IT will be the garden that the young Robert Burns would have known.

The land tended by William Burns, the work of the man who Burns called his “tender father and gen’rous friend”, is to be restored to its 18th century origins in a new scheme financed by Burns afficionados in America.

The land around the famous two-roomed cottage in Alloway, Ayrshire, were the Bard spent his formative years is to be returned to how it was when he was a youth, including the crops and flowers which his father, a skilled gardener, grew and harvested.

The reclamation of the land is to be financed from across the Atlantic, by benefactors to the National Trust for Scotland Foundation in the US.

The cottage welcomes 179,000 visitors annually, but soon these tourists will be able to see, and savour, the crops, fruits and vegetables grown there in the 18th century.

The funding will "fully realize the vision" that William, who lived from 1721 to 1784, had for his small farm around the cottage.

An anonymous donor now has pledged $30,000 (£22,000) to complete work at Burns historic birthplace.

This money, raised by the National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA in Boston and passed to the National Trust for Scotland, will, it is hoped, be joined by an additional $30,000 for the project by June 30.

The second and final phase of the project will include clearing and extending woodland paths, which have not been open to the public before.

The cottage’s meadow will be seeded with wildflowers, additional raised vegetable beds will be installed, and signage will be upgraded.

In the orchard "heritage" apple trees will be grown, as well as pear trees and berries.

Scottish varieties of leek and potatoes will be grown, as well as flowers.

William Burns, who the poet described as a "tender and affectionate father", was a trained gardener with an ambition of becoming a nurseryman.

In 1757, he began building a two-room cottage on his smallholding, or tenant farm, in Alloway.

Robert was born in the cottage two years later, and it was in the same building that the first Burns Night supper was held five years after the poet’s death.

A pond and wetland has already been created and a fruit orchard planted.

Simon Skinner, the chief executive of the NTS, said: "Burns is an inspiration the world over and his verse has touched the lives of millions, to the extent that people of all nations will come together to sing his words to Auld Lang Syne at New Year’s.”

"It is therefore entirely fitting that the project to restore and enhance his birthplace should rely so much on international generosity - especially from the US where so many of his kith and kin ultimately settled, along with the ideas he planted.

"We hope that the many Americans who love Burns and see Scotland as a spiritual and ancestral home will help us achieve our aims."

The National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA has ahistory of supporting Burns-related conservation initiatives.

It raised more than £111,000 for the restoration of the Burns Monument located not far from the cottage.

Kirstin Bridier, the executive director of NTSUSA, said: "Robert Burns’ words are an important source of inspiration and connection for many Americans of Scottish descent.

"We are delighted to strengthen the appreciation and understanding of Burns on both sides of the Atlantic by supporting this important project."