Photographer: Faramarz

Läckö slott – the garden
Kållandsö

A garden filled with colour, design and fragrance

Every spring the gardens in Lilla Slottsträdgården are dug and planted, and every summer visitors are enchanted by colours, shapes and scents as they descend the ancient stone steps.

Simon Irvine and his staff have been digging, planting, composting and caring for the gardens here for twenty-five years. Every year they carefully and methodically turn the soil by hand. Every autumn compost is piled up beneath the walnut trees. Lilla Slottsträdgården, with its different levels framed by high, white stone walls is a perfect spot for a soothing break in your visit to the castle.

The garden is organic and everything edible is harvested and immediately taken down to the kitchen. Herbs, lettuces, cabbages, beetroot and cardoons – when they are served, they are as locally grown as they could possibly be. Still the beds look beautiful thanks to the skill of the gardeners and the size of the harvest.

The Hvita Hjorten restaurant is in the bright and open setting of Naturum Vänerskärgården - Victoriahuset with fairy-tale views over Vänern. The food is fantastic, using produce from the castle’s own kitchen garden and local growers, Vänern fishermen, farmers and hunters. In December it hosts a Christmas party with open fires and fabulous winter cuisine.