The magic of Stranraer’s Castle Kennedy is evident from the moment you drive through the entrance gates and see the White Loch, with Lochinch Castle, the family home of the Earl and Countess of Stair, in the background. The drive winds its way along the loch through the estate before reaching the humpback bridge across the canal that links the spring fed White Loch to the west with the peat bottomed Black Loch to the east.

To the right, the canal is lined with a row of exotic palm trees, while on the left it is backed by a magnificent stand of trees. Behind these trees are 75 acres of landscaped gardens sited on a peninsula sandwiched between the two lochs. Here are magnificent woodlands laid out with a network of drives, walks and formal gardens of lawns and terraces surrounded by rare and unusual plants.

These plants benefit from the warmth of the Gulf Stream, which envelops the southwest of Scotland. The ancestral home of the Earls of Stair, Castle Kennedy remains the central focal point around which the gardens have developed over the centuries. Recently a new chapter began when Jamie, the 14th Earl, married Emily two years ago. Their son Jack is now 14 months old. Emily, who is passionate about gardening, and whose former garden in London’s Shepherd’s Bush was ‘jam packed with plants,’ brings to Castle Kennedy her love of plants and team skills acquired during a successful career in marketing. ‘There are several of us involved here,’ she explains.

First is her mother-in-law, Davina, ‘who has already achieved so much with the garden. We are building on what is already here, drawing on her experience and knowledge.’ Another vital team member is Head Gardener John McArthur of that Ilk, who trained at Threave School of Pratical Gardening and who this year celebrates 20 years at Castle Kennedy. He has a staff of one plus part time help – 100 years ago the garden employed 30 full time gardeners.

Time for a history lesson

Jamie, who has always loved the garden, had many thoughts and dreams about what might be done but decided to wait until he married before renovating the house and starting work on the garden. The timing, he explains, is right: ‘The garden is mature and we are at the beginning of an exciting process of revitalisation.’ Exactly how this process will go forward is something the couple are exploring together, working side by side, sitting at large desks. ‘We have just embarked on a long distance learning course in horticulture at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh.’

The first step, they explain, involves looking at the historical overlay of the different layers that went into creating the gardens, parts of which were laid out by the 1st Earl of Stair in the early 17th century. He expanded the gardens round the ruins of Castle Kennedy after it was accidentally burnt down in 1716. ‘It will be fascinating to find out why he did this,’ says Emily, who spent much of her first year at Castle Kennedy walking round with her husband, trying to take everything in. ‘After all, they moved to a house on the west side of the White Loch. We are trying to work out why things were done in a certain way. Looking at things historically is important; what happens from there we don’t yet know, but it is a strong way to start.’

Step by step

The Boat House was recently rebuilt with help from Historic Scotland, but plans to restore the old walled kitchen garden are in the embryonic stage. Within the policies Jamie is keen to open up vistas and overgrown avenues and widen the views from the 2-acre round pond, which was almost certainly laid out when the land between the two lochs was drained in the 1800s. Trying to establish the chronological sequence for the layout of vistas and wide avenues is both interesting and fun. ‘You have to look around a bit before you work things out,’ Jamie says, adding that a piece of the puzzle recently fell into place when he discovered that the main vista from Lochinch Castle lines up with the drawing room window and not the library steps as one might expect.

Getting involved

Jamie’s grandfather, who established Scotland’s Garden Society, was fond of rhododendrons, and it is due to his foresight and planning that Castle Kennedy comes alive in the spring when the network of broad avenues lined with rhododendron hybrids are in flower. ‘But some of those rhododendrons have grown so large they tend to block views and destroy the flow of the garden,’ Jamie says. Deciding what and how to cull is something they will not undertake lightly. ‘Having something to do like this is wonderful and a challenge,’ says Emily, who recently established the now famous Snowdrop Safaris that take visitors on a tour round the garden and the loch.

She is keen to involve the local community in the garden as much as possible and is researching ways in which this might be done. Some people visit on a daily basis, she says, and there is a keen group of bird watchers who take advantage of the wildlife, including seven different kinds of geese. ‘The garden is home to so many people.’ There is a lot to learn and the couple are still discovering hidden, lost areas of the garden; last year they uncovered plantings of snowdrops and primroses in an old graveyard. ‘Gardening is a lifetime of learning and it takes time,’ Emily says. ‘Plants are dynamic, always moving and changing. It takes time to get the plans together and work out how you are going to do things. It is a vast project.’ But restoring this relatively unknown gem to its rightful place as one of Scotland’s foremost gardens is certain to be worthwhile.

fieldfacts

Castle Kennedy & Gardens are situated 4 miles east of Stranraer on the A75 Stranraer/Dumfries Road – signposted from both directions at Castle Kennedy village. www.castlekennedygardens.co.uk info@castlekennedygardens.co.uk

The gardens are open under Scotland’s Gardens Scheme on Sunday 11th May. They are open daily from the end of March until 30th September 10.00am to 5.00pm. Rest of the year by appointment Tel: 01776 702 024 Admission Adults £4, OAP’s £3, Children £1 Disabled free – season tickets and discounts for groups