Threave Garden and Estate is located in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland and is managed by National Trust for Scotland. It is the only garden in Scotland that is dedicated to training horticulturalists and is home to School of Heritage Gardening since 1960. The gardens are broken down into different smaller areas with different types of plant and different garden designs and styles. In addition to these unique gardens, there are excellent views from the top of the hill. Threave Garden and Estate is also noted for its variety of wildlife: red kites, peregrine falcons, red squirrels, and bats. Threave House is in the middle of the gardens, and it was built in the 1870s; the house can normally be visited, but it was shut due to lockdown. There is also a nature reserve and a castle nearby, but the castle was also shut due to the lockdown.
Before walking around the gardens, I went to the cafe for a drink. There are nice views of flower beds and hillside from the cafe at the visitor centre.
From the cafe and visitor centre, a walk down the hill leads to the main gardens with colourful flower beds and another cafe at the bottom of the hill. A large "90" is created here with views back up to the top of the visitor centre with the colourful bedding plants. The "90" is because the garden estate dates from 1931.
Visitors to Threave also wish to see the wildlife. Guided walks around Scotland's only bat reserve can be arranged at Threave with eight species of bat in residence here. There is a small "bat house" in the garden itself.
The Victorian walled garden at Threave is popular and produces fruit, vegetables, and cut flowers. The cafe uses some of the items farmed in the walled garden on its menu. The glasshouse has three rooms - cool house, temperate house, and a hot house. There is a pond inside one of them with koi carp.
The garden changes with the seasons, so there is always something new to see during a visit.
I spotted a small rock garden with a pond on the main trail.
The formal gardens were behind a hedgerow and had rows of trees and led to a small building at the end which overlooked pastures and hillside views.
There are views of the house with several colourful flower beds in front.
A small pond with a bridge over it was one of the entry points to the secret garden. I saw a couple of bright pink water lillies in bloom.
The secret garden is comprised of several pathways with different varieties of plants growing, creating a wandering and secluded space.
At the end of the secret garden is the garden of reflection. It has been created as a joint project between Scotland and America and contains natural plants that appear in both countries to create the focal point with a globe-shaped sculpture.
Colourful beds are to be found in front of Threave House with a rose garden immediately outside the house (up the stairs).
From here, the bath ascends the hillside where visitors can enjoy different species of tree in the arboretum. I saw a sculpture of a deer here, which fit right in.
At the top of the hill is the entrance to the woodland, and red squirrels can be found here.
At the end of my visit, the sun decided to make an appearance, brightening the flower beds even more. The gardens do look the best in the sun.
I would like to return to Threave Garden as soon as the remainder of the attractions are open, and seeing the garden at a different time in the year (except for winter) would be nice.
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