Kirklands House

Saline

Fife KY12 9TS

Why Should We Visit

This two-acre garden and adjoining 20 acres of natural woodland have been lovingly restored by the present owners who have packed it with interesting and colourful plants. There’s lots to discover, especially in spring when bulbs and blossom are in flower. Despite being a sloping site, the garden is accessible for wheelchairs and pushchairs and with a picnic area, toilets and dog-friendly policy, it’s a great spot for a day out.

Story of the Garden

Kirlands was built in 1832 on the site of a much older house, but when Peter and Gill Hart arrived here in 1977 the garden was completely overgrown and a couple of ponies were grazing in the walled garden. Dutch Elm disease had taking hold and many trees had to be felled.

Gradually replanting got underway, walls were repaired and the walled garden was terraced. New areas were developed, a vegetable garden was created and today Kirklands is a thriving garden, full of seasonal interest and with views to the Ochils and the Saline hills.

Highlight

In spring the woodlands are carpeted with bluebells, fritillaries and trilliums and these are followed by self-seeded martagon lilies.

The bulbs appear in successive waves until the canopy of beech and oak trees closes over and the spectacle dies down.

Nearby, in the bog garden which is fed by natural springs, giant Gunnera manicata opens its huge leaves above head height while candelabra primulas erupt in a whole spectrum of bright colours. These flourish in the damp soil and their numbers multiply annually.

Don’t Miss

The walled garden is lined with espaliered apple trees while all kinds of vegetables are grown in the raised beds. Salads and strawberries grow in a large polytunnel.

The tulips that grow in the Box-edged beds are followed by alliums and a huge Clematis montana smothers a gateway. Every scrap of waste from the garden is returned to the soil through an impressive composting process.

Anything Else To Look Out For

Alpines, dwarf bulbs and low-growing rhododendrons flourish in a large rockery and the herbaceous borders have been planted with flowers to produce a succession of interest from spring until autumn.

Many interesting plants are grown at Kirklands and these are carefully propagated for the nursery area, where visitors can buy plants to take home with them.

Best Time To Visit

Kirklands, with its rhododendrons and Meconopsis (Himalayan blue poppies) is spectacular in spring, but clever planting keeps the show going until the trees change colour and the leaves fall.

Any Recommendations in the Area?

Dunfermline Abbey was founded in the 11th century by Queen Margaret, and her remains are buried here. The Abbey was also the final resting place of Robert the Bruce and Charles I was born in the adjacent royal palace. The new church, built after the abbey and palace fell into disrepair, still remains in use today.

Directions

From junction 4 of the M90, follow B914 to Saline village.

Details

Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday 2pm-4.30pm

£5 (children go free)

Tel: 07787 115477

Peter@kirklandsgarden.co.uk/www.Kirklands garden.co.uk

The first bedding plants are beginning to arrive in garden centres and nurseries, offering the promise of bright colour over the months ahead.

There’s a wide range of offer at the Plant Market in Dunfermline and many of these have been grown in the garden centre’s own nursery or sourced from other growers in the UK. It is a policy of the Plant Market to offer as many home-grown plants as possible, not only because these are better-acclimatised to local growing conditions, but because it is better for the environment.

Owner Stan Green says, “More than 80% of everything that we sell is either grown by us or is sourced from other growers in Scotland and the UK.”

Customers, he says, are becoming increasingly conscious about where their plants have come from and how they have been growing, and they are also opting for more peat-free or peat-reduced composts.

“Peat-free is definitely what the industry is aiming for, but we have to make sure that the alternatives are not more damaging to the environment than what they are replacing,” he says.

Meanwhile he advises gardeners who don’t have frost-free storage for early bedding plants to opt instead for sweet peas, antirrhinums and pansies, which can all be planted out now.

The Plant Market

Clockluine Road

Hillend, Dunfermline KY11 7HS