In 1919 Euan Cox returned home from Burma, where he had been on an expedition with celebrated plant hunter Reginald Farrer, and began to transform the grounds of Glendoick House near Perth with Himalayan plants.
It was an inspired move in a south-facing, hillside setting and the gardens, created from the seeds of rhododendrons, conifers, perennials and bulbs that he had brought back with him, began to flourish.
Today Glendoick is one of this country’s most celebrated woodland gardens, home to an incredible range of rare species and hybrid rhododendrons.
This year, to mark their centenary, Kenneth Cox, grandson of Euan Cox, will be leading tours around the five acres of gardens and the adjoining nursery, where three generations of the Cox family have bred rhododendrons and azaleas that have become famous around the world.
So what is there to see? Well the garden is divided into several different areas, each of them with their own distinct character, but throughout the gardens there are rare species rhododendrons, grown from seed collected by Ken, his father Peter and grandfather Euan, on expeditions to remote locations including China,India, Tibet and Nepal.
The Den
This is the heart of the garden. It is set either side of a fast-flowing burn, which tumbles down a series of waterfalls. In spring, when clothed in rhododendrons and camellias, it resembles a small slice of the Himalayas.
The Larches
The collection of Rhododendron pachysanthum from Taiwan which grow here are the parents of thousands of plants which have been sent all over the world. A new feature is the rhododendron log, the large trunk of a felled sycamore, with beds of epiphytic rhododendrons constructed around it. The chocolate-scented shrub which in April produces highly fragrant tiny yellow flowers is the Chilean evergreen, Azara microphylla.
East Burn
Some fine old plants grow here including a large Camellia ‘Cornish Snow’ and Rhododendron yunnanense. The weeping conifer, Juniperus recurva var. coxii was collected in Burma by Euan Cox in 1919 and the Rhododendron ochraceum was introduced to cultivation for the first time by Ken’s father, Peter, in 1995.
Ruined Mill
Tender plants are grown in and around the mill including Rhododendron facetum, R. grande, R. griffithianum and many Maddenia species.
West Burn
Across the two bridges on the west side of the burn are some significant old Glendoick plants such as Berberis coxii. The Rhododendron sutchuenense Wilson Collection was one of the first plants in the garden, planted by Euan Cox in the 1920s. It has large pink flowers and handsome foliage.
Centre
Some of the rhododendrons in this part of the garden date back to the 1920s.The deciduous azaleas, ‘Ben Cruachan', 'Ben Lawers', 'Ben Lomond', 'Ben Vorlich' & 'Ben Vrackie' form the Scottish Mountain Series, which was bred at Glendoick.
The Far End
Growing here is a collection hybrid rhododendrons many of which are new Glendoick hybrids that are being tested or propagated for sale. On the south side of the road, the E.H.M. Cox Arboretum contains a fine collection of Sorbus and other trees.
The 18th Century Walled Garden
Inside the walled garden are greenhouses and tunnels where young plants are grown for their first year. Lined out in the upper part of the garden are the test beds for new hybrids. Only the very best are selected for further evaluation: most will be sold as seedlings or destroyed. It takes at least 10 years before anything is named.
Glendoick House
Growing next to the house is one of the world’s most complete collections of dwarf and alpine rhododendrons interplanted with perennials and bulbous plants.
Evergreen azalea border
These mixed borders feature the ‘Mammal Series’ of evergreen azaleas bred at Glendoick including ‘Panda’, ‘Squirrel’ and ‘Wombat’. The lower part of the bed also contains many cultivars of Kalmia latifolia, which flower in June and July.
Deciduous azaleas
Both species and hybrid azaleas provide an extravagant late spring display from May until July alongside the drive. Many of the paler varieties are sweetly scented. In front of the mansion house is a collection of species azaleas from north America including many forms of R. occidentale from California and Oregon.
Reservoir Beds
These beds contain Rhododendron hybrids planted in the early 1900s , combined with some more recently named hybrids and one or two which are still being tested. They provide spectacular colour in May and early June.
Trees
Glendoick has 13 UK Champion Trees and 29 Scottish Champions, including a Tetradium daniellii (Euodia hupehensis), which at 23m tall and with a girth of 158cm, is believed to be the largest in cultivation. The Yunnan lilac (Syringa yunnanensis) and the Persian holly (Ilex spinigera (R. Lancaster) are both the tallest of their kind anywhere in the UK. And Glendoick is also home to four giant redwood trees, grown from seed in the 19th century. Their thick, spongey trunks are nature’s way of making the trees fire resistant.
New Plants
To mark the centenary, a new collection of rhododendrons and azaleas will be launched at Gardening Scotland 2019. These willl include: ‘Glendoick Chiffon’, a double white evergreen azalea; ‘Glendoick Candyfloss’ a bright pink double azalea and ‘Tricia Cox’, a dwarf rhododendron named after Kenneth’s mother.
Garden Notebook
Glendoick Gardens and Nursery
Glendoick, Perth PH2 7NS
www.glendoick.com
Tel: 01738 860260
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