Threave Gardens

http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/designations

Location and Setting

Threave Gardens are situated 2 miles (3km) south-west of Castle Douglas off the A75, overlooking the valley of the River Dee. The gardens are surrounded by agricultural land beyond which, to the north and west, rise the hills of the Laurieston Forests. To the south-east are the hills of Screel and Bengairn. The gardens lie on the west-facing slope of the local landmark called Kelton Hill and, although there are natural outcrops of rock, the soil is heavy with high silt content. Long views north and south along the valley of the River Dee can be gained from within the gardens. The mature tree canopy of the woodland gives Threave Gardens some significance in the surrounding landscape.

Threave House stands within some 104 acres (42ha) of designed landscape which lies on the western shoulder of Kelton Hill. The Old Military Road between Kirkland and Kelton Hill Farm forms the north-western boundary of the site. Documentary evidence of the development of the designed landscape is provided by the 2nd edition OS map of c.1900 and the modern edition. Reference to the former indicates that the designed landscape extended from its present boundary in the north-west to the Church and mausoleum on the minor road which runs almost due north/south between Threave and the village of Gelston. The acreage which can be considered as the designed landscape today is somewhat smaller than this, extending only as far south as Keltonhill Wood and east from it to the minor road linking Threave with Gelston.

Landscape Components

Architectural Features

Threave House, listed category C, was designed by Peddie and Kinnear in 1872 and now houses the National Trust for Scotland's school of gardening. The Walled Garden and stable-block were probably built at the same time as the house. Several cottages were built in the 1960s for the school's staff. The Visitor Centre was built in 1975. The Japanese lantern came originally from Inveresk House.

Parkland

The majority of the parkland has been converted into part of the garden but there is a small section to the south of the entrance drive shelterbelt which contains two clumps of trees, mainly hardwoods of about 100 years old.

Woodland

Kelton Wood is made up of an outer ring of hardwoods planted in c.1870 of mainly beech, oak and ash; the central core is predominantly softwood, larch and spruce, planted in 1973.

The Gardens

The gardens were created on the south-west facing parkland and there are still one or two large clumps of beech providing structure for the new planting. There are fourteen different areas described in the guidebook and the majority have been planted up since 1960 as demonstration borders for the students. They include a rose garden, woodland garden, patio nursery, peat garden, rock garden, vegetable garden, walled garden and greenhouses, pond and water garden, dwarf conifers, secret garden, herbaceous borders, arboretum, heather garden, orchard, crab-apple and cherry collection and bog garden. The Gordons naturalised many thousands of daffodils and many of the older varieties still flower in the open lawns.

The designs of the gardens have evolved from the semi-natural woodland garden style to the more sinuous open glades made from lawns in which the plants are grouped together in irregular and flowing shaped beds. This style of gardening is typical of the 1960-70s. In every section of the garden the widest range of plants has been used and Threave contains the National Collection of Penstemons as well as a particularly fine collection of alders and Narcissus. When Alan Mitchell measured the trees in 1984 he included over 165 different specimens. The gardens are well described in the guidebook and in two articles in Country Life. Plants for sale at the Visitor Centre and at other NTS properties are raised in both the walled garden and the forestry nursery.