Floral jewels of Scotland
Many gardens are at their most delightful in late summer, including Crathes, with its cerise salvias, deep dahlias and silvery artemisia,
Crathes Castle Garden, Aberdeenshire
“BUTTERFLIES VIE FOR SIPPING SPACE, ACCOMPANIED BY A SYMPHONY OF BEES”
As late-summer merges gently into September, settled weather, blue skies and soft, golden sunlight often combine to create the perfect conditions for garden visiting.
In these precious weeks, seasonal herbaceous plants come into their own, either planted in traditional borders or a relaxed naturalistic ‘prairie’ style, stirring something deep within our psyche – a reminder of the time when our ancestors roamed woodland and meadow that inspires moments of quiet mindfulness.
It is also a time when plantings crammed with half-hardy and tender ‘exotics’ add welcome razzmatazz to this carnival of colour. Lying low in the early months of the year, they burst into growth from mid-June, adding excitement and colour from late August onwards. When the first frosts arrive, they’re lifted and hurried into a frost-free greenhouse to ensure they perform the same routine the following year.
Late-summer flowerers are invaluable for wildlife. Butterflies vie for sipping space, accompanied by a symphony of bees and other insects, while mice slalom between the base of flower stems, collecting seeds and early fruit ready for winter. Spiders scuttle busily between bloom and leaf or methodically weave their silken webs, and goldfinches perch on wand-like stems searching for seeds.
BRITAIN IN BLOOM
Both traditional herbaceous border gardens and prairie plantings are widely established throughout Britain, while gardeners in sheltered micro-climates or milder regions, such as Cornwall and the west of Scotland, revel in sub-tropical plantings. Visit a garden designed by the legendary Piet Oudolf at Pensthorpe Natural Park in Norfolk, admire herbaceous borders at Polesden Lacey in Surrey or Arley Hall in Cheshire, or enjoy the ‘Exotic Garden’ at Great Dixter (see page 78). Wherever you go, take your camera and notebook to collect ideas for creating some late-summer magic in your garden at home.
EXOTIC SCOTLAND
Scotland has a wonderful gardening tradition. Much of Scotland’s west coast is softened by high rainfall and the Gulf Stream, perfect conditions for Himalayan, Chilean and New Zealand plants, including blue poppies, rhododendrons and the Chilean lantern tree. Gardens may be naturalistic where the native topography mimics the mountainous habitats of their homelands. One ‘must-see’ is Inverewe, a lochside garden in the North West Highlands, boasting plants from South Africa, New Zealand and a rhododendron in flower every day of the year – a surprise for a garden so far north. You may even spot
ABOVE In the 1920s, plant collector Sir James Burnett and his wife Sybil, a garden designer, divided the walled garden of Crathes Castle into eight areas, each with its own theme BELOW Many unusual plants grace the borders, offering endless gardening inspiration and year-round interest