Harmony on the hillside
A remarkable wooded hillside garden in Scotland looks just as good in midwinter as it does during the summer months
On a winter’s day with the sun rising pink and golden across the River Tay, Ray and Penny Cox’s south-facing 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’s a level area immediately outside the house, 80 per cent 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 Ray. “There was no doubt 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 thinking of the area as a whole, which seemed too daunting, Ray and Penny worked on the garden bit by bit, allowing it to evolve. Initially helped by Ray’s mum, Patricia, a horticulturist, they’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 achieved continual cover which we can enjoy year-round. Here, we’ve planted snowdrops, early primulas, daffodils, hellebores and hostas, which grow in succession through winter and early spring.”
Cordylines add interest in the border. “They do survive here, even without fleecing. We’re not the coldest area in Scotland;
we’re only at an altitude of 300ft, and we’re reasonably sheltered from the prevailing wind by an expanse of mature woodland. Apart from a hard winter in 2010/11, which wiped out three, they grow back from the roots.”
The couple have also created an informal wooded dell below the lawn. “I put in a couple of paths and I tamed the laurel hedge, an ongoing task which I usually do at the end of March and in late August. We planted rhododendrons here including
R. sutchuenense, a species rhododendron, and the scented ‘Loderi King George’. There’s also a magnolia tree and some camellias. The soil is moist and acid, so the conditions are ideal for these ericaceous plants.”
Rhododendrons are a family speciality as Ray’s father, Peter, grows them commercially, and ‘Curlew’, an award-winning hybrid developed by his dad, has been planted on a bank to the north of the house.
Through the top of the wooded dell to the western fringe of the garden, Ray has planted four trees selected for their autumn foliage, and it’s an area he’s especially proud of for its glorious display of seasonal colour. It includes liquidambar, snakebark maple, cotinus, amelanchier and rhus, and continues with a line of mature silver birch trees, which create a striking feature in winter and summer with their pale bark.
Gardening on a large scale brings challenges. “I weed with a chainsaw and a strimmer, it’s 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,” explains Ray. The entire garden is rabbit and deer fenced, ‘otherwise we wouldn’t be able to grow anything’. He and Penny have introduced personality with quirky sculptures, such as a Spanish chestnut tree stump, which has been transformed into a face by local chainsaw carver Ron Gillies. There’s also an old petrol pump once used by Ray’s grandfather, which evokes nostalgic memories, and a vintage garden fork sunk into a wooden tree slice. “I have a love-hate relationship with this garden at times. We’ve 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.”