Virtual Garden Visit: Branklyn

Branklyn in Bridgend, at the foot of Kinnoull Hill on the outskirts of Perth, is a garden best visited in springtime.  Created from an old orchard in the 1940s and 1950s by John and Dorothy Renton, it is packed with Himalayan and alpine plants introduced to Britain by plant hunters such as George Forrest, Frank Ludlow and George Sherriff.  In the shade of rhododendrons and azaleas, Japanese maples and other exotic trees is a rich variety of spring flowering perennials, primulas, dog-tooth violets and hellebores, amongst which the meconopsis or blue poppies take pride of place. Also noteworthy is the scree and rock garden packed with arctic alpine plants.