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Gardening on the West Coast of Scotland - Lessons Learned

The Evolution of Seaview Cottage Garden: Lessons Learned Over the Years

When I first embarked on the journey of creating a garden at Seaview Cottage, I had only one goal in mind: to bring in some colour and expand the planting space. With limited time and a tight budget, I naively thought a large herbaceous garden bed would be easy to tackle. Mistake number one.

The soil was rock solid, and despite my mum’s determination and mine, breaking ground for a sizeable garden bed wasn’t going to happen without some serious help. Enter Ronnie from Ballainlay Farm and his trusty digger. With his assistance, we cleared and loosened the earth. From there, Mum and I painstakingly forked through the soil, removing roots, rocks, and, to our surprise, plenty of broken glass.

After the soil was finally ready, we began planting – mostly a random collection of shrubs and cuttings from mum’s garden. There wasn’t much planning involved. The idea was that plants take time to establish, so it felt right to just get things in the ground. Looking back, this was mistake number two. I hadn’t properly assessed how the sun moved around the bed or what the soil conditions were like before planting.

One decision I did get right was planting fruit trees, which are thriving today. As for the herbaceous bed, it’s been a mix of successes and losses. More than four years have passed, and it’s only now starting to fill out, though it’s still a long way from where I’d like it to be.

With each passing year, I’ve learned more about how the garden behaves, particularly given its coastal location. The bed is surprisingly sheltered by two large shrubs and a rose hedge that serves as a windbreak. Initially, I misjudged the sun exposure in certain areas – what I thought would be shady actually gets plenty of sunlight (when it does appear!). Over time, I’ve been adapting the planting accordingly.

Each loss has been a learning experience, albeit a frustrating and costly one. Annual mulching and organic fertilisers are gradually improving the soil quality, and I’ve noticed more worms, which is always a good sign. Unfortunately, the local moles have also noticed the worms and are making themselves at home in the garden. 🪱

Another battle I’m facing is with the rabbits. While I can tolerate the mess they create by scraping away soil and mulch, their damage to the plants is disheartening. Many plants have died because of them. A rabbit-proof fence would have been ideal if installed decades ago, but fencing the property now is neither practical nor cost-effective. What I really need is more natural predators in the area.

As I continue working in the garden, I’ve gradually shifted my focus from just the herbaceous bed to the garden as a whole. In hindsight, it would have been smarter to have a garden plan from the beginning. Mistake number three. But hindsight is a wonderful thing, and to be honest, I’ve learned so much by doing things the hard way.

I’ve since created a flower bed near the patio, so it can be enjoyed as you sit outside with a cuppa or glass of wine, and it is also easily seen from the sunroom. The ornamental grass bed is also seen from the sunroom, and provides a wonderful feature of colour, texture and movement..I love it.

My beautiful carved stone sits in the far corner, which invites visitors to explore the garden further. In time, I hope to add another bed that so that the stone is not in direct line of sight and can be discovered as you wander the garden, but that will have to wait until both time and money permit.

Over the years, I’ve added more trees, and as they grow, they bring character and depth to the space. One thing I’ve realised is the need for a cohesive design – linking different garden areas with common features to draw the eye and create a more unified look. While I prefer the cottage garden style, I’ve come to understand that even the most “wild and natural” gardens require a surprising amount of planning and structure.

This summer has been all about plant shuffling. Some plants needed relocating to better spots in the garden, and with that came the usual worries – will they survive the move? Losses are inevitable in gardening, but the joy of seeing others thrive makes it all worthwhile. Right now, some of the transplants are looking a bit sad with drooping leaves, while others show no signs of life. I’ll have to wait until spring or summer to see the full outcome of this reshuffling.

I’ll detail the garden changes in more depth in future blogs.

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