Achamore Gardens

North Walled Garden

This section of the garden is undergoing a major restoration process in which we are monitoring the vast array of trees, shrubs, herbaceous and bulb plants that have now outgrown their location. Around the perimeter walls on the outside, the elms, beech and alders are all leaning into the garden. Their density does not allow for air circulation  and frost pockets occur in an area that should be the warmest micro-climate within the whole gardens. The fully mature woodland conifers create shade and are crowdng out some wonderful specimen plantings.

This area is also the working site for propagation and growing-on for all new plants. I do not want to close this area off to visitors as with other gardens. Our feline embassador, "Cheeky" lives in the growing-on house. (She is fed everyday including Christmas Day and is regularly wormed)

The wee prop house is where we have the mist unit set up for the rhododendron propagation and eventually other plants that we can sell during the main visitor season.

The cats' glasshouse is an original house that Col. Horlick installed and we use it growing-on young rooted plants prior to hardening off and planting out. The newer house is a strange combination of old glasshouse base with a modern type conservatory built upon it. With its plastic roof with no ventilation, we are growing within it some of the succulents and cacti plants.

The borders that flank this house are used as "growing-on" for plants that we can plant into the other newly restored walled borders. We started in October 2010, on the major border restoration, which so far, has everything catalogued before any work is carried out. All dead diseased and very poor plant growth is removed. Strategic plants have been retained, in some cases with remedial work imposed upon them. This is such an exciting time for us as we getting to see the wall and border structure that would have been seen by Col. Horlick and his team in the 1950's and 1960's. New and original plants are in the process of being replanted. New support wire is getting fixed to the walls for all the climbers that have either newly been planted or have responded to severe pruning.

We were fortunate enough to receive a new small polytunnel from money raised from the 2010 Gigha Raft Race. This will help with the further production of new plant material for the garden and for plant sales.

(Updated by Micky Little May 2011)

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