Secrets of Scotland’s lost gardens unveiled in lavish new book

A STRIKING new book which promises to lift the lid on forgotten, hidden and abandoned historic gardens has gone on sale.

Marilyn Brown has used more than 30 years of expertise to compile Scotland’s Lost Gardens, drawing on everything from old spy maps and medieval charters, to renaissance poetry and modern aerial photographs.

Among the locations featured are the forbidding-looking 
Castle Campbell, in Dollar Glen, Clackmannanshire, Castle Kennedy, in Dumfriesshire, and the Canongate area in Edinburgh’s Old Town.

The book has been published by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), which starts off with the sixth- century monastic gardens of St Columba on Iona and also explores the refuges of Mary Queen of Scots.

A spokeswoman for RCAHMS said: “Gardens are one of the most important elements in the cultural history of Scotland.

“Scotland’s Lost Gardens demonstrates how our cultural heritage sits within a wider European movement of shared artistic 
values and literary influences.

“Providing a unique perspective on this common past, it is also a fascinating guide to Scotland’s disappeared landscapes and sanctuaries – lost gardens laid out many hundreds of years ago ‘for the honourable delight of body and soul’.”