Starting from almost nothing in 1985, the
garden has been transformed
with a huge quantity of alpines and a large variety of bushes,
small trees,
bulbs & herbaceous plants. In about January 1985 a major
localised storm blew down the mature trees around Auchendean,
leaving the grounds in a particularly bad state. Locals
tell us it wasn't possible to see the Auchendean from the
road before the storm, and we have just seen - for the first
time - a picture that shows how it was ... (see above left).
Many trees in Curr Wood behind Auchendean were also felled,
which has since caused much regeneration, with rowan and
birch, but also the odd larch and Scots pine.
We have carefully made sheltered areas within the garden
so that plants without much wind resilience are happy, but
consideration has also been made to leave the views as open
as possible. Above all this, a frost tolerance down to -25oC
had to be taken into account - and as we have reached that
sort of temperature twice in the 15 years we have been here,
that was just as well! |
