The House of Aigas is set among beautiful gardens, with rockeries, a large pond and an extensive arboretum.
Most of the trees were planted by the Victorians more than a century ago, including many exotics such as Giant Sequoia and Western Red Cedar which have now reached considerable heights, with some native trees dating even further back.
The garden, largely created by Lady Lister-Kaye, offers a blaze of colour throughout the year.
There’s a rich array of species from miniature maples to azaleas and rhododendrons and the blooms of heathers, lilies, honeysuckle and clematis.
The garden has hosted two open days to raise funds for the Scotland’s Gardens Scheme this year, but, provided you give advance notice, visitors are welcome into the garden until October 25.
Autumn is not only a good time to visit, but, as Lady Lister-Kaye reveals here, it’s one of her favourite seasons.
“September into October, autumn arrives with cooler nights, mist hanging over the river and stags roaring in the woods,” said Lady Lister-Kaye.
“It is my favourite moment to welcome visitors to the Aigas garden.
“I can’t wait to get out there with gloves, trug and secateurs; so much to see and do; so much of nature’s bounty to harvest.
“First, I head for the herbaceous borders, snip, snip, and the lanky Michaelmas daisies, the fiery-headed dahlias, flaming stargazer lilies, bright-yellow ligularia leaves and pink nerines pile into my trug so that I can build big, blowsy arrangements in the house. As I do so, small tortoiseshell, red admiral and peacock butterflies flit daintily from hanging candles of buddleia to bright sedum heads.
“Bumblebees hum busily among the purple lythrum blooms.
“Banks of crocosmia glow in the lowering sun.
“At my feet are bright runs of Colchicum autumnale in pastel lilac – the autumn crocus that isn’t a crocus at all. They’re shortlived and I can’t pick them, but they bring a welcome splash of variety to the grass verges.
“The trees are what bring the real autumn glamour to the garden, bursting colour everywhere you look: the startling maples, Acer brilliantissimum in blushing pink, A. rubrum, the October glory, and A. palmatum, red pygmy, in gold and crimson, the Sorbus mitchelii – the Tibetan whitebeam cultivars we have planted in the Teardrop lawn, bright yellow on top and silver underneath, shimmer at the edge of my vision.
“With the first frosts, the aspens and balsam poplars turn to molten gold and the rowans are laden with bunches of berries as bright as a harlot’s lipstick.
“When I go to the woods, I return with my trug brimming with chanterelles, ceps and parasol mushrooms for soups and stews, fat blackberries for bramble and apple pies, wild raspberries and, if the red squirrels haven’t got them first, some hazelnuts to ripen on the window sill.
“No wonder I love autumn at Aigas,” she said.
Fact box
Where: House of Aigas, By Beauly, Inverness-shire IV4 7AD (on the A831 Cannich/Glen Affric Road).
When: By arrangement until October 25. Tel: 01463 782443.
Cost: £3 for adults, children free.
Extras: Lunches and teas on request, wheelchair-friendly routes.
Beneficiaries: Highland Hospice 40%, the net remaining to Scotland’s Gardens beneficiary charities.