Pair of slippers

Today's the day …………………….. to rescue

A visit today to the garden at 'Cally Palace' , Gatehouse of Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire.

The Nursery and Gardens that you can visit today were built 1765-1770 as the walled kitchen garden for Cally House.  It is a large area - over a  hectare in size - enclosed by brick walls up to 15ft in height.  In its heyday, it would have been a magnificently productive garden with many plants obtained from specialists, here or abroad, or by exchange with other collectors. 

The following is an extract from Robert Heron’s ‘Observations made in a Journey through the Western Counties of Scotland’ written in 1793 describing the gardens: 
“No expense has been spared to accommodate the gardens to the stately elegance of the house, and to the dignity and fortune of the proprietor. They contain greenhouses and hothouses, with all that variety of foreign herbs and fruits, which, in our climate, it is necessary to cherish; an abundance of all the riches of the orchard, all the beauties of the parterre and all the useful plenty of the kitchen garden.”

Unfortunately, after a long period of neglect, they fell into rather a dilapidated state.  Happily, just over a year ago they were bought by a new owner - and he has already started to bring the nursery and gardens back to life again.  There are many wonderful plants in there still, waiting to be rescued - and it will be fascinating to watch it all progressing ……………….