Keith Broomfield discovers one of Scotland’s finest formal gardens at Kinross House

The immaculate garden at Kinross House is classical to its core and round every corner history seems to abound. The most striking element is the alignment down the central path that draws the eye directly to the island holding Lochleven Castle where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned for a year before her dramatic escape in 1568.

The garden dates back to 1675 when Sir William Bruce purchased the Kinross estate from the Douglases. After levelling and draining the land, he set about planning the formal gardens in the Franco Dutch style, with terraces, parterres and orchards. Unusually perhaps, it was the garden that came first with work on the imposing house not starting until 1685.

Gardens such as these were seen as a symbol of wealth and status by the 17th Century aristocracy and the fame of Kinross House was widely acknowledged. This one-up-man-ship is well illustrated by a letter from Sir Charles Lyttleton to Sir William in 1867, which stated: “I hear that Lady Lauderdale’s gardens at Ham are but a wilderness compared to yours at Kinross.”

The garden continued to shine until 1819 when the then owner Thomas Graham died and the house became empty. For the next 80 years or so the previous order and splendour became a tangled and unkempt wilderness.

In 1902, Sir Basil Montgomery took over the house and immediately moved to restore the gardens back to their formal glory. This included such classical features as a formal rose garden, yew hedges and herbaceous borders.

Today the house and gardens are under the stewardship of Jamie Montgomery and his wife Lizzie – and it is obviously a garden they take great pride in.

Lizzie says: “It is very much a summer garden with its herbaceous borders and roses being at their peak from late June until September. It is a very beautiful and peaceful place to be.”

Wide straight paths provide the formal focus to the garden, with a water fountain, pond and a boy and swan statue forming the centrepiece. The garden is walled on three sides, with one of the most notable features being the ‘Fish Gate’ at the bottom of the gently sloping garden that looks directly out to Lochleven Castle and beyond. The design at the gate includes a carving of a basket of fish containing, it is said, the seven varieties of fish that could be caught in the loch in the 1600s. There are deliberately constructed gaps on each of the other walls, providing view lines down wooded avenues in the estate grounds.

The soil is sandy and very free draining and a large amount of dung is added each year to keep it fertile and to maintain structure. A further upkeep problem is that it is a bit of a wind tunnel and frost pocket, meaning that some of the more fragile plants can be prone to damage. Moles are also a frustration for the team of gardeners, headed by Kenny Stewart.

The display in the rose garden is tremendous, with the rose variety Crathes Castle being one of the stars, along with other types such as Arthur Bell and Seagull. But it is the herbaceous borders that really take the breath away with there being a huge variety of species carefully planted in a manner to provide colour co-ordination and harmony. The varieties are too numerous to mention but include Achillea, Phlox, Rubekia, Helenium and tree lupin. Annuals are also planted at strategic locations to provide additional freshness to the garden.

Another discerning feature are the mature trees, particularly the horse chestnuts, some of which date back to when the garden was first created – from original conkers sent from Holland by Sir William Bruce. The smaller trees in the garden are the direct descendents from these original Dutch seeds.

The garden at Kinross House must rank as one of Scotland’s finest formal gardens and is well worth a visit. It is open to the public from April to September daily 10am to 7pm (or by appointment), adults £3.00, students/OAPs £2, children free. More information at www.kinrosshouse.com