41 Botanical Gardens to Explore in Scotland

Checkout places to visit in Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Mainland Scotland has a 96 mile (154 km) border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast, and the Irish Sea to the south. Scotland includes more than 790 islands.

Botanical Gardens by destinations in Scotland

Dumfries and Galloway (6)

Argyll and Bute Council (5)

Perth and Kinross (5)

Angus Council (3)

East Lothian Council (2)

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Botanical Gardens to Explore in Scotland

Achamore Gardens

A beatuiful botanical garden set on the Scottish Island of Gigha with its white sandy beaches and breathtaking scenery. This 54-acre Gardens hosts many notable and unusual plants and trees from around the world and It specialises in tender rhododendrons. The gardens include specimens of southern rātā from New Zealand, Montezuma pine from Central America, Puya alpestris from the Andes, and Wollemia nobilis from Australia.

Amisfield Walled Garden

Amisfield Walled Garden dates from 1783 and forms part of the policies of Amisfield House, a Palladian mansion that was demolished in the 1920’s. The garden is 8 acres in size and the ornamental pavilions in each corner and derelict bothies outside the walls are A-listed for their historical importance. The garden is becoming increasingly popular as a visitor destination, with well over 1,000 people visiting each year. The woodland and meadow surrounding the garden are popular with local walker

Ardkinglas Woodland Garden

A beautiful botanical garden which covers 25 acres of hillside, amongst one of Scotland's most beautiful landscapes, around the head of Loch Fyne. There are exceptional collection of Rhododendrons, some of the largest conifers in Britain and many other interesting trees and shrubs.

Arduaine Garden

Arduaine Garden is a place of peace on a wild shore, which has a twenty acre coastal garden situated on the southern slope of a promontory beside the Sound of Jura. Arduaine is well-known in rhododendron circles for its wonderful collection of species and hybrids. The garden nurtures plants from across the globe – from East Asia to South America.

Barnhill Rock Garden

The Barnhill Rock Garden is an award winning public park extending to more than two hectares. This beautiful garden boasts a wonderful array of alpines, shrubs, woodland and waterside planting with spectacular views across the River Tay. Over the years it was extended eastwards over areas which had been sand dunes, and rock from a local quarry was used to form a large part of the Garden. It is a gently undulating south sloping informal garden, with an outlook over the Firth of Tay.

Belleisle Conservatory

Belleisle Conservatory is a greenhouse and a botanical garden located on Belle Isle, a 982-acre island park located on the Detroit River within Detroit, Michigan. While located near the Canada–United States border, the island is entirely within the U.S. The park itself consists of 13 acres of preserved land for the conservatory and its botanical garden.

Benmore Botanic Garden

Benmore Botanic Garden boasts a world-famous collection of flowering trees and shrubs including over 300 species of rhododendron and over one third of the world’s hardy conifer species plus fine collections from North and South America, the Orient and the Himalaya. The garden is located within the Argyll Forest Park, which is itself within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

Biblical Garden Elgin

This beautiful garden stands in a fitting location a little north of Elgin Cathedral and on the opposite side of King Street. Beyond the gate is a remarkable three acre space, a "garden of repose" in which it is visitors can relax and enjoy the natural world. And, if they wish, follow the complex web of biblical references contained within both the planting and the hard landscaping.

Blair Castle Gardens

Hercules Garden at Blair Castle is some 250 years old, but became completely overgrown in the 20th century until restoration work started some years ago. Much of the hard work has been completed, but the restoration will continue well into the 21st century.The castle is a category A listed building, and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens

Branklyn Garden

A twentieth century garden with an extensive plant collection, displaying the Scots passion for Sino-Himalayan plants. Branklyn holds National Collections of Lilies, Rhododendron and Meconopsis. It was made by John and Dorothy Renton between 1922 and 1968 on land which had been an orchard. There is a rock garden with purple maple and the rare golden Cedrus. Seasonal highlights in May and June are the alpines and rhododendrons and in Autumn the fiery red Acer palmatum.

Broughton House & Garden

An eighteenth century house with a twentieth century garden by the Artist E A Hornel, who lived here from 1901-33. He was interested in oriental art and the garden reflects this taste. Since 1997 it has been in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, and is maintained as "a living museum of Hornel’s life and work". The house is a category A listed building, and the gardens are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

Burns Memorial Gardens

The Burns Monument and Memorial Gardens stand on a sloping site on the north bank of the River Doon overlooking the Brig o' Doon. The Monument and Gardens come under the umbrella of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. Operated by the National Trust for Scotland, this magnificent museum is well worth a visit in its own right, and it also brings together all the places associated with Robert Burns in Alloway. These include Brig o' Doon, Auld Kirk Alloway, and Burns Cottage.

A beautiful Victorian walled garden laid out around the Cambo burn to supply the house with fruit, flowers and vegetables. There is an ornamental potager, rare plants and a well-known snowdrop collection. The inspirational and innovatively-planted herbaceous displays frequently incorporate rarely-seen plants and are constantly evolving. There are also masses of spring bulbs, a lilac walk, rambler roses and spectacular late-season herbaceous borders.

Castle Kennedy Gardens

75 acres of spectacularly designed loch-side landscape, create a romantic garden paradise with quite literally something for everyone to enjoy – regardless of age. The gardens are the main reason for a visit and the ruins of Castle Kennedy really just serve as an impressively large ornament around which the gardens are sculptured.

Cluny House Gardens

A stone farmhouse with a woodland garden specialising in Himalayan plants, started in 1950 by Bobby & Betty Masterton. It has an important collection of Asiatic primulas including candelabras and a large collection of Trilliums, Arisaemas, Lilliums, Erythroniums and specimen trees including the widest girthed Sequoiadendron in the UK. The garden is also very important for a population of Red Squirrels. Cluny is cultivated organically with no pesticides or insecticides.

Dr Neil's Garden

A wonderful, secluded, landscaped garden on the lower slopes of Arthur’s Seat including conifers, heathers, alpines, a physic garden, herbaceous borders and ponds. One of the iconic location for a recharge of your mind and body and also you can have a short walk in this beautiful location.

Drummond Castle Gardens

Drummond Castle Gardens is one of Europe’s and Scotland’s most important and impressive formal gardens. Located in Perthshire near Crieff, it dates back to the 17th Century. The gardens were redesigned and terraced in the 19th Century. The formal gardens that you see today were replanted in the 1950s but preserve many of the original features, the ancient yew hedges and the remaining beech tree planted by Queen Victoria, commemorating her visit in 1842.

This is a beautiful natural garden offering a tranquil escape from the often-hectic Royal Mile. Originally created back in the 19th century by the landscape architect Sir Patrick Geddes, but heavily reconstructed by Seamus Filor in the 1970s, the garden boasts fragrant flowers, blooming bushes and sweet-smelling herbs - and all just a matter of metres from the capital’s busiest pedestrian street.

Map of Botanical Gardens to Explore in Scotland