Orkney has some wonderful gardens, and as part of Scotland’s Open Garden Scheme, it has been possible to visit and enjoy these hidden gems.
Quoy of Houton has been restored and reimagined into a beautiful garden. Walled to protect it from the winds whipping across Scapa Flow, the plants are flourishing.
Running down the centre is a long water feature. The lilies were just about to flower when I visited.
The water feature points down towards what was an opening to the shoreline but now its centre point is a stone oval structure.
There is interesting and skilled stone work throughout.
The Quoy won Gardeners’ World Britain’s best challenging garden in 2017 and is listed in the top ten UK coastal gardens. It has featured on Beechgrove and in the book Island Gardens. It was good to see wildplants and flowering purple clover left in places.
A garden is a very personal construct, reflecting the personality of those designing it, therefore, it feels a great privilege when they allow the public in to share in its beauty. Many thanks to Dr Colleen Batey for opening the garden.
The Scotland’s Open Gardens scheme raises money for charity. Quoy of Houton raised money for The Peedie Retreat in Orkney.
Fiona Grahame
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