Crathes Castle

The Walled Garden at Crathes is 1.5 ha (3.75 acres) and contains eight small, individual gardens. It contains aspects of eight different phases of development including yew topiary that is at least 270 years old. The gardens are of outstanding historical value, having been first established in the 16th century and developed primarily by one family, with the occasional influence of notable visitors such as Gertrude Jekyll. Lady Sybil Burnett was one of the earliest disciples of Jekyll’s colour scheme theories, and the gardens are also of outstanding significance as a work of art, also containing a nationally important collection of trees and shrubs. The Upper Garden is divided into two terraces, whilst a 3m high stone wall encloses the Lower Garden. The garden is sub divided into themed “garden rooms”, including the Trough Garden, Golden Garden, Red Garden, Wild Garden and Nursery Area. Primarily the gardens are known for herbaceous plantings, but many unusual trees and shrubs are also found amongst the plantings. In addition, there are a set of glasshouses that are used for both display and propagation purposes and contain the National Malmaison Carnation Collection. The wider policies contain large collections of conifers and deciduous trees, spread through 5 smaller arboreta, many rare in cultivation.