Open Gardens Bridge of Allan 2021
What a beautiful day it was on Sunday 6th June 2021 in Bridge of Allan and not just because the sun was shining. Several talented gardeners kindly agreed to open their gardens to the public as part of Scotland’s Garden Scheme. Spread across Bridge of Allan, there were all sorts of sizes and styles to see, something to suit all tastes. Here are some photos from our visits…
The woodman is a stunning garden sculpture with great symbolism
What a delightful spot for afternoon tea
A stunning walkway of climbers
Roses clamber over this pretty wall
A stunning terraced garden
A beautiful cantilevered pergola
We loved this pizza oven
This garden was full of bloom & slate sculpture
A relaxing water feature and arbour
Glorious trees ablaze in the June sunshine
The scent in this garden was amazing
Stunning water feature, sculpture and planting
More amazing scent from this wisteria
A stunning terraced garden
A wonderful surprise of a Japanese Zen garden
The relaxing Zen garden
We had a wonderful afternoon exploring these gardens and we highly recommend visiting when the opportunity arises.
Vialii
Garden of Cosmic Speculation
It was the annual opening of the Garden of Cosmic Speculation last weekend so it was the perfect place to spend Jill’s birthday. As it’s only open for this one day a year you have to make sure you’re on the ball and grasp the opportunity to see what is arguably the most impressive garden in Scotland. Here are some of our highlights from this year’s visit…
Bridges
There are gorgeous bridges at every turn in the garden, many are painted blood red and look wonderful as you look across the gardens.
Universe Cascade
The cascade is like no waterfall you have ever seen before!
The DNA Garden
Packed with fabulous sculptures and lovely planting, this relatively small part of the garden alone is worth a visit!
The detailing
Everywhere you go in the Garden of Cosmic Speculation you will see beautiful detailing. This lovely stone wall with circular inset detailing caught our eye.
The Shadows
The plants and sculptures cast amazing shadows all around the garden. This beautiful old tree was creating lovely shadows on the moss underneath.
The Black Hole Terrace
We just love the effect Charles Jencks has created using some metal and artificial grass.
Spring Colour
Spring has arrived really late this year but it meant we could enjoy the rhododendrons and magnolias in their full glory in the aptly named Flower Paradise Garden.
Creating Intrigue
We love trying to create intrigue in our gardens when we can and this has been done really well at Cosmic by creating a hole in a hedge where you can peek through and see the next part of the garden. C’mon let’s go explore!
Mirrors
Cleverly positioned mirrors catch your eye and reflect the surrounding garden.
Time Garden
After we last visited the Garden of Cosmic Speculation, these painted telegraph poles inspired us to make our own back fence to our garden. Our 3 year old said “amazing” when she walked into the Time Garden.
Bluebells
There were a sea of bluebells cascading through the woods, truly spectacular.
Mounds
Charles Jencks is famous for his landforms and there are none more impressive than the ones at Cosmic with the large Snake Mound and the cleverly designed Snail Mound.
Best sign ever
We love this!
Sheer joy
Our kids get dragged round lots of gardens with us but there was not a single “I’m bored” as we went around Cosmic. They had just as much fun as us!
Birthday fun!
It was glorious weather for our bank holiday visit to the Garden of Cosmic Speculation, perfect for a picnic in the most stunning of surroundings. And even a cake to boot!
We highly recommend you watch out for the annual opening of the Garden of Cosmic Speculation, it’s as amazing as the name suggests!
To see some of our other favourite gardens to visit click here.
Vialii