Description:
Cally Gardens and specialist Plant Centre is a treasure trove of rare and exotic hardy plants gathered worldwide. The towering 18th-century walls of the former kitchen and pleasure garden of Cally House provide shelter for informal gardens created by the famous plant collector Michael Wickenden. Plantsman Kevin Hughes took ownership in 2018 and has since brought his own large collection of magnolias, daphnes and trilliums and has also expanded on many existing plant taxa, notably paeonia, meconopsis and nerines. As an ecologist and environmentalist, Kevin has adopted a philosophy of gardening with wildlife and is creating a new grassland planting whilst making the entire garden pesticide free with notable increases in biodiversity.
Directions: From Dumfries take the Gatehouse of Fleet turning off the A75, follow the B727 and turn left through the Cally Palace Hotel gateway from where the gardens are well signposted. A regular bus service will stop at the end of Cally Drive if requested.