WORMISTOUNE HOUSE, CRAIL
Above: The pretty view from the moon gate.
lar lawn, Katherine has introduced a romantic palette of pink and red perennials such as Astran- tia, Sanguisorba and Eupatorium lightened with blue Iris and Eryngium and white lupins, Hesp- eris and Veronicastrum. The generous, blousy effect is already completed by clematis and Jasminum officianalis which ramble up the back- ground walls and it will be further enhanced by a newly planted curtain of rambling roses – ‘Adelaide d’Orléans’ and ‘Debutante’. From here a path leads through a gap in the
FIELD
FACTS Wormistoune House, Crail, KY10 3XH Tel: 01333 450356 www.wormistoune. com
The garden opens by appointment through Scotland’s Gardens. www.
scotlandsgardens. org
hedge to the old orchard, where the willow thrones of the Fairy King and Queen make quirky playtime props. In spring a wildflower meadow is packed with a carpet of purple and white Fritillaria meleagris followed by primroses, cowslips, ox eye daisies and orchids. Late summer interest comes from the nearby ‘Fire Border’, planted by Kath- erine’s predecessor Jennie Sinclair with a range of hot coloured perennials includ- ing Achillea, Helianthus, Crocosmia and Hemerocallis alongside shimmering grasses like Stipa, Calamagrostis and Molinia. On the southern side of the garden four of
Scotland’s largest recorded Griselinia littoralis form a mysteriously magical grove. Adjacent to this is the old fashioned potager
where the focal point is a striking pair of topiary bay. Here box-edged beds intersected with paths strewn with crushed shells over- flow with a rich variety of peas, beans, lettuces, cabbages and sweet peas.
The walled garden climaxes in a pair of
almost identical early 18th century style pavil- ions modelled on those built by James Smith at Melville House by Cupar. Just 15 years old but at one with their surroundings, each pavilion is finished with male and female characteris- tics. ‘There is a cockerel on the top of the male pavilion and a hen on the female one,’ explains Gemma. ‘Their reflections meet in the rectangu- lar, stone-edged pond that lies between them.’ Last year a pond in the policies was expanded
to make a clay-based lochan by water features specialist Calum ‘Splash’ Gordon. He dredged and relined parts of the burn that runs from a raised point west of the drive under the hump back bridge, built a jetty, created a cascade and added an artificial island, which houses several pumps which help water to circulate around the system. Planted with a variety of bog loving plants it looks totally naturalistic. In front of the house a lawn has been
levelled to make room for one last surprise. Stone steps lead from a sunny, sheltered terrace to an oversized Celtic cross laid out with differ- ent pebbles from all over Scotland. Explaining that
the cross was her wedding present to
James, Gemma reveals that her garden project is far from finished. ‘This cross will be the centrepiece for a completely new garden on the west side of the house,’ she said. ‘That’s the great thing about gardening – there are always so many opportunities to experiment and develop new ideas.’
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