COLUMNIST: KAREN STEWART-RUSSELL
Rewind to the beginning of the year and I was busy day dreaming of Scone Palace Garden Fair. I remembered the beautiful miniature gardens and displays in the Pallet and Planter Challenge, organised by the Scottish Gardener’s Forum, and had a vision of a garden I would like to create.
I was really keen to push myself to get my idea out there and thankfully everyone at the Scottish Gardeners’ Forum was really helpful and kind, giving me all the information and guidance I needed to put my idea forward and get involved.
The inspiration for my design was a deep love of Scotland, forest walks, and visiting whisky distilleries all over mainland Scotland and its stunning islands. The peace and serenity felt whilst strolling under a forest canopy amongst the lush green ferns is hard to beat with many of the distilleries displaying the most amazing naturalistic planting. With the magical glint of the copper stills through the distillery window and the promise of a wee dram of smoky, amber toned whisky, it almost feels like being in a secret garden that gradually reveals its treasures.
When choosing plants, I did my best to select ones that you would often see in a woodland setting, such as ferns, grasses, sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum), and ivy (Hedera). To provide some height and variety of colour, granny’s bonnet (Aquielgia) plants were added. The star of the show, the striking amber coloured Heuchera ‘Marmalade’ was picked to mimic the colour of whisky, their delicate floaty flowers representing the “angels’ share” which is the whisky that evaporates during the maturation process and is said to go to the angels.
The backdrop of the pallet garden would be an arch created from a whisky barrel ring from which a copper bird bath was hung to give the impression of the whisky stills. A path made with whisky barrel stave steps helped to create a journey through the garden and would lead the eye through.
Many of the plants were lifted from my own garden with a large number being grown from seed or divided. Some I bought as very young plants or rescued from the garden centre’s ‘death shelf’, with the latter needing a fair bit of tender loving care in order to be ready for display!
My long-suffering husband, Malcolm, helped me cut the barrel stave steps and drill the barrel ring so I could secure the bird bath within the arch. He also came out to inspect my ‘mock up’ in our garden and lend his opinion on my all too frequent changes.
The build went very smoothly and everyone from Scone Place and the Scottish Gardeners’ Forum was kind, helpful, and supportive. I had done all I could and there was nothing more to do but wait for the verdict.
On arriving at the Fair on Saturday I was over the moon to see that I had been awarded Gold, such a lovely surprise. The feedback from the judges and public was very positive and a joy to hear.
In addition to the pleasure of having made my vision a reality, it was most rewarding getting to know the other entrants and new friendships have been made.
I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and the chance to put myself out there and embrace the challenge. I am so glad I decided to just go for it.
I would heartily encourage anyone thinking about it to give it a try, you will have the time of your life, I definitely did.
Karen Stewart-Russell lives in the heart of rural Fife. Passionate about the mental health benefits of gardening, she loves to share the joy of growing through her garden wall seed, plant, and book library. Karen has a relaxed, wildlife friendly garden, full of flowers, and is a huge fan of roses. Her latest project is an apothecary garden as her enthusiasm for utilising herbs and useful flowers grows. Follow her on Instagram.
