 |
| Dawyck Botanic Garden, Peebles, Scottish Borders : May. During the past 300 years, the families of Veitch, Naesmyth and Balfour,have left their mark on this landscape. In the 18th and19th centuries,funding of plant hunting expeditions to North America and Asia brought many new and interesting specimens to Dawyck. In 1979 the arboretum was gifted to the Royal Botanic Edinburgh by the Balfour family. Planting has been ongoing in this arboretum since the 17th century. The first horse chestnuts in Scotland were introduced by the Veitch family in 1650. The oldest tree in the garden is a European silver fir planted in 1680. The first larch is said to have been planted when the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus visited in 1725. Since then the hillside has been covered with mixed woodland: limes ,beeches, and conifers from around the world. |
 |
| View of Dawyck House from the Beech Walk |
 |
| New planting is essential to preserve the tradition of discovery and to expand the collection for education and conservation. Young seedlings are planted each year to maintain the canopy for the future and increase the plant collection . |
 |
| A closer view of the house with the River Tweed running behind. Dawyck House is still in private ownership and is not open to the public. The present building ,designed in the Dutch style by architect William Burn ,was constructed around 1835 after a fire destroyed the previous building. The older Dawyck Castle may have stood here as early as the 12th century when the Veitch family owned the land.As feuding among landed families was common at that time,the building was likely to have been a fortified tower built for protection. The name Dawyck means ox gates. |
 |
| The house with commercial conifer plantation in the distance. |
 |
| Around the time that the present house was built,Sir John Naesmyth employed Italian craftsmen to construct stone urns,steps and balastrades around the gardens. |
 |
| Ornamental urn. |
 |
| Blue Himalayan poppies thrive in the cool acid conditions of the garden. Since ownership of the Dawyck arboretum was transferred to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh,it's plant collection has taken on new significance. Dawyck is now part of an international network committed to plant conservation.Exploration and plant collecting continues today but conservation is now the driving force with botanists from around the world working together to document and conserve the world's plant life. |
18 comments:
Blue poppies! What a glorious house and history in a lovely setting.
Those poppies are absolutely gorgeous, they are nearly as blue and gentians. What lovely photos.
sorry meant "as blue as gentians"
Hello! what a lovely blog, gorgeous photos of Dawyck. A friend recently had an exhibition there of work using materials and ideas of the place.. i did not get to see it unfortunately.
love T
Oh my! What a gorgeous place. I could easily take up residence in the woods there! :)
I always love visiting your blog, so many beautiful things to see and read.
All exquisite, but that view of the moss-covered stone wall with large finials and the rolling lawn beyond the steps is stunning! I have never seen blue poppies!
Bises,
Genie
Good morning Ruby!
Wow, your photos surprized me!
The green leaves, Dawyck house and the old urn are stunning!!It is surprising to learn that old and beautiful Dawyck House is still in private ownership. I wish I could walk in the Botanic garden with you! I have never seen blue poppies. Thank you for sharing your walk,Ruby!
Tomoko.
Fresh and balmy air is wafting from your photos. I’ll never tired of strolling around in such lovely gardens and woods of Dawyck. Various different species of trees from around the world stand in harmony, and with the fact that new seedlings are planted every year, I think they are standing into eternity. Actually miscellaneous woods are sustainable.
My favorite color is blue, and Himalayan poppies, which I’m seeing for the first time, are special to me. The fields of them are just beautiful. Thank you for sharing, Ruby.
It seems to me Dawyck house and its surroundings is associated with the estates in the novel "Pride and Prejudice".
The blue flower bed in the photo is Himalayan poppies? I have never seen them but we have them here in Japan. "Celestial fairy" goes with the image of flowers exactly.
Best wishes,
cosmos
You have a very good blog.
I love very much your photos!
Besr regards from Barcelona.
Ruby,
Yes, this blog, your former blog and mine are connecting! I did not know about plant hunting. Your blog interested me very much this time also. I love serenity and tranquility in your photos. All are beautiful and soothing.
According to what I have read, J. Banks brought Hydrangea macropylla to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew of United Kingdom in 1789. He got Hydrangea macropylla through China. I think, because Japan had closed the country from 1639 to 1854. Exceptions were only Holland and China.
I love mixed woodland far more than wood plantation. Mixed forests are colorful and beautiful, but the plantations are so monotonous and boring. I am amazed with the beauty of Dawyck Botanic Garden in awe. In Japan, after World War Ⅱ, many natural forests were converted to commercial Japanese cedar and hinoki cypress plantations. Their pollens have caused hay fever every spring. I feel the subtle balance was a little bit broken in nature. I am one of suffers. Do you have such a problem in your country? I hope not. Sad to say, many of the plantations have seemed to be abandoned because they require a lot of labor and the cost is high. Imported lumber is cheeper than them.
Ruby, have a nice day.
Best wishes, Keiko
An enchanted and enchanting forest with a fairy tale-like castle in its midst! What a magic place. I love the blue of those Himalayan poppies! I would not normally associate "blue" with "poppy": more enchantment!
Thanks for these tours of Dawyck, the history and your beautiful photos. I so love seeing how you transform your inspiration through your work. Thanks for sharing what creates the impulse.
This makes me want to return to Scotland and see some of the wonderful gardens there. They are so different from most English ones even though they are not really so far away.
Keiko,I think it's difficult to find the possible source of this problem,my feeling is that agricultural chemicals which became widely used post-war may be partly responsible for this.Here,forests disappeared hundreds of years ago,the wood being used to make war ships.Although there are a few areas of ancient woodland to be found today,most new planting is of commercial conifers.Hopefully things will change as we become aware of the importance of planting mixed woodlands.
Thank you for your lovely comments.
Enjoy your week!
Ruby
Thank you, Ruby.
moreover, mixed woodlands are the home of many lives, animals, birds, insects and more.
I agree with you.
It's a real fairy-tale!
Post a Comment