Inverewe : The Glory of the Garden
Inverewe is the most amazing garden in the most unlikely location. At almost 58° north, the same latitude as St. Petersburg and Labrador, on the wind-blasted west coast of northern Scotland, it hosts an astounding variety of plants from around the world.
The Inverewe ‘policies’ were purchased in 1862 and 1863 by the Dowager Lady Mary Mackenzie for her only son, Osgood. Over the next sixty years he defied climate, salt-soused bluffs and braes and accepted wisdom. His daughter, Mairi, inherited both his estate and his audacity to extend and develop the collections.
The Inverewe ‘policies’ were purchased in 1862 and 1863 by the Dowager Lady Mary Mackenzie for her only son, Osgood. Over the next sixty years he defied climate, salt-soused bluffs and braes and accepted wisdom. His daughter, Mairi, inherited both his estate and his audacity to extend and develop the collections.
Since her death in 1953 the NTS ‘guardians’ of Inverewe have accepted the challenge of preserving its unique character, continuing to push the horticultural boundaries. The grove of Wollemi pines, planted in ‘Bambooselem’ in 2009, is evidence. These trees were thought to have become extinct in the age of the dinosaurs and were known only from fossil records until discovered by chance in the depths of the Wollemi Gorge in New South Wales, Australia in 1994. To the relief of all, they have survived the two recent harsh winters.
