Blair Castle has announced that its gorgeous grounds and gardens are to be accepted into the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Partner Gardens scheme from 2017. As part of its membership, the castle will now offer free entry to all RHS members every Wednesday that the grounds and gardens are open to the public.

Scott Robertson, Tourism Sales & Business Development Manager at Blair Castle, said: “We are delighted to have been recognised in this way and to be joining this scheme. It’s wonderful news as it has coincided with the 20th anniversary of the restoration of Hercules Garden, the castle’s 18th century, walled, nine acre garden.

“We are joining a scheme which has as its members 176 different independent gardens around the UK, with a further 19 overseas, which offer members free entry at selected times of year. The benefits are that they can have a choice of gardens to visit if they do not live near an RHS garden. It also helps the RHS promote its membership and enables them to further its charitable work.”

“When our membership commences in January we will be able to take advantage of the RHS network of horticulture experts to further benefit our own garden,” he said.

Scott paid tribute to Head Gardener Andrew Fairley and his team of gardeners who look after the grounds and gardens at the castle. “The success of our gardens, which year on year attract more paying visitors, is testament to the enormous amount of hard work they put in year round. Hercules Garden has its own full-time gardener who does nothing else but maintain the garden. The feedback we get from visitors more than justifies the manpower we put in.”

“The entire grounds – from Diana’s Grove, our tranquil wooded area which contains some of the UK’s tallest trees, to the adventure playground, the deer park and the Sculpture Trial – really do complement the entire visitor experience here at Blair Castle.”

Helen Feary from the RHS Partner Garden Scheme said: “Blair Castle is a most welcome addition to the RHS network of Partner Gardens which will include 28 beautiful Scottish gardens in 2017. The location of Blair Castle, in Pitlochry, means that RHS members now have two gardens that they can visit free of charge in this area, not to mention the many other Partner Gardens around Perth and Dundee. Visiting gardens is the most popular benefit of joining the RHS, a charity whose vision is to enrich everyone’s life through plants.”