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Logan
House Garden
Until
1969 Logan Botanic Garden was part of the gardens of Logan
House. It then became a specialist garden of the Royal Botanic
Garden Edinburgh. Logan House Garden, as it is now known,
was the woodland and shrub garden, which had suffered from
a lack of full time maintenance.
 Part
time gardeners were unable to halt the deterioration of the
garden of Logan House and it was sadly neglected until 1995
when Mr and Mrs Michael Coburn bought the estate. Employment
of the now Head Gardener, Jimmy Reid, soon made a difference
and 'lost' areas were reclaimed. However, this meant more
maintenance and the following year an assistant gardener was
employed. More recently part time assistance has been added.
The violent
storm of Boxing Day 1998 set back the work for more than a
year, with many months being taken in clearing the damaged
areas. There were many casualties - Eucalyptus, Cedars and
Monkey Puzzles. The top half of a shelterbelt of European
Larch was almost totally flattened, many falling across the
area known as the Monkey-Puzzle Walk. However, the old gardeners,
in their wisdom, always maintain that an act of God such as
this was just a new planting opportunity, and so it is with
Logan House Garden.
 In
January 2001 Mr and Mrs Andrew Roberts purchased the estate
and were keen to maintain and improve the garden. In July
the garden opened to the public, entry being via Logan Botanic
Garden, at a small extra charge, enabling the visitor to see
the two gardens together as they would once have been.
 We
are now planting new rhododendrons, many perfumed (maddeniis),
with many seedlings brought on in the nursery from self-sown
seeds in the garden. An area of natural rock has been cleared
and part-planted. This will be known as Coburn's Rocks, in
memory of the late Michael Coburn, and this will be a very
colourful area. Another part recently renovated is the Pond
View, where again a pathway through natural rock and woodland
allows the visitor to look onto the smaller of the two Logan
Lochs.
Logan
House Garden is a wonderful woodland walk, very colourful
in Spring and early summer, then becoming host to the 'forty
shades of green' of the trees from all over the world.
 In
March, April and May you will see wonderful specimens of rhododendrons,
such as R.macabeanum, R.sinogrande, R.grande, R.arboreum,
R.decorum, and huge examples of R.russellianum. Along with
these are many varied hybrids of beautiful colours. Following
closely are the azaleas, many in infancy, but the fragrance
of the older R.luteum is unmistakable.
 There
are two champions in the garden, both being the biggest of
their kind in the UK. One, Eucryphia cordifolia, is in the
Hen Knowe shrubbery and flowers in late August. The other,
planted by a one-time Curator at Logan Botanic Garden, is
Leptospermum lanigerum, which is situated in the Octopus Lawn,
flowering July - August.
Some of
the plants, such as Oleria traversii, are said to be even
better at Logan House than they are in their native habitat.
The leaves of R.sinogrande have been measured to over 2½
ft. and the stand of Eucryphia x nymansensis showed barely
a leaf, owing to its vast flowering in 2001. Colour continues
into the autumn with the berries of the sorbus and cotoneaster.
We hope
you enjoy your visit and come again to follow our progress
in returning Logan House Garden to its former glory.
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