scotland’s garden scheme
Scotland’s Gardens Scheme (SGS) supports the opening of gardens throughout Scotland to the public, raising funds for charity through garden gate tickets, plant sales, and teas. Most are privately owned and are normally inaccessible to the public at other times.
Over 400 unique gardens, including 53 new gardens signed up this year, supporting 244 charities and local good causes, will open to the public in 2025, including a collection of new and returning Orkney gardens.
60% of funds raised at each garden opening may go to the garden owner’s charity of choice with the remainder being donated to Scotland’s Gardens Scheme and its beneficiary charities: Maggie’s, the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland, and Perennial. Scotland’s Gardens Scheme is powered by volunteers and has been raising funds for charity through garden openings since 1931.
The charity raised just under £400,000 through garden open days in 2024, with around £220,000 directly benefitting 240 charities and local good causes chosen by garden owners. A further £22,000 was donated to each of SGS’s core charities. The charity also awarded bursaries totalling £7,500 to Scottish horticulturists through its Cattanach Award, which will be launched again for 2025.
The SGS open gardens 2025 programme includes gardens of all shapes, sizes, situations, and interest such as:
Dalswinton Mill in Dumfriesshire opens on 10th August. The garden of Colin Crosbie, a former Curator at RHS Wisley, the garden is set on both sides of the Pennyland Burn which flows through the middle of the garden, and the opening will include a mini plant fair, with music, stalls, talks, and horticultural demonstrations.
2 Durnamuck in the north west of Scotland, recently featured on Monty Don’s British Gardens, a wonderful lochside croft garden
Carolside garden in the Scottish Borders with its glorious rose-filled elliptical walled garden, which featured on Netflix’s The Buccaneers
Drummond Castle gardens, one of Scotland’s most impressive formal gardens dating back to the 17th century, famous for its appearance in the ‘Outlander’ TV series and as the venue for Dior’s first Scottish fashion show in 2024
The inclusion of gardens with an environmental focus continues to be a growing trend, such as Archerfield Walled Garden in East Lothian with a new water-saving garden area featuring drought-tolerant species in shades of blue, rust, and orange, while Lindisfarne garden in Moray includes a pond and rain garden fed by run-off from the roof and a wildflower meadow left to set seed for the birds, plus a shed featuring a green roof.
Also in East Lothian, Papple Steading features a meadow planted with Scottish native wildflowers, said to be one of the largest of its kind in Scotland. Laura’s Wood in Orkney has a half-acre sown with bird seed mix to feed the wild birds in Orkney’s inhospitable northern environment, demonstrating how garden owners are determined to support their local wildlife.
Ascog Fernery on Bute returns to SGS with its enchanting and well-stocked subterranean Victorian fernery topped with an ornamental ‘terrarium-like’ roof, and including a 1000-year-old King Fern.
Other ferneries can be seen at SGS regulars Hospitalfield House garden, where there is a newly restored fernery, and Benmore Botanic Garden, a beautiful Victorian structure set into the rocky cliffs above the garden.
This year, SGS visitors can explore the New Lanark Roof Garden which returns after a break. Created on the 9,000 square foot roof on one of the New Lanark mill buildings, the Roof Garden is the largest of its kind in Scotland. The garden's patterns of gentle curves and swirls reflect the turning arc of the great waterwheels which once powered the cotton-mills, and the flowing lines of the threads moving through the historic machinery as the yarn was spun, twisted, wound, and woven. The garden is the work of garden designer Douglas Coltart and is now maintained by New Lanark volunteers.
In the heart of urban Glasgow, the SWG3 Community Garden sits behind SWG3, a high-profile events venue, on what was formerly derelict land between two railway lines. Now, it's a delightful secret garden populated with trees, grasses, shrubs, and perennials with wide paths curving through the beds. Designed by the horticulturist and garden designer Jeremy Needham, it also houses beehives and two different heights of raised beds which are used by the local community as allotments.
Gardyne Castle garden in Angus opens on 21st June, a rare chance to see this enchanting, romantic garden created by the owners over the past 21 years. The garden includes a colourful long double border, herbaceous planting, roses, peonies, and lavender, as well as a formal knot garden with yew topiaries and specimen trees complementing a castle that dates back to the 16th century in parts.
Further south in the Scottish Borders in Berwickshire, The Walled Garden at the Hugo Burge Foundation opens for the first time with SGS on Fridays in July and August (booking essential). A recently redeveloped walled garden in the grounds of the Marchmont Estate, the garden is designed to inspire creativity as part of the newly formed arts charity. The garden contains herbaceous borders, a kitchen garden, a colonnade, wildflower meadows, cut flower borders, a sculpture collection, and newly restored Mackenzie and Moncur glasshouses.
Glenkindie House, in the Strathdon area of Aberdeenshire, is a 16th-century castle remodelled in the 1900s. The walled gardens are laid out in the Victorian Arts & Crafts style with herbaceous borders, a magnificent rhododendron shrubbery, specimen trees, and rose beds. There is a fine collection of 19th-century yew topiary depicting teddy bears, chess pieces, and characters from Alice in Wonderland.
Gledenholm garden in Ae village, in Dumfriesshire, has been created by the owner over the past 20 years largely through his passion for propagating plants, which he also generously donates to many SGS plant sales.
2 Strathview in Conon Bridge near Inverness is a medium-sized garden with a shady maze of paths through beds packed with perennials sloping down to sea level, and even a steam model railway which works if weather allows. Stunning panoramic views across the Cromarty Firth can be seen from a 'food forest', with fruit trees, runner beans, strawberries, and mature apple trees.
Visiting a group or village opening remains extremely popular with the opportunity to view a variety of different sizes and styles of gardens all on one day. This year, there are 24 SGS group openings around Scotland, with highlights including:
Gifford, a traditional estate village a short distance from Edinburgh in East Lothian, opens on 22nd June and includes two stunning large-scale gardens at Broadwoodside (seen on Monty Don’s British Gardens in January 2025) and Gifford Bank, along with a variety of lovely village gardens.
Lanark Town Gardens are new for 2025, opening on 13th July with six gardens in the Waterloo Road area of Lanark town. Highlights include a miniature orchard, an extensive rock garden with a collection of alpines, a colourful partially walled garden with a focus on wildlife, and a remodelled garden full of interest and surprise.
Muckhart Open Gardens in Perthshire are opening on the weekend of 31st May and 1st June with a collection of gardens in and around the Pool o’Muckhart and Yetts o’Muckhart, some of which have not opened previously. A small, charming village, Muckhart boasts an enchanting variety of cottage and informal gardens.
Liz Stewart, Scotland’s Gardens Scheme Chief Executive said, “It's wonderful to be able to present yet another exciting programme of open days to the public and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to our 2025 season. Our garden owners and volunteers are truly inspiring people, and we are so grateful to them for their generosity in sharing their passion for plants and gardening knowledge to inspire many others.
“We have a passionate following of regular visitors, and we hope to welcome many, many more people new to Scotland’s Gardens Scheme this year, to enjoy the delights of open gardens. Visiting open gardens is a wonderful way to do your bit for charity, have the chance to learn something new about gardening and be inspired, to meet other garden lovers, and to reap the benefits of being outside in a beautiful environment. Please join us in 2025 and help us raise funds for charities and local good causes again this year.”
For full details of gardens open for charity, explore the SGS website or buy the 2025 guidebook, available on the website at scotlandsgardens.org.
If you would like to see your garden featured in a future edition of Scotland Grows magazine, please do get in touch to mail@scottishgardeningmagazine.com - we would love to hear from you!