A Summer Stroll Through The Grounds
The grounds around Drumearn House are rich with beautiful flora. We've written before about the proliferation of planting across the grounds, from exotic Japanese maples to centuries-old yew trees and Douglas firs.
After months of increasingly fine weather (at least by Scottish standards) the huge, copper beach tree in front of the house is a magnificent sight, its burnished red leaves swooshing majestically in the wind. Many species of rhododendron have come into full bloom while wildflowers and grasses infuse the property with colour and character.
Wandering wildlife
But what’s truly catching our eye right now is the fauna.
As Drumearn House sits on the border between the Lowlands and Highlands, it attracts a wide variety of bird species. Comrie is well known as a prime birdwatching location and we've had sightings of goldcrests, wrens, nesting barn owls, siskins and robins on our grounds.
And by installing nesting boxes across our estate, we're doing everything we can to encourage all of these birds – as well as red kites, ravens and many others – to nest in our woodland. A pair of great spotted woodpeckers were recently sighted and we’re crossing our fingers that they’ll come back to settle here for the season.
One reason we're seeing so much avian activity is that we’ve have opened up several areas surrounding the house. This involved removing some carefully chosen Cypress trees after a thorough survey. Many were originally planted as hedges that were never managed properly, and had consequently covered much of the grounds and prevented vegetation from growing on the forest and garden floors.
We’re starting to see more land animals exploring the grounds, too. Cottontail rabbits, red squirrels, and deer are regular visitors.
Before the rain sets in...
As we rapidly approach midsummer, we're doing everything we can to make the most of the sunshine and tick off important seasonal jobs before winter returns to Comrie. For example, our contractors are working to get the roof construction finished. In theory, once the roof is complete and watertight, we could remove the scaffolding and temporary roof, bringing Drumearn House back into the local landscape.
Inside the house’s dark rooms, our preservation partners from Saint Andrews are drilling and spraying herbicides to prevent the dry rot from breaking out again – an important summer job as wood doesn’t exactly dry out easily during the Scottish winter.
Back on the grounds, we’d love to return the gardens to their ‘original design’ from the late 1800s. While our Comrie-based landscape architects (Chris and Graham from Christopher Palmer Associates) have all the skills and knowledge for the job, the surrounding land is all B-listed; that means everything would have to go through the council for approval.
Finally, the warm weather has allowed Struan Donaldson and his team to get started on the wall surrounding Drumearn. The western section is predominantly built with lime mortar which, to say the least, doesn’t play particularly well with frosty conditions. With the long stretch by the entrance up to The Ross House now complete, the team will up tools and embark on a fresh section of the wall.
Best of all, having that team back at the house means our wee mascot Buidhe, the Border Terrier, gets to spend another summer on site.
