Dawyck Botanic Garden is a

botanic garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

and

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

covering at Stobo on the B712, south-west of

Peebles Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...

in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

region of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, OS ref. NT168352. The garden is situated in the Upper Tweed Valley, a National Scenic Area. Dawyck, with

Logan Botanic Garden Logan Botanic Garden is a botanical garden near Port Logan on the Rhins of Galloway, at the south-western tip of Scotland. It is operated as part of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's Living Collection. It has been described as "Scotland's mos ...

(near

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

) and

Benmore Botanic Garden Benmore Botanic Garden (formerly known as the Younger Botanic Garden) is a large botanical garden situated in Strath Eachaig at the foot of Beinn Mhòr, on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. The gardens are on the west ...

(near

Dunoon Dunoon (; ) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well as forming part of the cou ...

), is an outpost or Regional Garden of the

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

(RBGE).

History

The name is also given as 'Dawic', and 'Dauwic' in circa 1200. It may derive from the Gaelic for an ox and the Old English 'wic' for a camp or dwelling. The Veitch family planted the garden at

Dawyck House Dawyck House is a historic house at Dawyck, in the parish of Drumelzier in the former Peeblesshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. The alternative name is 'Dalwick House'. Canmore ID 49816. Dawyck Castle was built about the thirteen ...

in the 17th century until the Naesmith family took over in 1691. Sir John Murray Naesmith supported plant-hunting expeditions, especially those undertaken by the

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

and plant hunter David Douglas (1799–1834). In 1897 the Balfour family acquired the Dawyck Estate, and in 1978 they gave the Garden to the Royal Botanic Garden, with the exception of Dawyck House and chapel which remain in private use. The private

Dawyck Chapel Dawyck Chapel, also known as Dalwick Church, is located (NGR NT 16798 34933) within the Parish of Drumelzier in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. The chapel lies within the Dawyck Botanic Gardens, an outstation or "regional garden" of the Ro ...

, built in 1837, sits on the site of the ancient Dalwick Chapel within the gardens.

Views within the Botanic Gardens

File:Prunus serrula bark lenticels, Dawyck Botanic Gardens.JPG, Bark of a ''

Tibetan cherry ''Prunus serrula'', called birch bark cherry, birchbark cherry, paperbark cherry, or Tibetan cherry, is a species of cherry native to China, and is used as an ornamental in many parts of the world for its striking coppery-red bark. Description ...

'' tree in the gardens. File:Dawyck Botanic Gardens view.JPG, Douglas Firs and other mature conifers. File:Dawyck Botanic Gardens, pheasant.JPG, One of the many pheasants within the grounds. File:Dawyck Botanic Gardens, Scrape Burn.JPG, A view from the Dutch Bridge.

Heritage Trees of Scotland

Of the eleven "Heritage Trees of Scotland" in the Scottish Borders, three are at Dawyck. The Dawyck Silver Fir is 35 m (115 ft) in height, the trunk measures 172 cm (5 ft 7 in), and its girth is 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in). There are also the Dawyck Larch, planted 1725, girth 4.46 m height 33 m; and the Dawyck Beech, planted 1860, has an unusual form with upswept branches.

References

Notes

Sources

*Johnston, J. B. (1903). ''Place-names of Scotland''. Edinburgh : David Douglas.

External links

Dawyck Botanic Garden webpage
at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh website
PDF Map of Dawyck Botanic Garden
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20141129031648/http://www.bgci.org/education/news/0521 Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) report on environmental sustainability features of Dawyck' visitor centre]
Gazetteer for Scotland: Dawyck Botanic Garden
{{Coord, 55.6031, -3.3231, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Botanical gardens in Scotland Gardens in the Scottish Borders Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Tweeddale Peeblesshire Scottish Borders