Fern house saves the collection of gardening expert

Published on Monday 12 April 2004 01:00

A SPECTACULAR Wester Ross garden has a new attraction that has created a wave of excitement amoung pteridologists and botanists from across Britain.

Attadale Gardens, on the southern shore of Loch Carron, has opened a fern house that gives a new dimension to the 20-acre gardens, which already attract about 7,000 visitors a year.

The collection contains about 70 ferns from all over the world and is thought to be the only one of its kind north of the botanic gardens in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and the renowned Ascog Hall Fernery on the island of Bute.

The idea for the Attadale fern house came following the death two years ago of well-known local gardener Peter Hainsworth, from Achnashellach, who used to propagate ferns for the world-famous Inverewe Gardens.

His family offered his collection to Ewen and Nicky MacPherson of Attadale Estate, who wasted no time in preparing a suitable site. With grant aid from Scottish Natural Heritage and the local enterprise company, they began building the fern house in November and managed to finish it for the start of the new season.

"There will be no collection in the north of Scotland to touch this once it’s established," said James Merryweather, editor of Pteridologist, a magazine for fern enthusiasts.

"Specialists throughout the UK are showing great interest in the Attadale collection and I’m sure it will enhance the gardens’ reputation. It’s really marvellous. In time I think there’s going to be a lot more than 70 ferns there."

The ferns have come from a wide variety of countries and climates, including the Himalayas, North America and the Caucasus. Others are native to the UK.

Mr Merryweather added: "Peter Hainsworth used to write articles for me and was very professional and very scientific in his approach to ferns. He had a great gift for growing ferns from spore in his glasshouse.

"He would experiment and managed to grow specialist ferns in limestone. They grew extraordinarily well for him, even though they should not have grown in that particular part of Wester Ross."

Mrs MacPherson is delighted to have acquired such a prestigious collection to add to the wide variety of trees and shrubs.

"I potted the ferns 18 months ago and planted them on after a winter in the conservatory," said Mrs MacPherson. "We had the fern house landscaped with rock and a small burn running through it, to make it look as natural as possible."

The gardens at Attadale were laid down by Captain William Schroder during the early part of last century. He died in 1945 and the estate has been in the MacPherson family since 1952. Attadale House dates back to 1755.

An open day for charity is held at Attadale every year, with the proceeds going to the Highland Hospice and the Howard Doris Centre, a specialist care unit at Lochcarron.