Scotland’s RHS Partner Garden Winner 2022
We are delighted to announce that Dunvegan Castle & Gardens has been voted Scotland’s RHS Partner Garden Winner 2022.
This award is recognition of the sizeable investment, hard work and passion that has been bestowed on Dunvegan Castle’s 5 acres of formal and semi-formal gardens since 1978, when the late John MacLeod (29th Chief of Clan MacLeod) decided to follow the example of his ancestors who had tried to create a garden at Dunvegan. Since then, the present Chief and Estate Director, Hugh MacLeod, and his dedicated team of gardeners, continue to develop and enhance the castle gardens for the enjoyment of our visitors. There has been a significant amount of relandscaping work, planting schemes and new design features including a memorial gazebo, Victorian-style glasshouse, Garden Museum, extensive children’s wild wood play area featuring ‘The Bugvegan Insect Hotel’, and a 2.7 ton rotating marble sculpture we call ‘The Dunvegan Pebble’. The aim has been not only to restore the gardens to their former glory, but to exceed our visitors’ horticultural expectations, the success of which has been recognised by this RHS Partner Garden Scotland Award.
Hugh MacLeod said: “When I took over the management of Dunvegan Castle & Gardens in 2008, I did not know much about plants or flowers, but I did have a love of gardens and their design. My interest in landscaping and sight lines derive from my passion for film and photography. Working in collaboration with David MacLean (former Head Gardener) and Hamish Horsley (Sculptor), we designed and executed plans to improve the design and general layout of the Water, Rose and Walled gardens along with new and more accessible paths in the gardens. The extensive scope of works ranged from the replacement of poor design features with more sympathetic ornaments and built structures, to new herbaceous borders and planting schemes underpinned by a design aesthetic which more faithfully reflects what is essentially an early 18th century garden with some formal French influences. The aim was to make the new Waterlily Pond, Glass House, Garden Museum, Memorial Gazebo, Wild Wood Trail and other sculptural and design elements blend in seamlessly and feel like they have always been here. I have really enjoyed working with our fantastic team of gardeners and external contractors on all these major projects to produce the desired ‘wow’ factor, and to continue building on my late father’s legacy. Forty-four years of investment, effort, sympathetic yet innovative design work have made Dunvegan Castle’s gardens what they are today: a continually evolving and beautiful testament to the commitment, skill and vision of all the talented people involved over the decades. As any gardener will know, a garden does not stand still, and our future plans include improved accessibility, new paths and planting schemes, an annual sculpture exhibition, more interactive educational experiences for children, a wildflower meadow and enhanced visitor interpretation. We are proud to have proved the mother of the 23rd Chief wrong when she told Dr Samuel Johnson in 1773 that “there was not and never could be a good garden at Dunvegan.”
Head Gardener at Dunvegan Castle & Gardens, Úna Craven, said: “I am so pleased that our gardens have been recognised by the RHS as a Regional Winner. It is a testament to the hard work of the dedicated garden team. Gardening at Dunvegan Castle & Gardens brings an interesting and satisfying combination of challenges, be it the unpredictable Highland climate with it is high rainfall or the windy conditions and shallow soil; yet the team manage to maintain and enhance this beautiful garden oasis by combining bulbs, herbaceous perennials, shrubs and trees in a very special heritage setting. It is an honour to the receive this RHS award.”
Pictured at Dunvegan Castle & Gardens, Head Gardener Una Craven with the gardening team, Hugh MacLeod with former Head Gardener, David Maclean, and Hamish Horsley, sculptor. For more information about what has been achieved since 2008, please click here
