Abstract
The 2.02 ha site containing the Category B listed Walled Garden at Benmore is currently the subject of a major redesign proposal and active fundraising programme. The purpose of this article is to raise the profile of the project by investigating and highlighting the historical development of the site. This retrospective study is also intended as a support to contemporary redevelopment plans and as a demonstration of how the past underpins and informs the future.I am frankly and absolutely for a formal garden … It is a small piece of ground enclosed by walls … There is not the least attempt to imitate natural scenery (Phillpotts, 1906, p. 54).
Highlights
Benmore Botanic Garden is located on the Cowal peninsula within the district of Argyll and Bute on the west coast of Scotland
The following extract from The Scottish Gardener and Northern Fruitgrower recounts an excursion to Benmore made by the Glasgow and West of Scotland Horticultural Society in June 1924. It provides a snapshot of the Benmore Walled Garden and an appropriate conclusion to the patronage of the Younger family: Inside the walled enclosure everything is done in the best style, all crops showing the art of the masterhand and all being in a high state of excellence
A 1932 article published in the Journal of the Forestry Commission provides a further description of the Walled Garden shortly after the implementation of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) prescriptive management strategy: Near the pond is one of the garden gates by which we can enter and pass to the centre walk between fine yew hedges
Summary
Benmore Botanic Garden is located on the Cowal peninsula within the district of Argyll and Bute on the west coast of Scotland. The 48.5 ha policies surrounding Benmore House have benefited from almost 200 years of tree and other ornamental planting. Successive generations of private landowners invested heavily to improve the appearance and productivity of the estate. The documented involvement of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) at Benmore commenced in 1925 (Anon., 1925b). The development and history of Benmore has been chronicled extensively (Bown, 1992). This article reviews almost exclusively the timeline regarding the origins and various adaptations of the late 19th-century Walled Garden located towards the northern extremity of the site
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
