The Pines and Shanklin's Path
Just as the Mount and Birch Bank form a small arboretum, the Pines and Shanklin's Path form a small pinetum. The Pines takes its name from the mature Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) which dominate the space and which (to me, at least) give a feeling of a large open cathedral with the trees being the columns of the nave (although they are thankfully not planted in straight lines). Also surviving from the old garden is a magnificent mature Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora), now of a size you rarely see outside botanic gardens, next to which is a large clump of tree heath (Erica arborea).
Also surviving from last century are clumps of white and purple flowered Irish heaths (Daboecia cantabrica). To complement these, I planted a Pinus wallichii and Juniperus recurva var. coxii back in 2008 that are both now of a reasonable size. Later conifer additions to the area include a Japanese cedar variety (Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans'), a dwarf oriental spruce (Picea orientalis 'Aurea'), a Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) (grown from seed in 2005) and a golden larch (Pseudolarix amabilis) which doesn't grow much but looks good when in leaf.
Although there are some deciduous shrubs planted here, most notably a small group of Enkianthus species and cultivars, the rest of the planting consists of yet more rhododendrons (yes, I do love them!). There are a couple of now very large early flowering rhodos along the southern edge of the area, which I think marked the south boundary of the original (pre-1950) garden, but the rest of them have been planted over time from 2006. Most of the earliest plants were bought with money kindly collected by our friends in Pool o' Muckhart as a leaving present when we moved to Waterside. The plants include species such as Rhh. arboreum, falconeri ssp. eximium, sinofalconeri, yakushimanum, sutchuense and hybrids like 'Loderi King George', 'Loderi Pink Diamond', 'Linda', 'Mayday' 'Thor', 'Sir Charles Lemon' and many more.
Named after Ernest Wedderburn's first gardener, Bob Shanklin, Shanklin's Path uses part of the old rock garden and its main path to display a range of shade loving/tolerant plants, under large oak and beech trees. The rhododendron theme of the Pines is (inevitably) continued, again with species and hybrids, some of which are now getting quite large. Notable among these are Rhh. cuinnabarinum, williamsianum, augustinii and the minuscule Rh. camschaticum as well as other dwarf varieties. Other ericaceous plants include Pieris japonica 'Little Heath' and 'Little Heath Green', Menziesia cilicalyx 'Ylva', Zenobia pulverulenta and Gaultheria (Pernettya) mucronata surviving well from the last century. Other trees and shrubs include the beautiful orange-flowered Chilean fire tree (Embothrium coccineum) pictured right, which is splendid in early June and is visible from both the house and garden.
Other flowering shrubs include a so-called deciduous camellia (Stewartia pseudocamellia) with its large single white flowers in spring and stunning orange-brown Fall foliage, winter hazel (Corylopsis pauciflora) with lovely pale yellow flowers in early spring, a pinky-white-flowered dwarf Japanese cherry (Prunus incisa 'Kojo no mai'), and a not commonly seen yellow-flowered currant Ribes longiracemosa (left) as well as the pink-flowered common flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum).
There are also a number of (now large!) dwarf conifers that I think were planted 20 to 25 years ago, including a blue-leaved Lawson'r cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Pembury Blue)', blue-grey Sawara cypress (Ch. pisifera 'Boulevard'), a blue-leaved juniper (possibly Juniperus communis 'Blauw' )and a number of other conifers, including a dwarf weeping deodar (Cedrus deodaraI possibly 'Klondyke' although it has yellower foliage). Shortly after we moved here, I planted a specimen of the grey/blue-leaved Juniperus pingii (right) which is now endangered in its native China, but has grown well in soggy Dumfriesshire, despite being totally overshadowed by an oak. Another dwarf conifer that I planted is the twisted-leaved form of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica 'Spiralis').
The main herbaceous area of Shanklin's Path is now restored after being overwhelmed by brambles - which are still fighting back. Many plants are North American, Chinese or Himalaya woodlanders such as varieties of blue Meconopsis, large-leaved Diphylleia cymosa, single pink-flowered Paeonia vetchii, red-brown flowered Veratrum nigrum and Podophyllum aurantiocaule with its large leaves often hiding the large red fruits it sports in late summer.
There's also a small collection of Solomon's seal, including the purple stemmed and flowered Polygonatum verticilatum 'Rubrum' and tiny oink-flowered P. hookeri. With these are also a number of false spikenard or false Solomon's seal, once with the Latin name Smilacina now Maianthemum, including Mm. recemosum, tatsiense and dilatatum. Somewhat similar to these in form and flowering are two plants from the Far East, white-flowered Disporopsis pernyi from Indo-China and beautiful yellow-flowered Disporum flavens from Korea.
As well as a mass of white daffodils under the oak, other bulb interest include white-flowered wake-robins (or birthroots) (Trillium grandiflorum) and maroon-flowered T. erectum), Uvularia grandiflora with its drooping yellow flowers in early spring and the beautiful pinky-white-flowered lily Lilium macklineae, named by Kingdom Ward for his second wife Jean Macklin (which is planted close to some Tibetan or giant or Himalayan... cowslips (Primula florindae) named for his first wife, Florinda Norman-Thompson). Other primulas (including P. viallii (left), hellebores and ferns are also in the mix.
© Ronnie Cann 2021