Boston Flora

Tag: Falkland Palace

  • Wednesday, June 28 – Thursday, July 6 – Highlights of Scotland

    Join the Friends of Powell Gardens, Kansas City’s botanical garden, and visit awe inspiring gardens of Scotland June 28 – July 6.  The tour is coordinated by Hidden Treasures Tours & Brightwater Holidays.  The complete itinerary may be found at http://hiddentreasurestours.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Scotland-2017.pdf.

    In Edinburgh you will stay at the Jurys Inn, and will visit the Royal Botanic Gardens, Holyrood Park, then on to Aberdeen and the garden at Pitmuies House and Brechin Castle. Continue north to Dunnotar Castle, Leith Hall House, Kildrummy Castle, and a private garden of Tillypronie.  Further destinations are Crathes Castle, the Explorer’s Garden, Drummond Castle, Branklyn Gardens (pictured below), Glendoick Garden Centre, and the Gardens of Falkland Palace.  You will also visit Crawick Multiverse and the Garden of Cosmic Speculation.  This is truly a splendid trip.  Prices are from $4,150 per person, air not included.

    Contact kari@hiddentreasurestours.com, or call her at 573-303-2872 to register, or for more information.

  • Landscape Preservation Project: The Percy Cane Garden at Falkland Palace

    One a favored place of retreat and leisure for the Kings and Queens of Scotland, particularly the royal Stewarts, Falkland Palace is a formidable part of Scottish history.  Built in 1501 by King James IV, it is one of only two Renaissance palaces in Scotland and strongly reflect the influence of French architecture.  Mary, Queen of Scots, loved Falkland Palace and often went there to hunt and play tennis on what is today considered the oldest Real Tennis Court in Britain, and possibly the world.

    In 1947, the garden surrounding the Palace underwent a 20th century redesign in the spirit of the past.  Percy Cane, one of Britain’s leading garden designers, was commissioned to undertake this ambitious project.  Faced with a blank canvas resulting from the World War II Dig for Victory campaign, which encouraged people to transform gardens, parks, and sports fields into allotments to grow vegetables, Cane had limited surviving historic evidence to work from.  Nonetheless, he understood the significance of the Palace and its surroundings and laid out a garden that matched the splendor of the historical setting.

    Today, the garden is one of the few remaining examples of Cane’s work in Britain.  The garden is recognized for both its historical value and as a work of art in its own right.  Yet, sadly, the garden has deteriorated and no longer represents Cane’s authentic planting design.  Many plant species have disappeared from the original flower beds, while others have become overgrown.  Weeds and disease have invaded the once fine lawns and there are gaps in borders where trees have blown down.  The National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA urgently needs your help to restore this important landscape.

    An incredibly generous donor has pledged to fund half the project, provided the Trust can raise the balance of $25,000 by January 1, 2016.  Donors 0f $200 or more will receive a special thank you gift of a royal Stewart tartan coin purse made of genuine Scottish-made Lochcarron wool, while supplies last.

    Donations may be made online at www.ntsusa.org/give/donations/, or mailed to The National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA, 45 School Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02108.

  • Wednesday, July 10 – Sunday, July 21 – Gardens of Scotland

    Scotland boasts a wide variety of stunning parks and gardens in the cities, countryside, and castle grounds, and you’ll visit the most famous of them plus private gardens and homes not open to the public.

    Gardens to be visited include Crarae, Arduine, Attadle, Inverewe, Pitmedden, and the Royal Botanic Garden. The castles and palaces with their accompanying gardens you’ll tour are Cawdor (of MacBeth fame), Crathes Castle and garden (pictured above), Edzell Castle and garden, and Mary, Queen of Scotts’ favorite county place, the Falkland Palace and gardens. You’ll also visit picture-perfect fishing villages and cottage gardens and have time to explore the Georgian City of Edinburgh.

    The tour includes not only breakfasts, but ten dinners in the several hotels with their breathtaking views loch Lochs, highlands and more.

    This mid-summer tour, July 10 – 21,  is escorted by Pacific Horticulture Society board member Pat Wipf. For more information, contact Sterling Tours. Reach them by phone at 800-976-9497 or access the full itinerary at the Sterling Tours website, http://www.sterlingtoursltd.com/Scotland2013.html.  $3,425 per person, double ocupancy, $415 single supplement.