Great Scottish Gardens & Parks: Leith Hall Garden…

One more garden to add to our series of Great Scottish Gardens & Parks !

Leith Hall Garden, a hidden Scottish gem, is situated in Aberdeenshire, not far from Huntly. In August 2007 when we discovered it for the first time, we immediately fell in love with the place. This visit had not been planned, we just fell upon it at the end of a highly rewarding day’s travel. The weather had been rather grey all day but the garden was a real enchantment despite the poor luminosity. It was as if on opening the gate protected by two stone guardians lying on top of its two pillars, we had entered a secret garden, full of promises. And the promises were kept beyond all hope!

Welcome to Leith Hall Garden!

In a shed, at the end of the garden, we were immensely surprised and very excited to fall upon two superb chiselled Pictish stones set amongst a small display of old stone tools (querns, curling-stones…) ! The discovery of the Pictish symbol stones, chiselled or sculpted, which dot the Scottish landscape and were bequeathed to the Scots by their distant ancestors, has been at the heart of our travels since the beginning. A Pictish Trail allows you to discover the marvellous heritage of the Picts.

No sooner had we pushed open the gates of the garden, at the end of a grey August afternoon, than we were overwhelmed by the scents and colours of a multitude of lovely flowers and shrubs in full bloom, most of them unknown to us.

I took a number of pictures of these lovely pink big flowers, Filipendula Camschatica. In the rising darkness the flower buds sparkled like jewels on a diadem…

As we followed a long winding herbaceous path lined on our left with many species of beautiful flowers and on our right with a long border of luminous blue catmint, with a thick wood of mature trees in the background, we soon realised that Heith Hall Garden was made up of several very different gardens. But we were not at the end of our surprises! It was too late, however, to visit Leith Hall. In August, it is open from 10 h 30 to 16 h, and only from Thursday to Monday.

We came back to Leith Hall Garden in May 2015. The atmosphere and appearance of the garden were completely different from what we had experienced in August 2007. It was quite interesting to get an idea of how the garden changed over the seasons. Indeed, the garden had undergone a number of changes since then as a result of a major restoration project undertaken by the NTS.

First of all, as you can see on the above picture, the Pictish stones had been moved from the garden shelter to be relocated in two niches on either side of the entrance gate.

The time has come to say a word about these two beautiful stones, the Wolf Stone and the Percylieu Stone.

Two detailed on-site information boards describe them:

The Wolf Stone:

Found at Newbigging, Leslie, Aberdeenshire

Three symbols decorate this slab. The mirror-and-comb and decorated rectangles belong to the abstract tradition, while the wolf (a creature rarely featured) belongs to the animal series. Animal designs – sometimes stylised, sometimes naturalistically depicted – are a recurrent tradition in European art in later prehistory and during the Dark Ages. Naturalistic representation, as here, may belong to either the late 7th century or the earlier part of the 8th, on the basis of parallels with manuscripts. The Ardross slab – a stylistically similar stone – can be seen in Inverness Museum.

However, both the mirror type and the comb (the latter most commonly found in the Friesland area of the Netherlands and there datable to about the 5th century) – would not exclude an earlier date, perhaps 6th century. The quality of the carving is high in relation to that usually seen on granite slabs.

Found in about 1842 while breakin in new ground and subsequently built into a dyke. Later transferred to the farmhouse garden. Presented to the National Trust for Scotland (Leith Hall) in 1945. Height: 635mm – Width 380 mm.

The Percylieu Stone:

Found at Hillhead of Clatt, Clatt, Aberdeenshire

This whinstone slab bears a decorated version of the arc symbol and the lower portion of the fish symbol. It is thought that the slab was produced in the late 7 th century: the fish (salmon?) symbol, in common with most animal depictions, is not believed to have been used before this time. Proof of this depends on relations with the Gospel Books, so that an earlier date is not ruled out.

This stone can be loosely associated with a number of structures previously located on the same hill. These included small cairns or clearance heaps, a number of structures previously located on the same hill. These included small cairns or clearance heaps, a number of burials (both crouched and extended human remains in cists), a stone cirlce, and what may have been a souterrain. At least some of these may have been contemporary with the incised slab, which was found in what was described as a “paved structure”.

Found at a depth of 6 feet, before 1840. It was complete when found, but by 1844 it had been trimmed and was used as a paving slab for a byre. The stone was subsequently moved to Cransmill, near Tap’O’Noth, before being donated to the National Trust for Scotland at leith Hall, where

NTS map of Leith Hall Garden detail

NTS description of the garden :

Catmint Border: snaking over 96 m this is the only catmint border in Scotland.
Rock Garden : built in the 1920s, the rock garden has undergone various phases of re-development it featured in Country Life magazine in 1938.
Kitchen Garden: Here a wide range of modern and traditional vegetables are grown each year. Pear, apple, plum and peach trees are trained on the walls.
Moon Gate: built around 1800 the oriental-inspired moon gate (a circular opening in a garden wall) is the most iconic feature of the garden and one of the most distinctive in Britain.
Stables: The 1758 survey shows two semi-circular stable buildings, but only one was actually built. The original 19th century stalls survive inside.

People have enjoyed the beautiful gardens here since the 1750s. it would have looked quite different then – a 1758 survey shows a much smaller formal garden around the house which was used for growing fruit and vegetables for the family. The garden as we see it today is thought to have been created in the early 1800s. Over the centuries successive lairds developed and enlarged it. During World War II the east garden was turne over to provide a market garden for the war effort and little remains of its original form.

Today the garden stretches over 2.4 ha (6 acres) on a south-facing slope surrounded by dense woodland. This provides an ideal opportunity to grow a range of different plants from around the world, as well as a beautiful location for a unique garden in the care of the National trust for Scotland.

(NTS Leith Hall Garden information board)

Catmint and herbaceous Border

“The garden is probably best known for its zigzag herbaceous border running up the steep hill, featureing Filipendula, Campanula, Echinops and other vigorous favourites , and opposite, along the garden wall, the two signature beds of catmint Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant'” (Scotland for Gardeners – Kenneth Cox)

Look ! There is another stone guardian on the wall, watching over the garden!

There are so many treasures in this garden, it’s an enchantment at every turn… flowers everywhere with pearls of dew on the petals making them sparkle like jewels…

and of course there are roses… many species of roses here and there in the garden…

Rock Garden

One of the most interesting features of Heith Hall Garden is certainly its rock-garden. It has undergone a number of changes since its creation. The work of the NTS in restoring the garden has been truly remarkable.

” Although the original garden was lost, many of its large rocks were still on site. Our gardeners were able to identify them from photos, and put them back in their former location.” (NTS)

We took our pictures of the rock garden during our second visit to Leith Hall, in May 2015. How I would like to re-visit it later in the season, in summer and why not in autumn and winter…

In August 2007, when we discovered Heith Hall Garden it had not yet been restored.

Henrietta and Charles Leith-Hay

“Leith Hall’s rock garden was once the garden’s most striking an unique feature. Now the NTS Gardens Team have re-created this lost part of Leith Hall’s heritage. This was a part of the garden where Charles Leith-Hay was able to express himself – in the hard edges and bold rock falls inspired by the Argyll and Bute landscape. It stood out from his wife Henrietta’s softer, more ‘feminine’ plantings in the wider garden”. (NTS)

“Although there has been a garden at this historic house since 1750, the last Laird of Leith Hall, Charles Leith-Hay, and his wife Henrietta were responsible for much of the present lay-out of the garden in Edwardian times. The essence of their arts and crafts design of the west garden is conserved to this day with modern planting that recreates the spirit of the original.” (The Herald)

Leith Hall Garden map – NTS information board

The above illustrated map which was situated on a wooden information board at the entrance of the garden is very useful to help us situate the main features of Leith Hall Garden:

Zig-Zag Herbaceous Border (1)
Catmint border (2)
Rock Garden (3)
Moon Gate (4)
Rose Garden (5)
Grass Spiral (6)
Hawthorn Avenue (7)
Kitchen Garden (8)
Arbour Garden (9)
Rose Catenary (10)
Pictish Stones (11)

The so-called Chinese Moon Gate is a beautiful architectural feature of Heith Hall Garden. Set into the north wall of the East Garden the circular wrought iron gate is 2.45 m in diameter.

A few moss-covered steps lead to the wrought iron gate which opens onto an old turnpike road but it seems that nowadays this gate is more a decorative than a functional feature of the garden. Indeed, the other side of the gate looks to be overgrown, partly with rhododendron Ponticum. This gate certainly adds an original touch to the garden but it must be at its best in summer when the place is in full bloom. Big metal urns – alas without flowers when we took this picture – decorate the granite pillars which end the parapet walls, on either side of the steps.

Here, one can see the promise of a harvest of delicious vegetables grown by a team of passionate gardeners… salads, cabbages and nasturtium flowers to combat aphids and diseases…

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Scotland for Gardeners

Scotland for Gardeners Kenneth Cox – Birlinn 2009

This book is one of my favourite books about the gardens of Scotland. A true bible for gardeners. My edition is an old one but it’s very useful anyway. The life of Kenneth Cox, or should I say of the Cox family, is fascinating.

Kenneth Cox is a renowned plant-hunter and writer who has led many expeditions to Tibet and India, discovering and introducing new rhododendron species. He also owns and runs the Cox family garden centre and nursery of Glendoick in Perthshire where he has created many popular rhodendron and azalea hybrids. He is the author of Garden plants for Scotland as well as eight books on rhododendrons and plant-hunting.

Ray Cox is a professional garden and plant photographer. His work has been published in a wide range of magazines, newspapers, books, websites, calendars and greeting cards in the UK, Europe, US and Asia.

Castle Kennedy Gardens rhododendrons © 2004 Scotiana

The sight of rhododendrons in flower in Scotland is absolutely magnificent and we took many pictures of them in the parks of castles (Scone Palace, Kennedy Castle, Brodick Castle…). I don’t remember seeing any rhododendrons in the gardens at Leith Hall though there must be a few species there…

We often marvelled at the sight of entire hills covered in rhododendrons as we drove along Scottish roads. Lovely as they are, however, with their beautiful violet-purple colour covering large areas of the countryside, the Rhododendron Ponticum is no longer welcome in Scotland (and elsewhere) for it is considered as an invasive species threatening biodiversity. A very detailed NTS article explains why.

I find it hard to leave this marvellous romantic garden and I linger a long time before setting off again, to trying to imagine what it could be like in a month’s time and admiring the beautiful landscape with its hills in the distance. There would be so much more to say about this garden, it’s a garden to visit in every season.

I can only dream of what the garden looks like in autumn and winter though I’ve just found a wonderful video showing how beautiful the garden looks in the snow!

Jamais deux sans trois ! I can’t wait to go back to Leith Hall Garden for a 3rd time. And we’ve yet to visit the castle, of which we’ve only been able to see the outside so far.

Indeed, guess what! Huntly castle is famous for its ghosts and I do love ghost stories, fictional or not 😉

By the way… WHERE are the Mascots ?!!

Ah, here they are! Our teddy bear mascots do love getting lost in the garden, they love the place so much … the stone guardians and the wolf design especially! 😉

Hoping that I have given you the desire to discover this magnificent garden I look forward to seeing you soon for a new great Scottish discovery.

Bonne lecture !

Á bientôt.

Mairiuna

Scotiana

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