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WINTER: December–February

See the winter garden on our walk through the seasons. Many winter-flowering shrubs flower at this time, including Viburnum, witch hazel, Sarcococca, etc. Many trees and shrubs are grown for their winter bark display including birches, willows, dogwoods, prunus, etc. In late winter the carpets of snowdrops bring great joy and are very popular for wedding photographs. Also, winter aconites and our first daffodils are open by the first days of January. Between Christmas and New Year there are usually over 40 different plants in bloom in the garden.

In January and February the foliage of the Bergenia collection is quite striking as many forms turn purple - beetroot at this time.

SPRING: March–May

Visit our spring garden on our walk through the seasons. Daffodils are in full season throughout the period; there are currently 600 different forms, with more on order. A wide range of other spring bulbs is also grown. Many trees and shrubs flower through this season, including rowans, cherries, magnolia, weigelia, etc. Also, catkins come out on many different willows and hazels.

Our raised beds have many plants for rock gardens, making a great show.

From early March many children are interested in one of our ponds, seeing frogspawn develop into tadpoles, then into frogs. In 2006 over 90 frogs were seen in the pond at spawning time.

The Garden is a National Trust for Scotland property. For more information including admission and opening hours please see the website.