Branklyn is a wee gem of of a garden. It's about 2 acres in size and situated on the outskirts of the city of Perth. It has a high perimeter wall which shields it from the noise of the busy main road nearby.
It's been a while since we visited and usually it's earlier in the year to see the meconopsis and other himalyan plants that the garden is famous for. But we had an unexpected spell of warm weather in Scotland (thank you Portugal and Spain) so an end of season garden visit was planned.
We got to Branklyn this year just as the autumn tidy up was under way. The garden closes in October. You could tell things were winding down. The reception was closed and an honesty box was in operation. The plant sales area looked a bit empty. Netting covered the pond and autumn leaves were being gathered.
You'll be glad to hear that there is no sound with this blog .Otherwise you would be hearing the whirr of hedge cutters. What a racket! And the quiet reflective mood of an autumnal visit was shattered. They obviously didn't know it was us or I'm sure they would have stopped immediately......
So the gentle meander up and down the paths with stops to admire the view and the plants turned into a bit more of a rush than it otherwise might have done.
But the garden was stunning in all it's autumn finery.
Branklyn was built by the Rentons who acquired the site and built a house and developed a garden between 1922 and 1966. After their deaths it was left in the care of the National Trust for Scotland.
It was no mean feat building this garden on a steep hill. Large stones and scree form the base of the scree garden and had to be bought to the site. The Rentons were also lucky enough to know many of the famouse Scottish Plant hunters and received seeds from their expeditions and consequently the gardens became known for several national collections including rhododendrons and meconopsis.
Although the autumn foliage takes centre stage at this time of year, there are still late flowering plants strutting their stuff. Seed heads and berries also make an impact.
An autumn themed hemerocallis
Kirengeshomaa palmata
Geranium
These last few plants are not all labelled. Can anyone help with the identification, especially of the hardy geranium?
Hello Janet, I dropped into Branklyn in September after a meeting in Perth. I thought I might do a post about it, but it wasn't as colourful as I had hoped. I had remembered there being lots of gentians...but either I was wrong, or else they have dug them all out (but lots of non-floppy willow gentians though!). You know they entirely re-built the rockery about five years ago?
ReplyDeleteI always find myself fractionally disappointed by the Branklyn underplanting. They seem to buy an awful lot of stuff in and than stick in in deep shade. I imagine they lose huge numbers of plants every year. But the basic structure is an inspiration - which is why I keep going back.
There was a rumour going about at one time that plants were removed from some of the Trust gardens. I can't remember if it was Branklyn or Arduine... There were a few gentians but my photos were out of focus..I have never been there in Autumn so I didn't really know what to expect. Peace and quiet would have been good..
ReplyDeleteVery pretty fall colors!
ReplyDeletePity about the noise spoiling your visit. Lovely (silent) pictures though. Could the Geranium possibly be 'Salome'. I have one in my garden and your pic looks very similar - quite a sprawling plant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments about the post.
ReplyDeleteEasy gardener you are right. It is "Salome". It's so pretty with the markings and the dark eye. Pity it sprawls so much...
From your photos it all looks so peaceful - such a shame for you they were hedge cutting, the autumn colours are really wonderful.
ReplyDeleteYour geranium looks like one of mine that I bought as Ann Folkard but it turned out to be procurens, spreading everywhere.
Your purple leaves with red stem look rather like Cornus alba Sibirica Westonbirt which we have up our drive.
Your last photo looks maybe as if it could be a variety of Viburnum opulus, hope this helps.
We have Ann Folkard and it's a much taller plant and more cerise coloured. It's so annoying to be sold something with the wrong label.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your help in identifying the plants, Pauline.
I see why you visit in the fall...lovely! The colors are so beautiful. Thanks for sharing this lovely place.
ReplyDeleteI love gardens that look like they've been carved out of woodland, when the woodland is the garden all along (if that makes sense). What a nuisance to be there on a noisy day, though--I can't think of a bigger irritant offhand. (But let me put my mind to it...) This is probably a silly question, but what are the leaves in the first close-up?
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm missing autumn colour! I've never been to that garden, shocking when I use to live 15 minutes from it! Gorgeous, glad you didn't bring the noise ith you!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you shared the beauty without the noise! Very nice!
ReplyDeleteA lot of nice color and texture there... beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos Janet, though it sounds as if the peacefulness they evoke on the blog post was not exactly your experience this time...
ReplyDeleteVery pretty and lovely colours. Can't believe its Fall and October already! This is a great time of year.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't seem like anyone makes quiet hedge cutters these days or uses hand shears (and why not?)so we had to put up with the noise pollution. Maybe I'm just getting more sensitive to these things...
ReplyDeleteStacy, the close-up is a very fine leaved acer.
Since I am Scottish your blog draws my attention to my disgraceful lack of garden visiting north of the border. I have only made it to Ed Botanic gardens. Could be the NY resolution.
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine, there are some great gardens here but it's difficult to get to them if you're "sooth". I have a yen to go back to the Eden project (and Heligan) which we visited when I first opened. But Cornwall is sooooo far away.
ReplyDeleteI think your second last photo is of Cornus alba 'Sibirica', as it looks exactly like mine, at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteMy garden, The Rowans, is a few miles up the road from Branklyn, and was a friendly rival back in the day. I am trying to get my blog fixed up on blotanical (without success so far, for some reason I don't understand), so you may see something of it one day.
Thanks for that Edward. My cornus alba doesn't look like that at all but it hasn't been pruned back hard (yet).
ReplyDeleteDo you open the Rowans" to the public?
As for Blotanical it can be the most irritating site but it is great for meeting other gardeners online or sometimes even in person.
Beautiful photos, Janet - I'm so glad they don't come with sound though! I love that Hemerocallis, such a gorgeous colour.
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