Our ancient sweet chestnuts castanea sativa are dressed in their autumn glory just now and can be found in a number of locations around the Torridon hotel grounds. Many of the oldest chestnut trees found in Scotland date back to the time of Mary Queen of Scots and there are some fine examples with the [...]

Gardeners invariably travel with their plants. I have brought primula, primula japonica and primula florindae to Torridon and they have settled into their beds well; so much so we are able to propagate hundreds of seedlings. Primulas generally need cool conditions to germinate and do well when scattered directly on top of moist compost in [...]

We have been growing globe artichokes and cardoons in The Torridon gardens. The cardoons, in particular have impressive thistle-like purple flower heads and look like something from a science fiction movie. The bracts surrounding the flowers provide our chefs with a gourmet delicacy, requiring a lot of preparation but worth it in the end. Unsurprisingly, [...]

We have a fine show of Crocosmia (Lucifer) in the centre of kitchen garden. Many of the flowers have been cut for the hotel and they provide a strong vibrant display. The leaves can be used to create rush baskets and when woven are very strong, like papyrus. They can also be used to create [...]

It takes time for gardens to evolve and we continue to work away in the Torridon kitchen garden. Our new raised beds are giving us our first crop of potatoes: Blue Danube waltzes into view, Desiree – it sounds like a Tennessee Williams play. We never quite know what we will find under the lettuce [...]