Walled garden project
Visit the Walled garden project gallery
We have ambitious plans for this amazing space. At over eight acres, the walled garden at Gordon Castle is one of the largest in the country. In its heyday in the Victorian and Edwardian eras it provided an abundance of fruit, vegetables, cut flowers and herbs for the Castle and Estate. After a period as a commercial soft fruit farm in the latter half of the twentieth century where in its best years over fifty tons of fruit was grown, it became uneconomic and has since been kept on a low maintenance programme.
It has been kept weed free and the two hundred and forty nine espaliered apple, plum, pear, peach, apricot, nectarine and fig trees around the walls have been well kept. The plums include the famous Gordon Castle plum, a hardy sweet desert plum, developed here over a century ago. Many of the fruit trees are hundreds of years old. The buildings however, have fallen into disrepair and the aim now is to restore both the buildings and garden to something approaching its former glory, or even to surpass it.
Moray Council has recently granted planning permission for the plans for the garden, designed by multi award-winning garden designer Arne Maynard. This journey of restoration is a long-term commitment to the area which will help raise the profile of Moray to tourists. An exclusive line of Gordon Castle luxury products, all containing something grown at Gordon Castle, is also being developed. These products will range from cut flowers, and herbs to beauty and care products, from jams and chutney to cider and fruit infused spirits, from exclusive and unique giftware to estate crafted wood. We will even have cashmere brushed by teasels grown in the garden. There will also be a café serving delicious home cooked food using produce from the garden, a shop selling the unique and exclusive Gordon Castle Scotland products and a centre for artisans to make unique and beautiful items.
The gates of the new garden are unlikely to be opened for some time but work has begun on a café and gift shop and in-house carpenters are restoring the original greenhouse.
Recent press coverage includes
The-Pleasaunce-The-Garden-History-Society-Issue-2-April-2013.pdf
Gordon Castle Walled Gardens and Its Environs by Christopher Dingwall (download as pdf document)
Gallery
Please click on an image to see a large version.
