Malleny Garden covers around 4 hectares, with 1.5 hectares making up the formal walled garden. It has been laid out in the Dutch style, which was popular in Scotland in the late 17th century.
Here are some of the key features:
Entrance pavilion
The small wrought-iron gate at the entrance to the garden bears the Gore-Browne Henderson crest, added by the family who donated the garden to the Trust in 1968. If you look carefully at the balustrade, you will also see the Rosebery crest – the 5th Earl of Rosebery owned the garden in the late 19th century.
The Four Evangelists
One of the first things you will notice upon entering the garden is the group of four large yew trees, just by the main gate. These 9m-high trees are thought to have been planted in the 17th century, to mark the Union of the Crowns. Originally there were 12 (for the Twelve Apostles), scattered in groups by the house, but 8 were removed in the 1960s by previous owners of the garden. The trees are clipped every other year, using a hydraulic lift to reach their tops.
The walled garden
The main garden is almost halved by a significant yew hedge. In the top half (between the gate and hedge) little has changed design-wise in the last 100 years. Wide, mixed borders are filled with many unusual and beautifully scented herbaceous perennials and shrubs, as well as an outstanding collection of roses. Malleny has perhaps the largest collection of roses in Scotland and holds the National Collection of 19th-century shrub roses.
There is always something in flower, no matter the time of year – from snowdrops and winter aconites in January, to the glorious roses in midsummer, and then the beautiful Viburnum fragrans in December. However, the north-facing aspect of the garden does make it susceptible to frosts – spring comes a little later here than 5 miles down the road!
Beyond the hedge lies a vegetable garden and a large lawn, which was once used for playing tennis and croquet despite its significant slope.
Victorian glasshouses
During the summer, the larger glasshouse is filled with a colourful display of pelargoniums, salvias and auricula primulas, whilst a ‘Black Hamburg’ grapevine provides dappled shade. The smaller glasshouse has a simple but unusual mechanism that raises a large part of the roof ridge to provide ventilation. This glasshouse is used for propagation and to provide shelter for more tender plants during the winter.
