Edzell Castle was built to replace an earlier motte and bailey residence by the Lindsay family in the early 16th century. The four-storey tower house was finished off with a substantial north range and its famed Renaissance-style walled garden in 1604.

The so-called Great Garden still features the original heraldic and symbolic sculptures. These include themed carved panels depicting the Seven Cardinal Virtues (Fides, Spes, Caritas, Prudentia, Temperantia, Fortitudo and Justitia) on the West Wall, the Seven Liberal Arts (Grammatica, Rhetorica, Dialectia, Arithmetica, Musica, Geometria and Astronomia) on the South Wall and the Seven Planetary Deities (Greek or Roman Gods of Luna, Mercury, Venus, Sol, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) on the East Wall.