Osgood Mackenzie

Osgood Hanbury Mackenzie (1842–1922; Scottish Gaelic: Osgood MacCoinnich) was a Scottish landowner and the creator of a famous garden at Inverewe, near Poolewe in Wester Ross. Origins Mackenzie was born on 13 May 1842, at the Chateau de Talhouet, near Quimperlé, in Morbihan, Brittany. His father was Sir Francis Mackenzie, 5th Baronet and 12th laird of Gairloch. The Mackenzies were a clan from the Northwest Highlands that had risen to prominence in the 15th century during the disintegration of the Lordship of the Isles. Mackenzie’s ancestor, Hector Roy Mackenzie, had acquired the lands of Gairloch towards the end of the 15th century. Mackenzie’s mother, Mary, was the daughter of Osgood Hanbury, of Holfield Grange, Essex. Life Mackenzie’s father died a year or so after he was born. He was educated at home, in the tradition of his family, and brought up to speak both English and Gaelic. In 1862, with the help of his mother he purchased the estate of Inverewe and Kernsary. There he built a Scottish Baronial style mansion and set about creating a garden. Mackenzie concentrated first on establishing shelter belts of Native and Scandinavian pines and built a walled garden. He also created woodland walks. Within 40 years, he had established one of the finest collections in Scotland of temperate plants from both Northern and Southern hemispheres.