Logan Botanic Garden, near Stranraer in Dumfries & Galloway is celebrating after it received more than 25,000 visitors last year, the highest number in more than a decade.

It is anticipated that visitor numbers will be even greater this year when Logan marks the 50h anniversary of the Garden becoming part of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) with a packed programme of activities and a celebratory event in July.

This year has got off to a good start for staff at the Garden when they received news that Logan has retained its Five Star accreditation after assessment by VisitScotland.

Garden Curator Richard Baines said: “2018 was a good year for Logan despite the Beast from the East in March which impacted on our visitor figures, but caused only superficial damage in the Garden and plants made a full recovery. Plants which escaped damage included the Cabbage Palm Avenue along the driveway which has grown really well in the past five years. The plants enhance the exotic feel of Logan and set the Garden apart from others in Scotland.’’

Mr Baines added:"News that we have retained our Five Star Status is fantastic and this year will be a busy one. We have devised a full programme of events and exhibitions this year, and are looking forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary in July. We have included a number of creative and educational activities for children because we believe it is important to encourage youngsters to engage with nature and their local environment from an early age.’’

Logan opens daily for the new season on 1 March, but as in previous years, it will be open along with the Potting Shed Bistro on Sundays in February for the Scottish Snowdrop Festival giving visitors the chance to see the Garden’s collection of magical gems that herald the arrival of spring.

Logan is the first botanic garden in Scotland to have an electric car charging point installed and the service is free.

The Garden’s opening exhibition “Bhutan in the Footsteps of George Sherriff’’ will give visitors a fascinating insight into the intrepid plant explorer’s trips to Bhutan in the 1930s and 1940s where he collected 5,000 specimens including many novelties. The exhibition will run until the end of July.

Other events this year will include themed walks, the regular children’s activities, an evening of music with “Life O’Reilly’’ on Saturday 22 June and “Flora Scotia’’, an exhibition of botanical art portraying the story of Scotland’s plants from the rarest threatened species to well-known plants which opens on 1 August.

ENDS

For further information and images, please contact Sandra Donnelly on 0131 248 1037 / 07554115908 or Shauna Hay on 0131 248 2900 / 07824529028.

Editor’s Notes:

The garden at Logan dates from 1869 when James McDouall married Agnes Buchan-Hepburn, from Smeaton in East Lothian. She had a great passion for gardening and began to experiment with exotic plantings. Her love of gardening passed to her sons, Kenneth and Douglas, who became horticulturists in their own right, travelling widely in warm temperate regions to collect new species and obtaining seed from the expeditions of leading plant collectors of their day. The McDoualls established many of the main structural plantings that define the Garden today. Kenneth McDouall died in 1945, leaving Logan estate to his cousin, Sir Ninian Buchan-Hepburn. In 1949 the estate passed to Mr R Olaf Hambro; following his death in 1961, the estate was looked after by a charitable trust until funds became exhausted and the house and gardens were gifted to the nation. In 1969, Sir Ninian reacquired the house and most of its land. The Walled Garden and surrounding woodland became Logan Botanic Garden, a regional Garden of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Logan Botanic Garden, Port Logan, Dumfries & Galloway, is part of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Famed for its spectacular collection of bizarre and beautiful plants from the southern hemisphere, Logan is recognised as Scotland’s Most Exotic Garden. Warmed by the Gulf Stream, it is ablaze with colour throughout the season. Filmed on numerous occasions, it was notably used as a backdrop for the cult 1973 film, The Wicker Man.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a leading international research organisation delivering knowledge, education and plant conservation action around the world. In Scotland its four Gardens at Edinburgh, Benmore, Dawyck and Logan attract a million visitors each year. It operates as a Non Departmental Public Body established under the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985, principally funded by the Scottish Government. It is also a registered charity, managed by a Board of Trustees appointed by Ministers. Its mission is “To explore, conserve and explain the world of plants for a better future”.

History of the Garden
The garden dates from 1869 when James McDouall married Agnes Buchan-Hepburn, from Smeaton in East Lothian. She had a great passion for gardening and began to experiment with exotic plantings. Her love of gardening passed to her sons, Kenneth and Douglas, who became horticulturists in their own right, travelling widely in warm temperate regions to collect new species and obtaining seed from the expeditions of leading plant collectors of their day. The McDoualls established many of the main structural plantings that define the Garden today. Kenneth McDouall died in 1945, leaving Logan estate to his cousin, Sir Ninian Buchan-Hepburn. In 1949 the estate passed to Mr R Olaf Hambro; following his death in 1961, the estate was looked after by a charitable trust until funds became exhausted and the house and gardens were gifted to the nation. In 1969, Sir Ninian reacquired the house and most of its land. The Walled Garden and surrounding woodland became Logan Botanic Garden, a regional Garden of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.