Benmore Botanic Garden
Encyclopedia
Dunoon
Dunoon is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.-Waterfront:...
and Loch Eck
Loch Eck
Loch Eck is a loch located on the Cowal peninsula, north of Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is seven miles long. Apart from Loch Lomond, it is the only naturally occurring habitat of the powan.-External links:*...
, in Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It features a large square walled gardens, a waterfall, the remains of a fernery, ponds and walks up the hillside to where you can look out across the Holy Loch
Holy Loch
The Holy Loch is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Robertson's Yard at Sandbank, a village on the loch, was a major wooden boat building company in the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
. A cafe can be found at the entrance as well as a shop.
Benmore features many magnificent trees some of which are over 150 years old. On first entering the garden you are greeted by an imposing avenue of Giant Sequoias (Sequoiadendron
Sequoiadendron
Sequoiadendron giganteum is the sole living species in the genus Sequoiadendron, and one of three species of coniferous trees known as redwoods, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae, together with Sequoia sempervirens and...
giganteum) plus several Douglas-fir
Douglas-fir
Douglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia...
s (Pseudotsuga menziesii). The impressive avenue was planted in 1863 and several of the trees exceed 45 metres (147.6 ft) in height.
Benmore contains one of the finest collections of plants from Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
including numerous rhododendrons. Many of the garden's original plants were grown from seed collected by famous plantsmen such as Ernest Wilson
Ernest Henry Wilson
Ernest Henry "Chinese" Wilson , better known as E. H. Wilson, was a notable English plant collector who introduced a large range of about 2000 of Asian plant species to the West; some sixty bear his name.-Career:...
and David Douglas
David Douglas
David Douglas was a Scottish botanist. He worked as a gardener, and explored the Scottish Highlands, North America, and Hawaii, where he died.-Early life:...
from their travels to Asia and Pacific North America.
Some of these plant collectors were sponsored by the garden's original owners, the Younger family, who largely made their wealth from brewing.
The high rainfall and mild winters suit many of the more unusual species of rhododendrons, magnolias and nothofagus grown.
A river runs through the gardens from Loch Eck to the Holy Loch.
Benmore is a satellite garden under the management of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Originally founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies four sites across Scotland — Edinburgh,...
, as is its sister garden Logan Botanic Garden
Logan Botanic Garden
Logan Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located near Port Logan on the Rhins of Galloway, the south-western tip of Scotland.The area has a mild climate, due to the influence of the North Atlantic drift. This enables plants which would not normally survive outdoors in Scotland to flourish. There...
.