Garden overview 

Redhall section map South yellow South green West green West blue East yellow Sycamore West yellow Cottage garden Vegetable garden East green North blue North green North yellow House

 

 Introduction 

We would be happy to show individuals and small groups around at any time and information for visitors can be found here.

We've got our plants from many sources but have had particularly good service and plants from,

In 2007 an underground watering system was installled which runs to the top of the garden and uses 'Leaky Pipe' to water the various beds with minimal use of water.

Major projects in 2009 were the installation of 'EverEdge' steel edging around the beds in the Northern area of the garden and the installation of an anti-roe deer electric fence.

Our major problem now is rabbits and extensive damage was done in the winters of 2009 & 2010 by them barking shrubs and trees. In 2012, we had the whole garden fitted with rabbit mesh but there's still one within the perimeter!

Please click an area on the map for a summary of the plants to be seen in that part of the garden. Click in the outline of the house to return to this page.

 

 South: yellow area 

The area in front of the garages has a number of Rowans at the edge of the track, largely scarlet-berried species and, near the south boundary, a selection of Magnolia in front of a hedge including Hawthorn and Rowans and a Stone pine.

 

 South: green area 

The eastern edge of this area is bounded by a hedge containing a range of shrubs, including Sambucus 'Black Lace', which is fronted by a weeping pear and a number of moss Roses. This border ends in a selection of Buddleja.

As this is the sunniest part of the whole garden there is a selection of several kinds of Iris in a small border to the right of the garage doors and a climbing rose, Rosa 'Fruhlingsgold', on the garage wall.

By the front gate are examples of S. rosea, frutescens and californica.

 

 West: green area 

This area is dominated by more Rowans; a mixture of scarlet and pink/white berried trees. At the right there is a border containing several Euonymus including a large example of E. planipes.

 

 West: blue area 

This area encompasses the main entrance to the house via the conservatory and a path to the left goes through a small grove of palmate maples into the west green area.

The rest of the west blue area is taken up with two ponds: the wildlife pond and Koi pool, 'though there are no longer any Koi! These ponds are flanked on the right by a small bog garden and support a number of white and pink water-lilies.

 

 East: yellow area 

This has a small courtyard showing a Japaneses influence with a tsukubai, flanked a shrubs and ferns, and a lantern under an Acer japonica 'Osakazuki' .

Another specimen tree in this area is Acer palmatum 'Shishigashira'; the Lion head maple, sometimes called the Lion scarer!

 

 The Sycamore 

This tree is old enough to have benn surveyed on the first Scottish OS map of 1861. We believe it is actually well over 200 years old.

 

 West: yellow area 

This is dominated by the mature Sycamore which is at least 200 years old.

We are luck in that we have a number of mature trees, mainly Oak and Scotch pine, in the areas of the garden north of this. It also contains more pink and white berried Rowans. At its north side there is bank on which we grow most of our ferns next to runs for some of the cockerels.

 

 Cottage garden 

This is now a misnomer as the cottage garden plants which initially grew here have been pushed out by the shading of the maturing trees: a Korean Cherry, various Birch and a Hoheria lyallii.

 

 Vegetable garden 

This area also contains the green house which has in-built in cold-frames and the mister which I use to propagate cuttings.

The vegetable garden is the provinance of my wife and it is netted to keep out pea fowl and pheasants although the top netting allows in small birds which eat the Blueberries. My wife grows 'Red Bull' sprouts and 'Pentland Brig' Kale, (made in Scotland from girders), along with our own Chives, Parsley and Garlic.

 

 East: green area 

At the side of the house are a number of old sinks used as planters. Originally these each contained a dwarf conifer, a prostrate Willow and some Alpines but most of these are now dead and presently, (2019), the troughs are being emptied, fitted with Leaky Pipe and will be used to grow Arisaema.

The area at the north of the house is the Herb garden in which we grow Bay, Broadleaf Thyme, Majorum, Mint and, in pots which are brought in over the winter, Rosemary and French Tarragon. There is also a Rosa gallica officinalis, (The Apothecary's rose), and Rosa gallica mundi.

 

 North: blue area 

This area is divided into a number of broad beds accessed by paths covered in shredded bark. We're lucky in that a local company dumps this by the side of Caddam Wood; free for anyone to collect.

These beds contain the majority of the recorded Cardiocrinum collection although my wife plants a number of unrecorded plants in other areas. We have 50 - 70 Cardiocrinum flowering each year. The plants grow in the shade provided by white and pink berried trees from the Rowan collection and, in turn, provide the partial shade for the Arisaema collection for which we hope to gain National Collection status.

Other plants growing in this area include Meconopsis; blue species, punicea; in the shape of 'Sichuan Silk', and the hybrid x cookei 'Old Rose'. Sharing the shade with the Arisaema are a mixture of wild Strawberries, (Fragaria vesca), both the red and white fruited varieties, Arisarum proboscideum, Asarum europeus, a vigorous Bugle, (Ajuga reptans 'Silver Beauty'), miniature Persicaria (affinis?), which grows to form a solid mat, drifts of pink and white Colchicum, patches of Wild Woodruff, (Galium odoratum) and Arum maculatum mixed with Arum italicum pictum.

For accent planting we use Trillium and Foxgloves, especially my wife's pale blush selections of Digitalis purpurea, and any other woodland plant which takes our fancy; Beesia and Jeffersonia are valued although they are slow to bulk up.

 

 North: green area 

This area used to contain the majority of the Hosta collection but, as mentioned elsewhere, these are now predated by the Pea fowl and are being removed. The main point of interest is a fast-growing Korean fir which holds its purple cones on the lower as well as the upper branches.

At the west side is the main hen run, which has a second Korean fir in it, and, near the fence, the main utility area with composters and bags of leaves. At the south edge, adjacent to the vegetable garden are our three main compost bins 'though my wife runs a hot bin near the hen-run.

 

 North: yellow area 

The top of the garden contains more Rowans including the Scots Rowan cultivars 'Copper Kettle' and 'Crème Lace' and a number of other trees including a Monkey Puzzle, several Lodgepole pines, a Chestnut and another Korean fir.