Down to a fine art

Their previous garden, just 15 miles away, was on the family farm; but when their son, John, gave up farming and moved to Edinburgh to start a career with the auction house Lyon & Turnbull, Jimmy and Irene decided to downsize. John's new career rapidly became one of the defining influences behind his parents' new garden as they started to scour sales and attend auctions, searching for stone, wrought iron and metal pieces to furnish it and add structure in the winter.

Although the site was derelict, Irene, a passionate gardener with many years' experience, knew immediately she would learn to love the space, which benefited from a shelter belt of mature beech and oak, making it a perfect setting. Long before they found the right property, she had been making preparations for the move – indeed, she started as soon as they decided to sell the farm. "We established a nursery bed with all our favourite plants, ready to lift and take with us," Irene explains. "We also lifted all the paving stones we wanted to keep before we put the farm on the market."

With the help of a friend, Irene drew up a grid plan of the new garden and a JCB was hired to landscape the ground on all four sides of the manse. Influenced by visits to Hidcote Manor, Lawrence Johnston's renowned 20th-century garden in the north Cotswolds, Irene designed separate but connecting compartments and courtyards that extend from the lines of the house. Walls were built and yew and beach hedges planted to divide the spaces; with the added benefit of increasing the shelter.

Jimmy was responsible for planting – and now maintains – the yew hedge that runs perpendicular to the west-facing faade of the house, dividing the two main gardens. He also looks after the beech hedge that forms a barrier between the formal garden and a wildflower meadow. "My main job is hedges and edges," he laughs. It's a job that includes looking after the outline of box that defines the beds and paths. "He does it with great care and good humour," says a grateful Irene. She feels the best results are obtained if hedges are trimmed regularly; box keeps its shape and thickens from the base when trimmed twice a year.

A low sandstone wall was built to enclose the front garden on the north side of the house. "We saw 100 tons of stone advertised in the Dundee Courier," Irene says. "It turned out to be just right." The next step involved laying out the symmetrical network of flagstone paths that link the compartments in the south-facing garden, where their straight lines running parallel to the house on a north-south axis have become a major feature. Narrower paths lead off on both sides, allowing easy access to the beds.

There was enough stone left to create a terrace for entertaining, easily accessible from the conservatory. Once the basic structure was in place, Irene began scouring auctions – including John's fine art auction at Lyon & Turnbull – for interesting stone artefacts. Rounded stone containers, placed in groups to punctuate the garden and add height to evergreen box shapes, were her first purchase. She also collected and grouped together troughs for succulents and alpines, and found stone balls, some of which were placed on stone cubes to create the plinths that define the entrances to the different compartments.

Once the structure was in place, almost ten tons of mushroom compost was dug in to nourish the newly laid beds, a regime that Irene enforces every year, having made sure that the soil is weed free and moist. "Mushroom compost is the secret of our garden," she says. "It makes everything grow wonderfully well. The first year we had an excellent crop of mushrooms but that has decreased with subsequent loads."

During the planting, Irene, who was born in Aberdeen where she trained as a botanical artist at Gray's Art College, was able to combine all her skills. "I was longing to get back to painting," she says. "Gardening is a bit like painting, only it is painting with flowers. You have to combine colours, textures and form to create the maximum effect."

The heart of the garden is the central compartment on the west side. Here a selection of tried and true peonies, including double pink Paeonia officinalis "Rose Superba Plena", P. obovata "Alba" and the shorter, pink P. veitchii woodwardii reign. Reliable roses, chosen for their colour and scent, include white "Madame Hardy" – "it brightens any dark corner" – and dark red "William Lobb". A midsummer favourite is Achillea "Walter Funcke" – "but don't overfeed it".

In the last compartment at the foot of the garden blues, purples and white dominate. Here delphiniums and the white foxtail lily Eremurus himalaicus tower over lupins, mounds of geranium and silvery Eringium giganticum. Transparent sprays of Stipa gigantica draw the eye towards the stone steps that lead down to the lawn, lightening the scheme. Favourite repeat planting flowers used throughout the garden include Nepeta racemosa "Walker's Low", a reliable perennial that attracts butterflies, Salvia verticillata "Purple Rain", which is suited to a dry corner, and sedums, particularly the striking "Purple Emperor".

Irene's eye for colour and her knowledge of plants and plant combinations have resulted in an extraordinarily vibrant garden. The key to perfection is "continual titivating", which she loves. "I try to keep on top of the garden in the summer and deadhead regularly. I always keep a pair of secateurs handy and run outside even if I only have 15 minutes to spare."

Kirkside of Lochty, Brechin, Angus DD9 6RY, is open for the first time this year by appointment under Scotland's Gardens Scheme (www.gardens ofscotland.org). For more details tel: 01356 660431 or e-mail [email protected]

Lyon & Turnbull, 33 Broughton Place, Edinburgh EH1 3RR (0131-557 8844 www.lyonandturnbull.com). The fine art and antique sale in Edinburgh on Wednesday, 24 September features a number of garden artefacts.

For a host of exciting new plant products, visit www.vanmeuwen.com/scotsman