This woman has spent 30 years building up Scottish garden
Growing in this environment is not easy, but it helps that Helen is the owner of Tinnisburn Plants, the RHS gold-medal winning nursery that lies adjacent to the garden.
Helen has been growing here for 30 years and in that time she has developed a deep knowledge of plants that will thrive in exposed conditions, where low temperatures and high winds are just some of the challenges.
Amongst her specialities are meconopsis and scilla, of which she holds National Collections, but these are only two of the very wide range of plants that she has persuaded to grow at Tinnisburn and over the years she has developed many different habitats, from rockeries to wildflower meadows, where visitors can see for themselves how the plants that favour particularly conditions will perform in a garden setting.
Read more
A bog garden that remains moist all year round is filled with lush species and waterside dwellers that love to have their roots in damp soil while the herbaceous borders, where flowers appear in successive waves, are a riot of bright summer colours.
There is woodland where ephemerals carpet the ground in spring, and all kinds of hardy shrubs, while fruit trees, their crops now beginning to swell, grow in the orchard that Helen herself planted.
The season at Tinnisburn starts with snowdrops, many of them rare varieties that are sought-after by collectors, and these are followed by hellebores and daffodils before flowering shrubs and early perennials pick up the show and keep it going throughout the advancing seasons, with many still putting on a vivid display well into autumn.
Meconopsis 'Susan's Reward' (Image: Discover Gardens)
Plants here have to be tough, but that doesn't mean that they aren't beautiful and as chair of the Meconopsis Group, which studies Himalayan poppies, Helen has become the custodian of important plant trials which assess the performance of different varieties of these much-loved plants. The trials can last for years and during that time experts will consider the growth habit and reliability of the plants, assessing them for their suitability in gardens.
Many of the poppies grown here were recently on display at the Chelsea Flower Show and Helen also sells them in her nursery, handing out advice on cultivation to everyone who buys them, or packing them up carefully and sending them off UK-wide, with the other plants in the nursery, through her online ordering service.
Tinnisburn is a place of inspiration for anyone who gardens in exposed or cold conditions and it continues to grow and evolve as Helen devotes more of her time to its cultivation.
Details:
Tinnisburn Garden and Nursery is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm.
Tickets: £5/ under 16s free
There is a small cafe on-site for visitors.
Tel: 07544 373815
helen@tinnisburn.co.uk
www.tinnisburn.co.uk
In association with Discover Scottish Gardens www.discoverscottishgardens.org
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
20 minutes ago
- Times
Marie Kondo was wrong — decluttering sparks no joy
I have really tried very hard to master the art of decluttering. The process of downsizing my possessions has been going on in a serious fashion for two years. I have been to the tip at least 50 times. Thousands of pounds worth of stuff has gone to charity including three sofas and (largest item) a super king bed. I have read many guides, including Marie Kondo and the less twee manual Nobody Wants Your Sh*t, to the point where I now need to declutter the books on decluttering. I have held up countless items, often looking worse for being seen in actual sunlight, and asked: 'Does this spark joy?' Almost none did. Instead, they sparked regrets (I'm no Piaf) and, at times, guilt.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Rockcliffe gas plant refused over 'health implications'
A proposed gasification plant has been rejected because councillors felt the evidence of the long-term health implications was for a plant that would use rubbish to produce gas at North West Recycling's (NWR) waste processing compound near Carlisle were discussed a special meeting of Cumberland Council's planning the meeting, concerns were raised that the evidence provided was not clear, with five members voting to reject the application and two voting to refusal marked the end of an 18-month struggle by residents who opposed the revised proposal over health and safety fears. There were jubilant scenes and a spontaneous round of applause from the public gallery at the refusal, the Local Democracy Reporting Service Regeneration had applied for permission to build the plant at the NWR site in had been recommended full planning permission be granted, subject to councillors were sympathetic to the plight of nearest neighbour, farmer John Story, who raised the impact on his family's health by living so close to the site. Speaking after the decision, Mr Story said he was genuinely "elated".He said he was proud of the more than 1,200 people who objected to the Story added: "My youngest is asthmatic, and the don't know what it's going to be like on the long-term, whether it'll be five years or 10 years or 15 years."Concerns were raised after a fire broke out at the waste site in 2021, and raged for a approached, no-one from North-west Regeneration was available for comment. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
A420 shut as firefighters tackle blaze near police station
A key A-road has been closed in both directions following a blaze breaking out in a derelict firefighters from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service are battling the flames, near to Gablecross Police Station, in South A420 Shrivenham Road was closed by Wiltshire Police at about 16:00 BST to allow firefighters to "work safely", the force confirmed. A fire spokesperson added that the "incident is being brought under control" and they hoped to scale back attendance within the next half hour. They added that "the building's has collapsed inward, which may impact when a fire investigation can be carried out".
