I am picking up from the show on Saturday where I met up with Ian Christie, a successful alpine nursery man, who I traveled with to his home in the most fertile land in Scotland in a town called Kirremuir.
We passed thousands of acres of potato fields, strawberry high tunnels, and rolling hills before we reached his home on Saturday night. Ian's wife, Ann, who is an absolutely amazing cook and avid rock gardener, greeted us to a tasty meal. Through out the night Ian shared his knowledge on botanists and explorers such as Thomas Drummond and George Don, both fellow Scotsmen who first described many alpine plant such as Dryas octopetala var. dummondii. Ian also showed me some of his great rock garden projects that he had been a part of which was just down the road.
We made a plan to see his nursery and gardens the next day and hike Glen Doll, a favorite of Ian and Ann.
Ian brought me the next morning to the the a garden he helped design and build in a public area in Forfar. The garden is a tribute to the Botanists of Forfar and features plants they described as well as a stone wall that looks like Nessie done by a famous stone wall builder.
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| Ian volunteers his time each week to weeding and maintaining the garden |
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| A spore and seed to represent the botanists contributions |
We went back and had a quick lunch before we headed off to hike Glen Doll.
As we neared the trail head, I had a really good feeling that I was going to see some snow and mountains I had never seen before. This got me pretty excited.
A few miles in and we hit the basin of Glen Fee and the views were incredible. In the distance there was a raging waterfall and cornices that hung over the ridges. It almost felt like the Rockies for a minute.
I raced up to a good view point and looked back on the beautiful country of Scotland and felt so incredibly fortunate to be here.
Ian also showed me his nursery and gardens at home which features a million snow drops, Trilliums, and a large variety of alpines that he has cultivated and breed. His passion for plants is undoubtedly, as he would say, "Mad".
Ian cares so much about passing on knowledge and inspiration that during my time I spent with him I left feeling like I had become a little wiser and more confident in growing new plants.
Next stop: Lafong Mansions
As we neared the trail head, I had a really good feeling that I was going to see some snow and mountains I had never seen before. This got me pretty excited.
A few miles in and we hit the basin of Glen Fee and the views were incredible. In the distance there was a raging waterfall and cornices that hung over the ridges. It almost felt like the Rockies for a minute.
I raced up to a good view point and looked back on the beautiful country of Scotland and felt so incredibly fortunate to be here.
Ian also showed me his nursery and gardens at home which features a million snow drops, Trilliums, and a large variety of alpines that he has cultivated and breed. His passion for plants is undoubtedly, as he would say, "Mad".
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| On of his cherished Snowdrop cultivars 'Elizabeth Harris" |
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| Part of the backyard garden |
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| Daphne 'Hans Bauer' |
Ian cares so much about passing on knowledge and inspiration that during my time I spent with him I left feeling like I had become a little wiser and more confident in growing new plants.
Next stop: Lafong Mansions
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