Best Times of Year to Visit: July/August, May
To see: Herbaceous Borders, Bedding Plants, Fruit. Apple blossom,
Spectacular formal parterres and annual bedding plant displays. Dogs
allowed on the wider estate.
Other Facilities: Picnic area. Dog Walk on wider estate.
Description of Garden
The Great Garden of Pitmedden has been celebrated fifty years in the
care of the National Trust for Scotland in 2002. Pitmedden is situated
in the heart of rural North-East Aberdeenshire, 15 miles north of
the "granite city" Aberdeen. It is no coincidence therefore, that
this magnificent Grade A listed Walled Garden was created using the
finest granite.
The 1950's saw the beginnings of garden history as a serious discipline
in its own right and upon acquisition, the Trust embarked on a remarkable
pioneering project - to "restore" the original 17th century Great
Garden of the Setons. To achieve this, Dr James Richardson - Inspector
of Ancient Monuments at the Ministry of Works (now Historic Scotland)
- was appointed to masterrnind the transformation from post-War market
garden back to 17th century formality. Not without considerable local
opposition to the change but with the blessing of Major Keith, the
Head Gardener, George Barron and his staff set about the enormous
task of clearing the three acre lower garden.
Hopes of finding traces of the original 17th century design faded
as the much cultivated garden gave nothing away to reveal its past.
With the original plans presumed lost in the 1818 fire, Dr Richardson
turned for inspiration to the remarkable 1647 bird's eye view of the
City of Edinburgh as drawn by James Gordon of Rothiemay, Banffshire.
Four geometric parterres on the grand scale were designed. Three contained
elements from the garden at the Palace of Holyroodhouse; the fourth,
designed by Dr Richardson as a tribute to the Seton family, is based
on the family Coat of Arms. The four parterres were painstakingly
measured and marked out in sand, then planted up using over three
miles of boxwood hedging - a slow process which took several years
to complete.
Being mindful of the need to provide sufficient interest throughout
an extended visitor season, it was decided to use densely planted
annual bedding plants within the main parterres and retain the existing
herbaceous borders to add extra summer interest. Neither of these
features could possibly be considered 17th century, but no one could
deny the breathtaking impact of looking down from the upper garden
onto a riot of organised colour below. Currently over 80 varieties
of trained apple trees adorn the walls, providing fragrant blossom
in spring and producing a healthy crop of fruit in late summer. Yew
obelisks and buttresses punctuate the lawn and three fountains provide
the constant presence of water essential for any summer garden. A
herb garden and rose border give interest and colour to the upper
garden and two rows of pleached limes provide the framework for the
two newly created parterres which trace the development of parterre
gardens from early times when only coloured stones and herbs were
used.
History of Garden
Sir Alexander Seton is credited with founding the Garden in 1675.
The house had been badly damaged by fire in 1818 but was rebuilt during
the 1860's. Today, only the north wing contains visible fragments
of the 17th century grand dwelling. It has been well documented that
the fire caused the destruction of family portraits, papers and the,
all important, plans of the original layout of the Garden. Indeed,
the Trust is still keen to discover references to, or sketches of
Seton's Great Garden in its earlier years.
The Keith family bought the Pitmedden Estate at auction in 1894. Major
James Keith CBE (1879 - 1953) was one of the country's most influential
agricultural improvers of his time, with a desire to combine traditional
farming methods with the increasing sophistication of mechanical engineering.
A shrewd businessman, keen to increase productivity, Keith successfully
evolved his own style of farming. His expectations of his Garden would
surely have matched those of his many farms so it is of no surprise
that what the Trust inherited in 1952 was a magnificent working market
garden producing fruit and vegetables in abundance
Major Keith, in a single act of munificence in 1952, presented to
the National Trust for Scotland the Pitmedden Estate comprising the
house, the walled garden, ancillary buildings, 100 acres of woodland
and farmland, together with an endowment fund to provide for its upkeep.
In 1978 the Trustees of William Cook of Little Meldrum, Tarves presented
to the Trust the extensive collection of agricultural and domestic
artifacts which Mr. Cook had amassed in his lifetime.
Admission Prices : Adult £5; Child £1; Over
60s £3.75; Family £13.50.
Pitmedden Garden website: