursts of color for winter-weary eyes.
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Drummond Castle Garden is a horse of a completely different color.
The sculpted trees and variety of foliage are spectacular – even at this early point in the season.
The shapes and shadows made me feel as though I’d been dropped into Alice in Wonderland
The variety of foliage colors hold their own – no blooms necessary
The lean of some of the trees made them seem on the verge of coming to life in a Disney-esque sort of way. So while on the one hand this was a very serious garden, it also comes across with a lovely sense of humor.
This short video shows the grandeur far better than I can.
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Jupiter Artland is a sprawling sculpture garden that also includes a couple of indoor exhibition spaces. It is magnificent, with trails that wind through woods, across fields and by beautiful water features.
Stone Coppice, Andy Goldsworthy
Bonnington House (in the distance) is a private home situated in the center of Jupiter Artland. Such hedges!
Cells of Life, Charles Jenks. Magical terraced earthworks embedded with paths allowing one to climb to the top for an expansive view.
Weeping Girls, Laura Ford. Figures hand carved from waxes. Cast in found objects. Patinated and painted bronze. This was one figure among a series of girls, all of whom projected a mysterious and melancholic aura to the grove of trees where they were strategically placed. Don’t we all have days like this?
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And then a couple of miscellaneous gardens…
National Heather Collection at the Rodney Gardens Park in Perth
The King’s Knot at Stirling Castle was constructed for Charles I between 1627-9. It is covered in grass now, but it was originally designed as an ornamental garden.
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And finally, I leave you with the “Oh My!” These are a few of the things that don’t fit neatly into any category, but are pure visual enjoyment – seeds, even, for possible future work.
Before we left I had read about these two gravestones, unique in their elaborate depiction of Adam and Eve. It became something of a scavenger hunt to find them, but it was definitely worth the search.
Loved the sign, loved even more the colors of stone in this building near Edinburgh Castle
These textured house shapes surrounding a doorway in Edinburgh Castle caught my eye immediately.
The Kelpies, Designed by Andy Scott. These massive horse heads, built of steel, refer to the shape shifting water-horses of Scottish folklore.
Finally, I always research art supply stores before any trip. It’s hard to beat the charming exterior of this one, where I found some khadi paper that easily fit in my carry-on and is now waiting in the wings for future paint and stitch.
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Now, it’s back to Vermont.
I’m very much looking forward to the opening of Full Bloom on Saturday!
If you’re around, please join me at The Satellite Gallery, 71 Depot Street, Lyndonville, VT for the opening from 5-7pm. The show will be up thorough the 4th of July weekend.
The gallery director sent me this photo after she’d hung the show. I’m thrilled that she decided to include several of my “Sheltering in Place” houses as well.
Amazing gardens.. your trip looked great. How did you like working with Zicasso?.
Zicasso was great because it directed us to a terrific agent who really helped us figure out how to squeeze in everything we wanted while still keeping it a vacation!
Wow, what a whirlwind of gardens. Those blue poppies are stunning. I tried to grow them once. Nada.
Thanks for this!
Have a great opening!
I bet you’re not alone in your attempt. Thanks for the good wishes – the opening was a blast!
Wow, what a whirlwind of gardens. Those blue poppies are stunning. I tried to grow them once. Nada.
Thanks for this!
Have a great opening!
The house-shaped allees were so amazing, but also kind of creepy. They can’t last forever, with being constantly cut back and shaped, can they? I mean they’re trees, not shrubs? Also loved the Andy Goldsworthy stones-in-trees (hadn’t seen those before). See you at Satellite! That red-rib plant looks like a variegated (or red-veined) sorrel? I have some for you if you want it!
Catching up after the weekend…thanks so much for coming. I’m not sure how they keep the allées going – maybe like boxwood where you strategically prune each year to let in sunlight to encourage new growth from the trunk? Great question!
A feast for the eyes! Always love to bear witness to your adventures virtually. If only you could make them scratch and sniff and audible…
Cannot wait to see your show my friend…you are a wonder!