Brodick Castle Gardens
The National Trust for Scotland is updating the formal and walled gardens at Brodick Castle, including wonders like the Bavarian Summerhouse and new sculpture for the middle lawn space overlooking the Firth of Clyde.
The grounds at Brodick Castle were formalized in the 18th century when the castle moved away from its role as a military fortress and toward a new life as a comfortable residence for the Hamilton family. It is rare to find an original walled garden located so close to a house, but when Princess Marie of Baden reworked the gardens in 1843, she decided to retain the original and commission the building of an additional one. Today Brodick marries the traditional walled garden experience and the princess’s Victorian pleasure garden, highlighting and respecting each landscapes heritage, including the stories behind each plant and flower, and increasing accessibility for visitors.
As a nod to the garden’s productive past, the National Trust for Scotland plans to plant a small orchard of fruit trees and install two new sculptures to provide a focal point and much needed height in the middle lawn space. The proposed sculptures, carved from wood, will be based on two items within the Brodick Castle collections. This year’s project also includes the installation of curved seating designed for the beautiful sundial space and renovations to the border on the northeast side of the Walled Garden. We also plan to restore Princess Marie’s unusual Bavarian Summerhouse and replace the deteriorated Walled Garden Summerhouse with a Victorian-style replica of one of the five summerhouses originally installed in the garden in the 1840s.
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The National Trust for Scotland tends and manages 38 important gardens and designed landscapes – and when you visit, you’ll enjoy all manner of incredible sights and smells, as well as discover the stories of some of Scotland’s most tenacious plant hunters and trailblazers. Our current garden initiatives range from restoring historic gardens to training the next generation of heritage gardeners. Contact Kirstin Bridier at kbridier@ntsusa.org to learn more about all our current projects that are helping to preserve Scotland’s rich heritage gardening legacy.