Nov 19

On Thursday 21st November it being a lovely afternoon I took my camera for a walk in Achamore gardens! November – maybe not the best of times to see the gardens. My last walk in the gardens was just before Easter when the Rhododendrons were flowering, and the walled garden was being smartened up for a wedding. Since then there has been a lot of growth in the gardens, mostly things we don’t really want to grow! But there was also a wealth of flower buds waiting to bloom next year, Rhododendrons and Camellias in particular (photo 1).

There is still some autumn colour to be seen. The sun was shining and catching the top of a magnificent Metasequoia near the wee red gate into the walled garden (photo 2). This species is a very ancient one and is a deciduous conifer. The pond had good reflections (photo 3) and growing around its edge are Cornus with its bare stems glowing red (photo 4). There are still Hydrangeas, Fuchsias and some herbaceous plants flowering.

There are plenty of things to see. Try looking at the leaves of the Camellias in the south drive. There are 3 varieties that have very distinctive leaves. J.C.Williams (photo 1) which has a mid-green slightly twisted leaf, Golden Spangles (photo 5) which has a yellow variegation in its leaf and another whose name I cannot remember which has a kind of fishtail at the point of its leaf (photo 6).

Don’t forget to look up when you are in the gardens. The patterns of the bare trees against the sky are amazing and you could miss some flowers if you don’t look up. Right in the very north west corner of the walled garden in the back of the border is a tall shrub with lots of little pink flowers which I think is a myrtle (photo 7). Nearer to the gate onto the back road there are two Mahonias (Photo 8) flowering. They have a wonderful scent, but you might need a stepladder to get near enough to smell them! Close by there is a Eucryphia also in flower. Some of the conifers in the walled garden have Lapageria Rosa growing through them (photo 9).

If you are going for a walk in the gardens just now, I recommend wellington boots for your feet. And don’t forget to look down too. See if you can identify the trees around by their fallen leaves! (photo 10)

Susan Allan

LATEST NEWS & EVENTS

 

Contact Us

Isle of Gigha on Social Media

Find Us

Email

Please contact the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust by email using the form below.

Any information disclosed to the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust via this contact form will not be passed on to any third parties.

All information is handled in full compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2018.

Please check out our visitor website (www.visitgigha.co.uk) for specific contact details for other businesses on the island.