Backhouse Rossie Estate
RHS Partner Garden
Free RHS Member days
Thursday and Friday, April–September, when open
About the garden
The Backhouse family has spent the past 20 years restoring their garden. The Backhouse Heritage and Education Centre shares the story of their ancestors, the renowned Quaker Backhouse family of botanists and bankers. The sixth generation of the family continues their legacy.
Visitors can learn about the historic Loch that has disappeared, the ruined woodland tomb of the Covenanters and the family's connections to Mary Queen of Scots and Charles Darwin. Take a stroll beneath Scotland’s longest scented rose archway along a ‘DNA’ pathway, which features a central flower bed made from cathedral rose window stone.
The historic Walled Garden, themed around art and science, provides a tranquil space to relax among seasonal plantings. In the spring, the Scientific National Collection of Narcissus ‘Backhouse’ cultivars blooms, inspiring Scotland’s National Daffodil Festival held at the estate each April.
Facilities
- Assistance dogs only
- Parking
- Plant sales
- Refreshments
- Toilets
Key features
- Herbaceous border
- Glasshouse (open to public)
- Pond or lake
- Autumn colour
- Champion trees
- National Plant Collections
- Potager
Get involved
The RHS is the UK’s gardening charity, helping people and plants to grow - nurturing a healthier, happier world, one person and one plant at a time.