Greenhouse attraction installs wood-fuelled boiler

The greenhouses of Floors Castle in the Scottish borders are to become more environmentally-friendly after the attraction opted to install biomass boilers to heat them.

The wood-fuelled devices will be filled with waste timber from the surrounding forests on the Roxburghe Estate, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) revealed.

Head gardener Andrew Simmons explained that the boiler provides the sites horticulture experts with peace of mind as they know the plants will be safe in the greenhouses.

"We know the heat is there so we dont have to worry – we can always source more wood locally and we can budget each year and know how much its going to cost," he revealed.

The boiler will heat one of the greenhouses to 15 degrees C and will even provide pure wood ash for use as fertiliser in the RHS recommended garden.

Floors Castle and its extensive gardens are home to the tenth Duke of Roxburghe and overlook the River Tweed.

The wood-burning boiler is located at the centre of the estate, meaning it is used to supply cottages and other buildings in the vicinity with heat.

Meanwhile, garden and greenhouse fans in the south of the country who feel Floors Castle is too far away may be interested to hear that the RHS Garden Wisley has been given the title of Large Visitor Attraction of the Year for the South East.