Arduaine Garden
Arduaine, Oban PA34 4XQ
‘Arduaine’ translated from Gaelic as ‘greenpoint’ is located on the south facing slope of a headland, with Loch Melfort Hotel to the north and Asknish Bay to the south, close to the small village of Arduaine. The site extends to 8.067 hectares.
The garden was first designed and laid out by James Arthur Campbell having previously built Arduaine House, which later became the Loch Melfort Hotel. The first iteration of the garden was built between 1897-1929 and saw the lower garden and woodland garden designed and planted. The plant collection featured exotics from around the world, mainly rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias.
The succeeding Campbell family opened the garden to the public, maintained the site and added some new plants through their plant hunting connections until 1971. After this, the Wright Brothers (1971-1992) continued the rhododendron interest from that point adding to the collection, creating the experimental cliff garden.
In 1992, the National Trust for Scotland took over the garden and the plant collection has continued to develop to now represent over 95 geographical regions of the world. Today’s plant collection has many exotics that have no earthly business growing in the salty coastal fringes such as the Himalayan Magnolia ‘Campbellii’ (opposite), the Chilean climbing plant Asteranthera ovata and the ironwood tree Parrotia persica which is native to the mountains of Iran and Azerbaijan.
The three main components of the designed landscape – lower garden, woodland garden and cliff garden – are enclosed and protected from the Atlantic gales by the landform, woodland and coastal shrub shelterbelts. The lower garden has a more open feel with formal lawns, ponds and a glasshouse. There are filtered vistas out through the shelterbelts that reveal themselves when emerging through the woodland, culminating in tremendous views of the Sound of Jura to the south that are truly breathtaking.
Website: www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/arduaine-garden and www.arduainegarden.org
Telephone: 01852 200366
Opening times: 09.00-17.00
Admission costs: Adult £7.50, Family £18.50, One adult family, £12.50 Concession £5.50
Garden of the Week is in association with Discover Scottish Gardens. For more information, advice and day-out ideas, visit discoverscottishgardens.org
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