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Gardens
in Lothian.

It’s 01:41 in Lothian.
Lothian

Dirleton's border and Balerno's roses.

The gardens of the Lothians are old ones, made for castles and big houses. In the village of Dirleton, the gardens round a 13th-century castle ruin hold the longest herbaceous border in the world, at its brightest in summer. Nearby, an 18th-century walled garden that once fed Archerfield House now has a meadow, a potager, a café and a fairy trail through the woods. At Balerno, on the edge of the Pentlands, a National Trust garden keeps yews around 400 years old and more than 150 kinds of rose. Come in early summer for the borders and the roses.

Archerfield Walled Garden→
Dirleton Castle & Gardens→
Malleny House & Garden→
Garden of the dayJust now

Malleny House & Garden.

Cared for by the National Trust for Scotland, Malleny House and Garden is a calm oasis on the outskirts of the city

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Did you knowJust now

The garden at Glenkinchie was planted with an orchard and plants native to East Lothian.

It was laid out for the reopening in October 2020 to change with the seasons through the year, and the path in this film runs through it towards the willow and the footbridge.

See Glenkinchie Distillery · Lothian
From our guideJust now

Archerfield Walled Garden.

The walls of this 18th-century garden near Dirleton once sheltered the fruit and vegetables grown for Archerfield House. Today they hold a perennial meadow, a rose garden, a potager and beds of cut flowers, and much of what grows here ends up in the Garden Cafe. There's a large garden shop and a food market with a deli counter. Children can follow the free fairy trail through Archerfield Wood, past willow sculptures and a swing, and back along the Willow Walk by the pond. Dogs are welcome in the grounds, so it makes an easy morning out for everyone.

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Did you knowJust now

George Forrest, the plant hunter who gathered over 31,000 specimens in China, got his start finding ancient bones while fishing at Gladhouse Reservoir in Midlothian.

In June 1903 Forrest was fishing at the reservoir when he came across human bones, probably more than a thousand years old. The find brought him to John Abercromby, secretary of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, who wrote on his behalf to Isaac Bayley Balfour, the director of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Balfour had no money for a plant collector, but in September 1903 he gave Forrest a modest job in the garden's herbarium, its collection of dried plants. The next spring a seed merchant offered him work collecting in China, and within two weeks he was on his way to Yunnan, the start of seven expeditions over 28 years.

See Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
GardensJust now

Dirleton Castle & Gardens.

A castle ruin of the 13th century in the village of Dirleton, with gardens that hold the longest herbaceous border in the world.

See the place
Did you knowJust nowLucy GillmoreWritten byLucy GillmoreMore from Lucy

Eskfield, a Palladian spa house of 1714 on the Penicuik Estate just south of Edinburgh, has been restored as a place to stay.

‘Just south of Edinburgh, Penicuik Estate at the foot of the Pentland hills has been in the Clerk family since 1654, successive generations managing the 7,660-acre property, and, more recently, doing up the estate’s cottages. Eskfield, one of the collection, a Palladian spa house built in 1714 and surrounded by its own walled garden, has been restored. Along with 20km of walking and cycling trails, added extras include a private chef, whisky tastings, guided estate tours, private yoga classes and falconry.’

Lucy GillmoreWritten byLucy GillmoreMore from LucyRead the full story

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