I am simply delighted to have stumbled upon a website that not only offers detailed information about all of the beautiful plants and flowers we can grow in Aberdeen, but also tells us the life story of the gardener, and family, and his great love of gardening.
“My interest in gardens and gardening began as a child. My brother and I visited and stayed over at our grandparents house regularly. We lived on the top floor of a tenement block, making the visits to grandmas house all the more special. They had a large garden which was beautifully maintained, the days spent there were the best of my childhood,” explains Alistair.
“In February of 1952 our father died at the age of thirty three, everything would now be very different. My poor mother did everything in her power to do what was best for her three children, myself at six years of age, my brother ten and my two year old sister who had been the apple of her fathers eye.”
The gardener goes on to tell us details of his marriage at a young age, the births of his children, and his first garden in Aberdeen. “It was a council house with a small garden, moving in with our two children who were still babies was like being given a mansion!”
In 1985 the family moved into their own home near the river Dee and they won their first gardening award in 1991, with many more to follow.
While you’re enjoying reading about Alistair and browsing through his photos, you may forget the whole reason you made the visit to his site, which was to learn about flowers, right? Don’t forget to visit the A to Z plant guide which is bursting full of colorful images or have a look at his extremely useful gardening calendar.
You’ll also find a wonderful page dedicated beautiful photos of Aberdeen, complete with enough details and information to satisfy most any tourist.
In one of his posts, Alistair brought tears to my eyes:
“Now when our grandsons visit I find myself wondering, when you are both grown up will you reflect on the times spent at grandma and grandads?”
You can find this treasure of a website located here: Aberdeen Gardening