Visit to Holmes Farm Garden

Evening Everyone

Yesterday, I said that if the rain held off we would be visiting one of Scotland's Open Gardens. It rained in the morning, poured in fact, but the afternoon was brighter so we decided to chance it and drive up to Drybridge, North Ayrshire, to visit the garden at Holmes Farm.

It's a lovely garden in a beautiful countryside location. A plantsman's garden, it's been created by a confirmed plantaholic. It consists of meandering paths that lead you through bed after bed of mainly herbaceous perennials, shrubs and small trees. On entry, these stunning seed pods on a red acer caught my eye, and that was only the beginning.

The garden is well stocked with many varieties of hardy geraniums, thalictrum, irises, centaura, hostas, sambuca, acers and much more. I was looking for ideas of what plants would look good growing together and wasn't disappointed. Though, much as I loved the beautiful partnering of sambucus nigra and an acid green hosta, I won't be attempting to copy that in my garden ... too many slugs and snails to even think about it.

There are some 400 iris at their peak right now, both interspersed throughout the herbaceous beds and in this area, left photograph above, which was dedicated to nothing but iris - with a fabulous backdrop of mixed clematis. A family of twiggy deer gaze over at the iris from the lawn in front.

Some plant collections are grown permanently in polytunnels. They clearly love it there - even the diascia is enormous!

These two fabulous honeysuckles were growing just outside the polytunnels ... the perfume was just divine.

I particularly loved this delicately leaved, double flowered thalictrum ... it's one that I definitely plan to grow down in the wooded area.

And finally, two more plants that really caught my eye, a deep pink bistort and what I think might be called the handkerchief tree - stunning!

Fortunately, there's a nursery at the farm, with a large stock of plants, including many of the irises, hardy geraniums and thalictrums that are now on my wish list :)  I don't think it will be too long before I'll be paying another visit.

This is just a small selection of the photos taken and it wasn't easy deciding which to show and which to leave out - the plants are all so photogenic :) But I hope you enjoyed the ones I chose.

Take care,