The Lure of Cluny Gardens

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The Lure of Cluny Gardens

ALTHOUGH it has been a disappointing season for visitor numbers to Cluny, those who have visited have been full of compliments and are very appreciative. Germans and Dutch remain our most frequent foreign visitors but we have also had enthusiasts from Iceland, Israel, California, Australia and Alaska.

This season’s garden highlights have included Rheum alexandrae, a rare member of the sorrel family normally found growing at 12,000 feet in Tibet in Alpine meadows but flowering extremely well for the first time in 10 years in the gravel bed at Cluny in Strathtay.

Forty Cardiocrinum giganteum, the magnificent Giant Himalayan lily, some reaching 10 feet, gave a spectacular display over a 3 week period from the end of June. Their seed heads continue to be a source of fascination throughout the year.

Davidia involucrata with its large creamy white bracts aptly giving the tree its common name of ‘The Handkerchief Tree’, flowered profusely throughout June for the third year in succession while Candelabra Primulas enjoyed the spring rain with the various species flowering from early May through to the middle of July.

To the delight of many visitors, along with our neighbours, we continue to feed a good population of Red Squirrels at a number of feeding stations. They constantly bury peanuts particularly in freshly potted plant pots resulting in some odd germinations!

One, blind in its right eye, has been regularly spotted over the last year in a number of different areas of the garden. Dead tree trunks and branches have been noticeably stripped of bark which the squirrels have used to line their dreys, and they have been seen raiding the compost heaps for a softer inner lining. The best time to view the squirrels is in the morning and late afternoon but, with shortening day length, they will be active for much of the day.

Autumn
Although Autumn shows its special hues and tints best at Cluny from mid-September to the end of October, the Japanese Maples, Acer, begin to colour very gradually from mid August and are most vibrant by late September into early October. Acer shirasawanum ‘Aureum’ or The Golden Acer, is one of the earliest to turn bright red while a fine specimen on the lawn of Acer sieboldianum can appear to be on fire with its rich reds and auburns.

Other attractive autumn species include Aralia or the Devil’s Walking Stick, Enkianthus, Berberis, Betula and Euonymous. This is not a prolific year for cones after an excellent one last year but there are plenty of Cotoneaster, Sorbus and Euonymous berries to provide seed and to feed the winter migrants throughout the autumn. Even in autumn there are scents within the garden and one of particular note is the burnt sugar smell of the fallen leaves of the Katsura Tree from China and Japan, aptly named in Germany as The Pudding Tree.

Do come along and have a sniff!

Wendy Mattingley