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Scottish Cottage Garden?

t_wardt_ward Posts: 3
in The potting shed
Hi. I’ve recently moved to the Western Coast of Scotland from the South West of England. We have a beautiful piece of land to the front of the house, South facing, and I’d really like to plant a cottage garden. There are no plants in the garden at all at the moment. We get very strong winds up here and the growing season is shorter than in the South. Can anybody advise me on plants I can use that will do well in these conditions and that lend themselves to the romantic, natural look I’m after. 

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Hi @t_ward and welcome to the forum 😊 Sounds like a lovely spot. 

    I think I’d go for low growing alpines with taller plants like native foxgloves, Campanula persicifolia and aquilegia amongst them ... although tall when they flower they’ll  just be at their basal rosette stage in the winter when the winds are at their worst.  

    Those pretty little wild type gladiolus known as Whistling Jack down in Cornwall might be happy there too, and harebells of course. 

    That’s some ideas to start with. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • t_wardt_ward Posts: 3
    Hi, and thank you for your suggestions. I love all the plants you mentioned (we certainly have many foxgloves growing wild hereabouts). My worry is that the wind will knock down the taller ones as we only have stock proof fencing, but I’ll definitely give them a go. 
  • GreenbirdGreenbird Posts: 237
    edited April 2021
    I know it might not be exactly what your after, but I'm sure Gardeners World visited a private garden in Durnamuck on the edge of a loch. I believe they used a lot of South African flowers for height, which could withstand the high winds. 

    Well worth the watch.


  • t_wardt_ward Posts: 3
    Brilliant! Thank you for this. I’ll definitely look it up. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I think narrow-leaved plants like gladioli have a definite advantage in strong winds. 👍 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • steveTusteveTu Posts: 3,219
    Isn't @Fairygirl a card carrying,kilt wearing, woad painted West Of Scotland lass? Maybe this thread will pique her interest and wake her from her winter hibernation (or maybe she's already oot-a-hiking on the hills and out of wifi range)....
    UK - South Coast Retirement Campus (East)
  • AthelasAthelas Posts: 946
    edited April 2021
    Not the western coast of Scotland but this website may hold some useful information if you’re wondering how any plants in particular might cope with Scottish weather. Navigation isn’t too easy but you can look through the Plant Encyclopaedia and through articles in the Home section. There’s also a gardening calendar.

    For example: https://www.aberdeengardening.co.uk/2011/01/agapanthus-in-scotland/
    Cambridgeshire, UK
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