COLSTOUN’S WALLED GARDEN
Surrounded by 100 acres of Victorian parkland, the walled garden at Colstoun is the heartbeat of both memory and renewal. Colstoun House itself—an ancestral Broun family home in Scotland for over 900 years—holds whispered folklore surrounding a pear and the weight of enduring care. Behind its 200-year-old stone wall lies a vital space: once a practical kitchen garden, now a flourishing sanctuary that helps keep the estate alive.
The greenhouse, situated just outside of the walls, stores heat from the morning to midday sun.
Volunteering WWOOFERs have the task of de-weeding, harvesting and assist with fixing wooden planters when damaged in a storm.
WWOOFERs prepare the soil—readying beds for summer’s carrot and radish sowing.
Weeds are thrown into the aisles to be cut along with the grass.
Lyn Sinclair-Parry
Lyn is the cousin of family heir, Ludovic, and lives on site while working tirelessly to assist tending to the garden, and overseeing the WWOOFERs. With the harvested food, Lyn creates organic dishes served in their local farm shop.
“WWOOFER” is an abbreviation from World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, or World Wide Organisation of Organic Farms, is a network of national organisations that facilitate home stays on organic farms.
The legend of Colstoun House centres on a “magic pear” given by the wizard Hugo de Giffard to the Broun family in the 13th century, which was said to bring prosperity if kept intact but bring misfortune to the male heirs if it was damaged. A wilful bride later bit a piece from the pear, and shortly after, three brothers were drowned in the river, supposedly due to the damage to the pear. The legendary pear is still preserved by the family and is believed to continue bringing prosperity.
The garden is peppered with colourful plants, providing plenty of pollen for the local bees.
Gladiolus Georgia Peach
Digitalis purpurea / Common foxglove
A wide variety of flowers shine in the garden, including Crocosmias, Gladioli, Poppies, Marigolds, Petunia’s and Foxglove.
An abundance of apples in the Orchard.
Within the walls, pears flourish; the nearby orchard nurtures apples. Bees hum from flower to flower, while the polytunnel yields vegetables for the kitchen.
Crocosmia / Montbretia
Papaver rhoeas / Common poppy
Thriving Colstoun pears.
Photography & Words by Reece Gibbins