I let nature be my guide when I created my garden from the untamed land surrounding our Scottish farmhouse! And there cannot be many gardener’s as lucky as I am, for when I step out to do a spot of weeding two lakes and the breathtaking view of the Mull of Galloway and the Isle of Man greet me. People describe our situation variously as “stunning”, “beautiful”, and “idyllic”, and when the weather is fine I would agree with them.     

But in the late seventies, when we moved up to Galloway with our young family, all we could think of was how lucky we were, for we had bought a ruin and 103 acres over the telephone without ever having seen it! We found a herd of cattle and a flock of pigeons occupying our farmhouse, and the land a beautiful and untamed wilderness of rock, bracken and gorse. In fact the land was so wild there was no garden at all, and only a farm track leading up to the house. 

While my husband was occupied with farming the land, the house had to be rebuilt. The task of making a garden was not my first priority. But after an inspiring visit to nearby Logan Botanic Gardens and a subsequent visit to Tresco on the Isles of Scilly, I felt ready to begin. After all, I had the Gulf Stream, with its attendant mild climate, and a naturally beautiful site to begin with. 

The first task was to fence 12 acres round the perimeter of the house and to plant a shelter of mixed conifers and deciduous trees. We are 300 ft above sea level and the winds blow from all quarters. The next task was to dig out the two small lochans. Water already seeped through from the top of the garden, which had been the old Dunragit estate water supply for the big house below us. I had the greatest fun creating small ponds leading down to the lochans and so creating a water garden. We stocked the two lochs with brown trout, later adding some Koi carp, which may be seen cruising the waters on a calm day.

I was now free to consider all the positive aspects of the ground. With a ph of 4.5 the acid lovers would do well, so we bought a 100 hardy hybrid rhododendrons and deciduous azaleas and grew these on in a small peat bed until they were ready for planting out into final positions. Ornamental willow cuttings were planted in groups, being a cheap and quick method of clothing the place. We had to remove rock out of each hole before we could do any planting, and generous portions of farmyard manure and slow release fertiliser was added. The ground is shallow and poor, and the water runs away quickly in spite of 40” of rainfall a year. I retained much of the gorse as the planting proceeded and used it as a nanny to form shelter for the plants; as they grew, so the nannies were banished! 

Now the garden has it’s own microclimate, and a great many plants from all over the southern hemisphere flourish. You will see the Chilean fire bush Embothrium, Eucryphias and Olearias from New Zealand, Eucalyptus, and many rhododendrons. In 22 years the shelterbelt has grown up, and the specie rhododendrons (needing shelter and dappled shade) are being grown along the rides, together with many different bulbs such as trilliums, erythroniums, and dodeocatheon. In fact, the garden harbors a wealth of plants to be discovered. I look back on these years and feel pleased that at last the garden is growing and maturing, and that people seem to love and appreciate what I, with the help of nature, have tried to create. 

    I hope Robert Service will forgive me if I adapt some of his verses from “The Spell of the Yukon” thus:

“I wanted a garden, and I got it; I scrabbled and mucked like a slave. T’was it rheumatics, lumbago, I fought it! – Hurled my youth into the grave…”.

Tessa Knott has been featured, along with the gardens, in: 'The Scottish Rhododendron Yearbook 2004' - Bhutan (April 2004) - The RHS 'The Garden' (August Issue, 2004, Profile of Tessa Knott) 'The Scottish Garden' (Summer 2003), 'The Scottish Field' (June 2002), 'The English Garden' (June 200), 'Homes & Antiques' (June 1996), 'Practical Gardening' (December 1991), 'The Scots Magazine' (July 1991) and 'The People's Friend' (August 1991). Glenwhan Gardens have featured on Border Television and twice on 'The Beechgrove Garden' (1992 & 2002). German Television will feature Glenwhan during the summer of 2003. Tessa Knott is a member of: The International Dendrology Society, Past Chairman and member of Plant Heritage (N.C.C.P.G), Ex Scottish branch Chairman and member of R.H.S. Rhododendron, Magnolia and Camellia Group, the Royal Horticultural Society, The Scottish Rhododendron Society (Scottish Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society) and presently Tours Co-ordinator, Dumfries & Galloway National Trust (Committee Member), The Hardy Plant Society and The Lily Group. She has been published in the following publications: International Dendrology Society Yearbook (1995), The World of the Rhododendrons Yearbook No.1 (1998), The World of the Rhododendrons Yearbook No.3 (photograph on dustcover), The World of the Rhododendrons Autumn Newsletter No.50 (2000 - The Garden at Glenwhan, 20 years on.),  The World of the Rhododendrons Yearbook No.5 (2002), The World of the Rhododendrons Yearbook No.6 (2003 - Pencarrow, SRS Spring Tour 2002) and St. Andrew's Botanic Garden Newsletter (2002 - 'A Walk On The Wild Side' - edited by Bob Mitchell).

~  Tessa

Glenwhan Gardens, Dunragit, nr Stranraer, Wigtownshire, (DG9 8PH) are open from March until October daily, 10.00am - 17.30pm. Visitors are most welcome, but large parties are advised to book well in advance! (Telephone: 01581 400222) Our licensed Tearoom is open and ready to serve you a delicious range of hot and cold meals, snacks, drinks - alchoholic and non-alchoholic, and seasonal produce. We hope you gain as much enjoyment from visiting Glenwhan Gardens as we had creating them! See you soon and haste ye back!