Gardens in the Scottish Borders

Monteviot House & Gardens, Jedburgh

Monteviot gardens are spectacular set near the River Teviot and in the grounds of Lord Lothian. The vast grounds boast a series of differing gardens including herb garden, rose garden, water garden linked by bridges, and river garden with herbaceous shrub borders. Dene garden featuring ponds and bridges and planted with a variety of foliage plants. One of our top tips for garden enthusiasts.

Dawyck Gardens, Peebles

Dawyck is truly one of the world's finest arboreta and is part of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Seasonal displays of abundant exotic and native plants provide a breathtaking backdrop of colour (snowdrops, bluebells, rhododendrons, azaleas, blue poppies etc. ) throughout the year.

Located in the hills of the Scottish Borders, 65-acre Dawyck enjoys an almost continental climate comprising warm dry summers followed by cold, snowy winters. Plants from the mountainous regions of Europe, China, Nepal, Japan and North America thrive here. Garden features include:

Heritage Trees: Dawyck has one of Scotland’s finest tree collections including some of Britain’s oldest and tallest trees, dating back to 1680. Look out for Douglas fir, European Silver fir and Giant Sierra redwoods.

Azalea Terrace: This historic terrace is a blaze of colour when azaleas bloom in May and June.

Blue Poppies: The meconopsis, a Himalayan native, thrives in Dawyck’s conditions and a carpet of blue flowers appears under the tree canopy in early June.

Heron Wood Reserve: The Cryptogamic Sanctuary is the world’s first reserve for mosses, liverworts, lichens and fungi.

Snowdrops: Delicate Galanthus cover the banks of the Scrape Burn in February.

Carolside Gardens, Earlston

These wonderful gardens around an 18th century mansion are set in beautiful parkland, flanked by wooded hills, nestling in a bend of the River Leader. The romantic Carolside Gardens are open to the public on weekends from May to September. Private tours by arrangement.

Kailzie Gardens, Peebles

Kailzie Garden covers around 17 acres and is situated on the River Tweed and is surrounded by magnificent hills.

At its heart lies the stunning semi-formal walled garden with plantings of many unusual shrubs, laburnum arches, an enchanting rose garden and spectacular herbaceous borders.

It also boasts one of the best examples of a Mackenzie & Moncur glasshouses still in existence filled with fuchsias, pelargoniums and exotics; the garden also features our prize winning show vegetables. The walled garden is surrounded by one of the finest plantings of specimen trees in Scotland (including the oldest larch) providing 15 acres of captivating woodland and burnside walks and spectacular vistas.

In their seasons, including the display of Snowdrops, Daffodils and sheets of Bluebells, the Gardens provide a rich variety of colour and charm for both the keen gardener and for the visitor simply wanting to enjoy a beautiful garden in peaceful surroundings.

Harmony Garden, Melrose

The small Harmony Garden, in the historic Scottish Borders town of Melrose, offers elegance and tranquillity amid a rich and colourful walled garden.

Portmore Gardens, Peebles

Portmore Gardens and its surrounding woodlands were created in the 19th Century by Colin Mackenzie, who built the existing Mansion House which was designed by David Bryce.

Restoration of the formal Victorian garden began in 1987 on traditional lines in the walled garden and more contemporary features have since been added. A double central herbaceous border and various 'rooms’ have been designed using plants to withstand the tricky Peebleshire weather. Colour combinations are specially selected to create stunning harmonies with the emphasis on shape for winter interest.

The Victorian greenhouses are filled with fruit trees, tender plants, geraniums, pelargoniums and fuschias which supply the house with plants throughout the year. The Italianate grotto has ferns and lillies.

To the east of the Walled Garden is the Water Garden with its little stream bubbling down to a pond and meandering paths through specimen trees, shrubs, meconopsis and much more.

A woodland walk leads along past azaleas, rhododendrons, roses and spring bulbs to a wonderful view of farmlands and the Peebleshire hills. From there the path descends down to the Mansion House where a parterre has been made with a canal and fountain set in the grass terraces all surrounded by yew hedges.

Private Tours with the Head Gardener available on appointment - very recommendable.
Public opening days: every Wednesday during July & August.

Mertoun Gardens, St. Boswells

An early eighteenth century house (1703) with a garden, near the Tweed. Old Mertoun House, 1677, is now the gardener's house in the walled garden. There is a circular dovecote (1567), ornamental pond, herbaceous borders, an arboretum and lawns sweeping down to the Tweed.

Mertoun Gardens is open 1st April to 30th September, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, 2pm to 6pm, or by appointment. Last entry 5.30pm.