Gardens: 'The gardens at Greywalls hotel provide food for thought and the table'

Here, a small window overlooks a formal geometric layout of beds packed with late-season colour, leading towards an avenue flanked by an ancient holly hedge and on to the perimeter garden wall, where an oval-shaped Oeil-de-Boeuf window frames a view of the Lammermuir hills.

An iconic vista, it is one that showcases many of the elements for which Gertrude Jekyll, who is reputed to have designed the garden in collaboration with her colleague Edwin Lutyens, is justly renowned.

Ros Weaver and her husband Giles, for whom Greywalls has been in the family since 1924, have been tending the garden since they took over the hotel 33 years ago.

Despite having little gardening experience when she began work on the plot, Ros has learned much over the years, as she explains: "Seven years ago the courtyard needed rejuvenating. The original plantings of roses on either side of the central York stone path had succumbed to rose sickness and something had to be done. Although the garden is attributed to Jeykll we have no original plans."

Feeling unequal to the task of restoring such a historic garden Ros called landscape designer Laura Mackenzie for assistance. "Laura had a very academic point of view and researched the kinds of plants Jekyll would have used," she says.

The result is a scheme that culminates in autumn with rich pools of deep-red sedum backed by russet-leaved hydrangea lightened by sprays of Stipa Gigantica.

"We chose all the pale colours Gertrude Jekyll would have used, and contrasted them with a more exotic palette in the central beds. In autumn these include rudbeckia, helenium, crocosmia and kniphofia, while in the early part of the year tulips give way to bright-red poppies and clouds of while gypsophila.

Emboldened by the success of this scheme Ros began to make small adjustments to the planting, thus allowing the garden to retain a fresh contemporary look. Recently the space took on another dimension.

"The garden is now much more important to guests," she says. "Albert Roux oversees the catering and most of the chefs here are trained at Le Gavroche. They are really interested in locally grown vegetables and want us to supply produce for use in the kitchen."

The challenge is now to combine both herbaceous plants and produce in a garden that is always open. Ros cites the windy conditions - there is nothing but Muirfield Golf Course between the garden and the sea - and the sandy free-draining soil as particularly problematic.

"With such poor soil I've learnt to stick to plants that thrive here," she says, adding that root vegetables and brassica struggle, while varieties of salads, herbs and lavenders enjoy the conditions. "We don't get deep frosts but plants must also be tolerant of the salt air. Windburn in March kills off anything it touches."

In the semi-circular courtyard in front of the house you get an indication of which plants survive. Here, where a gravel drive slices through immaculate lawns and a horizontal gravel path leads from the Weavers' own house, hidden behind the wall into the main garden, Hydrangea petiolaris, roses and clematis soften the yellow stone walls. The rich green textures of evergreen bay shrubs and escallonia mark the front door. A north-facing wooden gate leads into the main garden to reveal a symmetrical layout of compartments hidden behind the 100-year-old holly hedge. Directly opposite the holly is brightened by informal plantings of maroon-leaved Cotinus coggygria in a bed edged with tightly clipped Lonicera nitida "Baggesden's Gold" and Hidcote lavender.

On either side of the central avenue are four main compartments, each of which hides the focal point of a sculpture on a raised plinth. It is a peaceful scene and one that encourages you to explore further before turning back down the central avenue, where beds edged with box hedges contain the last four original whitebeam. "When they go we will have another planting opportunity," Ros says, admitting she is as yet undecided about a suitable replacement.

The path of broken York stone runs the full length of the house, marking the boundary between the front of the building and the southern courtyard from the holly-enclosed compartments. Closer to the Victorian glasshouse the path leads down a border flanked by show-stopping parallel ribbons of bubblegum-pink nerines for which Greywalls is renowned in gardening circles. Here, height comes from diamond-shaped box parterres set with rows of rustic metal teepees. It is an elegant scheme that perfectly sets off the glasshouse, where red and pink geraniums are raised for use in the hotel; a second glasshouse is home to seven different varieties of grapes.

To the right an open grassy area is planted with bulbs and crabapple trees, with pears and apples espaliered on the walls. Here Ros has started keeping chickens, "a few Scottish Dumpy's," a flock she hopes to add to, so fresh eggs can be used in the hotel. "I'm considering getting some Black Rock hens," she says, "as I've heard they're reliable layers."

As she leads the way back to the front of the hotel we pass the chef hurrying out to the garden on his way to pick herbs and fruit for the hotel. "You wouldn't have seen that a few years ago," she says, "it is an indication of how much things have changed and how important the garden is to everyone now."

Greywalls is open all year round to both residents and non residents.

This article was first published in The Scotsman, 13 November, 2010 The formal garden created by Laura Mackenzie has good colour for ten months of the year and a programme of spring bulb planting is underway. Ros explains: "People who come for afternoon tea, lunch or just a snack can enjoy a quick look around the garden before settling into an armchair by a log fire."

Greywalls, Muirfield, Gullane, www.greywalls.co.uk