READER'S GARDEN
“The first documented evidence of my cottage is an 1861 map showing a substantial plot which was significantly reduced by 1876 due to the construction of a road through the site. Originally two thatched cottages, one was demolished around 1902 leaving a flat area of land, and explaining the plethora of beautiful large stones in the present garden.
“From 1879 until 1901 the occupant was Donald Maclean, Head Gardener of the hotel opposite, supplying the hotel with vegetables, fruit, and flowers.”
The majority of the garden had fallen victim to overgrowth and disease, and there is an area which slopes as deeply as 60 degrees in some parts, presenting some major landscaping challenges.
When she first inherited the property, Frances had to prepare herself for the amount of work that lay ahead. She explained, “I honestly can’t believe I took it on. There was a gloomy patch of enormous overgrown shrubs and perennials, which was more than a little daunting. Apart from anything else, getting to half of the garden was like climbing the Eiger!”
Frances however, was aware of the almost limitless potential of the property, “As a lifelong lover of ‘The Secret Garden’ I felt sure that beneath the ivy, vinca, and crocosmia lay good soil and some exciting planting times.” Her aim was to create a beautiful scented garden teaming with perennials, whilst also including an element of productivity via the planting of alpine strawberries and other crops.
The project was no mean feat, with the majority of the work taking several years to complete. Frances said, “The hard landscaping and initial clearing took about three years. Conifers and an elm which had succumbed to disease were felled; laurels and hardy fuschia of vast proportions removed, and tenacious ground cover was systematically cleaned out.
“Remembering what I’d heard during a gardening workshop, I split the project up into sections and worked at each one in turn, revisiting it as the perennial weeds reappeared until the soil was clean and ready to plant afresh.
“Each month was a voyage of discovery. A series of stone terraces which appeared from under a blanket of Rose of Sharon, were restored and inspired me to use some of my abundant stone to carve terraces into the steep slope which now hosts wonderful perennials.
“A small curved stone seating area, now aptly named ‘The Amphitheatre’, was uncovered behind a wall of Japanese anemones…we still dig those out weekly.”
Once the mammoth task of clearing the overgrowth was largely complete, Frances got to work on creating the garden of her dreams. The original lawn in front of the house was reinstated, replacing the huge area of gravel which was there.
Frances went on to describe the vast array of plants now surrounding the property, “As always with a garden, the planting slowly evolves – much thought and design went into each area – several times for each! I have an enormous selection of perennials, small shrubs, and young trees which are thriving. The perennials were largely accumulated from divisions and cuttings, plug plants, and nurtured from seed.
“Plants travelled with me from previous houses, were begged and gifted, and a few bought in when I couldn’t resist them – Anemone ‘Elfin Swan’, my favourite carpet roses, and a beautiful hellebore.
“These days I walk through the garden gate flanked by a 100 year old laburnum and a beech now draped in a stunning Clematis flammula to admire a corner stuffed with shade lovers which follow spring bulbs.
“To the left, the back of The Amphitheatre is softened by rock roses and leads round to a mix of small shrubs with a slim Berberis Helmond Pillar, a yellow scented azalea, and a new Rosa Mundi sitting. Tucked in a corner is raspberry bed, backed by new beech hedging.
“As I walk to the back door I pass the rockery under the greenhouse where all the plants put in five years ago have matured to lovely carpets.
“Where there once was crocosmia and ivy overgrowth on a dusty slope, now lies a four-tiered stone terrace with mixed perennials of all sizes. A Stipa gigantea dominates part way down – a beautiful mistake which is only allowed to stay because it obviously loves it there! Sitting low down in the arrangement its size is moderated by tall perennials towering above it - rudbeckia, eupatorium, and calamagrostis. When these are still dormant in early spring, the bed above has its moment to shine and the dark hellebores contrast wonderfully with white Daffodil ‘Thalia’ and yellow cowslips.
“Every single day I admire the stone terraces which I’m still populating within the stones with alpines, stonecrops, sedums, miniature London Pride, and all things small and spreading.”
“One of my greatest achievements is the planting high up at the top of the 60 degree slope under the beech hedge behind the cottage. Here lavender from plugs and cream perennial foxgloves raised from seed hum with bees, somehow finding enough soil to hold on to and thrive.”
“The 2023 triumph is hollyhocks grown by a friend from seed and now in their third year – strong and upright in narrow beds at the front of the cottage. Underplanted with real cottage garden favourites – carnations, violas, and lavender. Long gone are the woody cotoneasters which greeted me seven years ago.”
Frances’s greenhouse which has travelled with her across three different gardens, holds tomatoes and cucumbers in summer, and cuttings and tender plants during the winter months. Behind the greenhouse is a bank which gives strawberries freely, and a small raised bed built into the higher bank provides space to grow veg.
Blueberries love the ericaceous soil of the shrubbery on the far slope. Their autumn colour blends wonderfully with evergreen shrubs, an Acer and, “Yes, that hardy fuschia – repurposed from being an enormous shrub to a colourful boundary hedge.”
Having completed the majority of the project, Frances now gets to enjoy the fruits of her labour in a stunning outdoor space. The project though, has not been without its challenges. Frances said, “In the Highlands we have late frosts, and my south-east facing garden, in the dip of a Victorian Spa Village, has problematic frost pockets. There are many dry, steep slopes which challenge even the best of mulching practices! Oh and those stone terraces also serve as a hotel for slugs and snails!”
The project would not have been possible without help from friends, whom Frances credits as being pivotal in helping her achieve the garden of her dreams. She also credits friend Alison, along with her pet Labrador Bru, as being a steadfast during what has been a Herculean task spanning several years, “Alison pretends to be a jobbing gardener but is a hugely knowledgeable plantswoman who, as well as grafting with me every week, loves to propagate plants, and has given me buckets of seedlings and young plants to challenge my growing skills, and a wealth of ideas and advice to help me develop what is becoming a wonderful setting for a pretty cottage. I would never have been able to transform the garden without her help and encouragement.”
Looking ahead to the future, Frances has one more project to complete: the construction of a heather bed, the final area of the garden to be renovated alongside, “the battles against ground elder, bindweed, and old laurel stumps in the hope of winning the war”.
It is clear that Frances possesses endless amounts of tenacity and determination, both of which have fuelled her through a project not for the faint-hearted. Frances’s journey serves as a reminder of what can be achieved when we choose to see the unlimited potential in an outdoor space.
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