Edinburgh wild garden

A wildlife friendly garden filled with perennials and shrubs blended with sown wild flowers and grasses to create an enriched meadow planting that weaves from the house around a small wildlife pond to enclose a gravel seating area. A gently coloured space filled with birds and insects and an utter joy to spend time in.

When our clients moved into their architect designed home they found themselves with an unusual triangle of garden space wedged between mature trees and a railway siding. Enclosed by sandstone walls it offered the perfect opportunity to create a peaceful wildlife haven.
 
The house has three main rooms which open out into the garden and our first task was to address the heights and flows running indoors to out as well as negotiating a rickety old raised deck running the length of the back of the house.

We removed the deck and introduced simple steps into the garden surrounded by planting . A circular patio provides space for table and chairs and overlooks a wildlife pond. Our clients tell us it's the perfect spot for those relaxed informal lunches which unravel long into the afternoon and evening.
 
Planting beds were cut into the existing lawn but some grass was kept to maintain a softness to the garden. Filled with naturalistic perennial flowers and grasses they wrap around the house and patio and invite a series of journeys through the garden.

A gravel path leads past the pond through planted borders to a gravel area at the bottom of the garden where relaxed seating is nestled around a fire pit. This part of the garden marks a transition in pace to a softer, wilder feel.
 
Inspired by the wild verges of the railway siding this triangular pocket was sown with wild flowers and planted through with perennials and shrubs. It resonates with a feeling of immersion in nature.

The garden is held together by repeats of flowers shapes and colours so that although it mixes wild and cultivated form it reads as a whole landscape.
 
The sandy loam soil typical of this part of Midlothian allowed for us to use a selection of plants which enjoy a freer draining soil. Lavenders, Salvias, Calamintha, Thyme, Verbena, Stachys and Verbascum have all settled in beautifully and are embracing the wild spirit by self seeding into the gravel and enriching the wild flower meadow