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A stone country house with a pillared entrance porch stands behind a lawn, ivy climbing one corner and mature trees framing the view.
Scottish Borders

Harmony Garden

A peaceful walled garden of lawns, scented borders and fruit and vegetable beds round a Georgian house in Melrose, with views of the abbey and the Eildons.

Welcome

Right in the middle of Melrose, across the road from the abbey, Harmony Garden is three acres of calm.

Lawns, scented borders and fruit and vegetable beds spread out around a handsome Georgian house of grey stone, all inside old garden walls.

The garden changes through the seasons. In early spring its historic bulb lawn, one of the oldest in Scotland, puts on an outstanding display, and in late spring the azaleas and rhododendrons blaze with colour. Through the summer the herbaceous border and the kitchen garden are at their best, and every June the Borders Book Festival fills the grounds.

From the garden there are fine views of the abbey ruins and the Eildon Hills. Entry is free, though a small donation is welcome, and well-behaved dogs on a lead can come too, except into the kitchen garden. It opens daily from March to October.

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The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
Before you go

Open every day, 10am to 5pm, from mid-March to the end of October; closed in winter.

Free, with a suggested donation.

Where
St Mary's Road, Melrose, TD6 9LJ.
Size
3 acres.
Admission
Free; donation £3.

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Did you know

A Victorian glasshouse stands beyond raised vegetable beds in a walled kitchen garden, netting protecting young plants in the foreground.
Did you know

An old bulb lawn.

Harmony's bulb lawn, at its best in early spring, is thought to be one of the oldest in Scotland.

A weathered wooden bench stands on a stone path beside a bed of red crocosmia flowers, mature trees rising behind.
Did you know

A festival garden.

Every June the garden hosts the Borders Book Festival.

01 / 03
Where it is

On St Mary's Road in the middle of Melrose, opposite the abbey, TD6 9LJ.

Close byMelrose.
  1. Melrose AbbeyMelrose AbbeyThe abbey across the road.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Apple trees in blossom in the orchard at Priorwood Garden, with the red stone ruin of Melrose Abbey beyond the wall.Priorwood GardenA walled garden in the ancient precinct of Melrose Abbey, cared for by the National Trust for Scotland.Under a mile as the crow flies
  3. Inside the Trimontium Museum: Roman cavalry armour, helmets, a painted shield and a silver face-mask helmet in dark cases lit red.Trimontium MuseumA museum on Melrose's Market Square telling the story of Trimontium, the Roman fort a mile and a half east at Newstead.Under a mile as the crow flies
  4. The white lattice deck of the Chain Bridge hanging across the River Tweed from its stone tower, with a heron in the shallows below.The Chain BridgeA chain suspension footbridge of 1826 over the Tweed between Melrose and the village of Gattonside.Under a mile as the crow flies
  5. Burts Hotel in Melrose, a white-painted 18th-century inn with black window surrounds and red window boxes.Burts HotelA family-run 18th-century hotel on the Market Square in Melrose, with a restaurant, a brasserie and bar, and rooms.Under a mile 1 min by road
  6. The Rhymer's Stone, a small upright memorial stone on a cobbled base in front of bushes.Rhymer’s StoneA memorial stone of 1929 near Melrose marking where Thomas the Rhymer is said to have met the Queen of Elfland under the Eildon Tree.1 mile 3 min by road
Directions
Whitewashed dining room with black chairs, wine racks and pendant lightsRestaurantsThe Hoebridge2.5 miles
Turreted mansion with gardens, hedges and rose beds below a covered walkwayAttractionsAbbotsford, Home of Sir Walter Scott2.5 miles
Leaderfoot Viaduct's stone arches span the River Tweed through rolling Borders farmlandAttractionsLeaderfoot Viaduct3.3 miles
The Great Tapestry of Scotland's modern pale stone gallery with a zigzag roofline on a sunny street corner in Galashiels.AttractionsThe Great Tapestry of Scotland3.7 miles
Stone tower with sash window above a white-framed door and lanternAttractionsOld Gala House4.0 miles
Empty bar stools face shelves of spirits behind a panelled counterRestaurantsBuccleuch Arms4.5 miles
The main lawn at Mertoun Gardens in early summer, with tall conifers behind and azaleas in flower along the border.AttractionsMertoun Gardens4.7 miles
Café interior with wooden tables, chalkboard menu and a "Deli & Home" signShoppingThe Mainstreet Trading Company4.9 miles
Three-peaked Eildon Hills rise above patchwork fields and woodland in the BordersAttractionsScott’s View5.0 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the garden, and when each is next free.

A grey stone farmhouse with several chimneys stands against rolling hills, a wildflower meadow in the foreground.The Scullery
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Yarrow
  • 13 miles from Harmony Garden
Free 13–15 NovThe House in the Hill at dusk, its turf roof over walls of local stone and glass, a bedroom lit inside and the hot tub at the corner.The House in the Hill
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Jedburgh
  • 15 miles from Harmony Garden
Free 31 Oct – 2 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in the Scottish BordersAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

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Read on

What we have written about it and more in the Scottish Borders.

From the magazineWhat's On in ScotlandFrom the magazineGardensArticle9 Gardens in Scotland Worth Planning a Trip Around
More in the Scottish Borders
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For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .