They took over the ownership of Kirklands, a handsome stone house that dated back to 1832 and which had once been surrounded by well-tended green spaces. However time had taken its toll and by the time the Harts arrived the garden was in serious decline, with ponies grazing in the walled garden, many dead or dying elm trees and empty spaces where original rhododendrons had been lost.
Reclaiming the space was, at first, more like archaeology than gardening and it was several years before a set of steps that would have once provided access to a now-demolished church were discovered beneath more than a century’s worth of fallen leaves.
In the area where the garden slopes away from the house towards the Saline Burn, nettles and hogweed were strimmed to the ground, old stumps were removed and newspaper and mulch was used to suppress weeds before the ground was replanted with sorbus and birch.
There’s plenty of colour (Image: Discover Gardens)
Today two bridges provide access to 20 acres of oak, ash, birch and holly on the far side of the burn. This is naturally-regenerating woodland and apart from occasional clearing to allow paths to remain open, it remains much the same today as it was 10,000 years ago.
The season at Kirklands starts with snowdrops, before wild garlic and bluebells take over the show. There is an abundance of fritillaries and trilliums, while hundreds of candelabra primulas, all grown from seed, flower in late spring in boggy areas. Dozens of rhododendrons have replaced those that were lost
The south-facing walled garden has been terraced to make vegetable production easier on this sloping site. Heritage apples grow here and edibles thrive in raised beds, while elsewhere in the garden a polytunnel has been added in order to extend the growing season. Close to the house there are formal borders edged with box hedging and filled with summer flowers.
From the garden there are views towards Saline Hill and the Ochils to the south while, on clear days, Ben Lomond is visible in the distance.
The garden is open on weekends through the summer months, but for more than 30 years the Harts have also been opening the garden to the public in aid of Scotland’s Gardens Scheme and this year’s open day, on Sunday, August 17, will help to support both Saline and Steelend gardening club and the local flower show, which takes place at the start of September.
Culross Palace (Image: Newsquest)
Fife is home to many interesting gardens and ten miles south from Saline, on the northern shore of the River Forth, is Culross Palace, a restored medieval merchant’s house and behind its ochre-coloured walls is a recreation of the 17th century garden that once flourished here.
The plants are all those that would have been familiar at that time, including herbs with culinary and medicinal properties and heritage fruit trees.
Old-fashioned flowers, willow hurdle dividers, paths made from crushed shells and the geometric lay-out of the beds all add the authentic feel of the garden, which in summer is filled with the scent of old roses.
Details
Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 2pm – 4.30pm until 30 September
Tickets: £5/children free
Contact
Peter@kirklandsgarden.co.uk
07787 115477
www.kirklandsgardens.co.uk
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