Arduaine: A Magnificent Garden in Argyll
The National Trust for Scotland

Don Hyatt's visit to Arduaine

After giving a talk at the International Rhododendron Conference in Scotland in May 2008, many of the attendees continued to tour gardens on the West Coast of Scotland. Many of these had been on tour during the 1996 Rhododendron Conference in Oban, but I was not able to attend that meeting.

Before I left for Scotland, I asked many people in the United States for advice about the best gardens to see during my extended stay. Without a doubt, Arduaine was among the top on their list and I soon learned why. It is clearly one of the finest gardens anywhere in the world!

That said, I found it most distressing to learn that the National Trust plans to close Arduaine due to budget cuts. Refer to the following article in the BBC news:
National Trust Closes Properties

Surely there must be another way than closing down such a pristine and lovely garden. Since my return, I have given at least three presentations in the US telling of my wonderful trip to Scotland and the excellent gardens I saw. In every talk, I have praised the beauty of Arduaine as perhaps my very favorite garden during my two week tour. Below are some of views of the garden in Arduaine that I used in my talk. See if you agree. I did take 2000 images on my trip and cannot post them all. These are just a few I had on hand that I could use in a web page that I created this evening when I heard the bad news.

Visions of Arduaine

Hotel with Bed and Beakfast

'Carmen' and Deciduous Azalea

View of the Greenhouse

R. anwheiense

R. augustinii

R. fastigiatum and others

Lawn Vista and Yak Hybrid

Knap Hill Hybrid

Vista and R. arboreum

R. arboreum

How Can We Help?

Let's find a way to keep Arduaine from being closed. As soon as many of us in the United States can afford a trip to Scotland, we want to stay at that hotel, dine at that wonderful restaurant, and take a daily stroll through that lovely garden.
Don Hyatt
Don@donaldhyatt.com