“We never get used to our amazing views” This sloping woodland garden blends seamlessly into its hilly landscape, with trees and shrubs for winter interest
This sloping woodland garden blends seamlessly into its hilly landscape, with trees and shrubs for winter interest. Ray and Penny Cox show us around
On a cold winter’s day with the sun rising pink and gold across the River Tay, this hillside garden is a magical sight. The pines are dusted with snow, and frosty branches of shrubs and deciduous trees create shapes and textures in the rolling landscape. Although there is a level area immediately outside the house, 80 percent of the garden is on a slope, situated on the side of the Sidlaw Hills in Perthshire.
“The views immediately attracted us when we first saw this house,” says owner Ray Cox, who gardens here with his wife Penny. “There was no doubt that it was a stunning location, but we had to weigh up the pros and cons of gardening on a hill. On top of that, our predecessors hadn’t looked after it well, so we knew that it was going to be a big challenge.”
Rather than taking on the whole garden at once, which seemed too daunting, Ray and Penny worked on it bit by bit. “We’ve allowed it to evolve over the past 20 years – initially helped by my mum Patricia, a horticulturist,” says Ray. “We’ve gradually tamed the wildest areas, while retaining the natural beauty of the landscape.
“On the west side of our lawn, near the house, we’ve planted flowers and foliage to enjoy all year round – snowdrops, early primulas, daffodils, hellebores and then hostas, which grow in succession throughout winter and early spring.”
Cordyline adds interest in the border. “They survive winter here without a layer of fleece,” says Ray. “We’re not the coldest part of Scotland – we’re only at an altitude of 300ft, and we’re reasonably sheltered from the prevailing wind by an expanse of mature woodland. They usually grow back from the roots, apart from the hard winter in 2010-11, which wiped out three of them.”
The couple have also created an informal wooded dell below the lawn. “I put in a
We’ve tamed the wildest areas, while retaining the natural beauty
couple of paths and tamed the laurel hedge,” says Ray. “This is an ongoing task that I usually do at the end of March and in late August. We planted rhododendrons here including R. sutchuenense and scented R. ‘Loderi King George’. There’s also a magnolia tree and some camellias. The soil is moist and acidic, so conditions are ideal for these ericaceous plants.”
Rhododendrons are a family speciality, as Ray’s father Peter grows them commercially. “I’ve planted ‘Curlew’, an award-winning hybrid developed by my dad, on a bank to the north of the house.”
For autumn interest, Ray has planted specimen trees on the western edge of the ➤
Building wooden sleeper steps into the hillside helps to retain the soil
garden. “I’m especially proud of their glorious display of seasonal colour,” says Ray. “We’ve got snakebark maple, liquidambar, cotinus, amelanchier and rhus, while a line of mature silver birch trees create a striking feature in winter and summer with their pale bark.”
Gardening on a wooded slope is not without its challenges. “I weed with a chainsaw and a strimmer,” says Ray. “You need a bit of a ‘slash and burn’ approach to keep on top of things, but that’s not to say we can’t include smaller, more detailed areas of planting. We also have to fence the whole garden from deer and rabbits too – otherwise we wouldn’t be able to grow anything at all.”
Over winter Ray and Penny tackle more structural tasks. “I’m building more steps into the hillside to make gardening easier, using treated wooden sleepers to retain the soil. And, as there are a lot of mature trees here, we’ll be clearing up leaves and making leafmould soil conditioner, which I use to feed and mulch the rhododendrons. Usually the advice is to do it after flowering, but mulching in winter works for us.”
Ray and Penny have introduced some quirky sculptures for a bit of personality. “Local chainsaw carver Ron Gillies has transformed a Spanish chestnut tree stump into a face and there’s an old petrol pump once used by my grandfather, plus a vintage garden fork sunk into a wooden tree slice.
“I have a love-hate relationship with this garden at times,” says Ray. “We have three children and life is busy. But I’ve become slightly addicted, and after a day at the computer, I’m often desperate to get outside. The setting is amazing, and we never get used to that.” ✿