Làrach Mòr is a garden in

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creation ...

, in the western

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

of Scotland. It lies east of

Arisaig Arisaig ( gd, Àrasaig) is a village in Lochaber, Inverness-shire. It lies south of Mallaig on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, within the Rough Bounds. Arisaig is also the traditional name for part of the surrounding peninsula south ...

, in the crook of a bend in the A830. It was developed during the 20th century as a collection of

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

s, and is included in the

Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland The ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland'' is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a conti ...

, the national listing of significant gardens.

History

Làrach Mòr is on the Arisaig Estate, traditionally the land of the Macdonalds of Clanranald. In the 19th century the site was an orchard and kitchen garden, part of the grounds of Glen House, located around to the south. Glen House was designed by

James Gillespie Graham James Gillespie Graham (11 June 1776 – 11 March 1855) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the early 19th century. Life Graham was born in Dunblane on 11 June 1776. He was the son of Malcolm Gillespie, a solicitor. He was christened as J ...

for the Chief of Clanranald in 1819, but was demolished in 1864, leaving only an earlier laird's house. In 1927 a wealthy Glasgow businessman, John Augustus Holms (1866–1938), took a lease on of land on the estate. His purpose was to develop his collection of Rhododendrons, which he had built up at

Formakin House Formakin House is an early 20th-century mansion and estate in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It is located south of the Firth of Clyde, and west of Bishopton. Formakin was designed by Robert Lorimer for wealthy businessman John Holms, though the main ...

in Renfrewshire from the early 1920s. A keen gardener, Holms was a founder member of the Rhododendron Society, and his collection began to outgrow the space available at Formakin. The woodland site at Làrach Mòr was ideal in its climate and setting for the cultivation of Rhododendrons. He began by transplanting specimens from Formakin, and adding new plants with the ultimate aim of assembling an example of every species then available in Britain. Holms kept a detailed catalogue of each plant and its provenance, with corresponding labels attached to the specimens. He created shelter through plantings of

Western Hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

and

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam' ...

, and established other flowering plants such as ''

Embothrium ''Embothrium'' is a genus of two to eight species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) in the plant family Proteaceae, native to southern South America, in Chile and adjacent western Argentina; the genus occurs as far south as Tierra del Fuego ...

'', ''

Gevuina ''Gevuina avellana'' (Chilean hazelnut ( in Spanish), or ''Gevuina hazelnut''), is an evergreen tree, up to 20 meters (65 feet) tall. It is the only species currently classified in the genus ''Gevuina''. It is native to southern Chile and adjace ...

'', ''

Weinmannia ''Weinmannia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Cunoniaceae. It is the largest genus of the family with about 150 species. It is also the most widespread genus, occurring in Central and South America including the Caribbean, Madagasc ...

'', ''

Lomatia ''Lomatia'' is a genus of 12 species of evergreen flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae. Within the family, they have been placed, alone, in their own subtribe, Lomatiinae according to Johnson & Briggs 1975 classification of the fam ...

'', ''

Cunninghamia ''Cunninghamia'' is a genus of one or two living species of evergreen coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae. They are native to China, northern Vietnam and Laos, and perhaps also Cambodia. They may reach in height. In vernacular ...

'' and ''

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

''. Holms began work on redeveloping a cottage on the site, employing architect

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Gothi ...

who had designed Formakin House. On Holms' death in 1938, the house remained incomplete, but the Rhododendron collection included some 200 species. A sale of plants took place in 1939, leading to the partial dispersal of the collection. John Brennan, one of Holms' gardeners, continued to maintain the remaining plants, living in a

bothy A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are found in remote mountainous areas of Sco ...

on site until 1959. From the 1960s, management has been renewed. In 2003, the "outstanding horticultural interest" of the collection was recognised through inclusion in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes.

References

External links

Photos tagged with Larach Mor
Flickr * https://larachmhor.co.uk/ official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Larach Mor Gardens in Highland (council area) Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Lochaber