At home: A Midllothian garden

IT takes a brave person to open their garden to the public on the last Sunday in February, especially when the garden in question is only one acre. Worse, due to the severe winter, the bulbs and winter-flowering shrubs scattered round Stella and David Rankin's Midlothian garden are slow to flower. "This is not a large estate with drifts of snowdrops," Stella says, as she leads the way along one of the diagonal paths that zigzag down the steep hillside plot.

"But we tuck in treasures wherever we can and there are lots of surprises.

For Stella the garden in winter is a challenge she relishes. A former English teacher who 12 years ago established Kevock Garden Plants, a four-acre nursery stocking rare alpine, bog and woodland plants from all over the world, she counted 28 different flowering plants in her garden on Christmas day. Ranging from specialist snowdrops, tiny pink and white cyclamen and hellebores, to shrubs such as powerfully scented Daphne bholua "Jacqueline Postill" and yellow Hamamelis mollis, different plants brighten this south-facing woodland garden on the dullest, darkest days.

Ravishing as they are it is not only the flowers that make Kevock so special. The setting, with wide open views over the valley rising up on both sides of the River North Esk and on towards the near derelict Mavisbank House is a rare treat so close to Edinburgh. From the terrace in front of the single-storey house designed by Morris and Steadman in 1959 and perched above the garden there are views of the Pentland Hills.

"The inspiration for this garden came from our love of travelling," explains Stella, who with David recently returned from a plant-study trip to Chile. "We first saw Alpine flowers in Switzerland and wanted to grow them ourselves." They soon found that the free draining conditions in the garden lent themselves perfectly to Alpine plants, which tolerate wet winters, but thrive in dry summer conditions. A large rock garden was built below the house where, in late February, you might see the pale-blue striped flowers of Scilla mischtschenkoana "Tubergeniana". Bog plants, such as caltha, surround the two ponds in the damper, lower part of the garden.

"Texture is always important but especially so in winter," Stella says adding that she never passes the Japanese Umbrella Pine, Sciadopitys verticillata without stroking its long, soft needles. "It comes into its glory at this time of the year." She is equally fascinated by the shiny purple leaves of Pittosporum tenuifolium, here planted towards the top of the hill where they catch the winter sun, or the spiky, fan-shaped leaves of Trachycarpus fortunei. Details such as the soft, brown-backed leaves of Rhododendron falconeri, the bright red branches of Acer osakazuki or the pale grey buds on Magnolia stellata are equally captivating. "And the fat, red, emerging peony plants are a boost in winter. As a policy I leave plants with seed heads, such as sedum, standing as long as possible but I cut back wet and soggy foliage earlier in the year."

The background structure of well-chosen trees enhances the winter garden. "When I choose a tree or a shrub I always find out what it will look like at different times of the year," she says. "I ask if it has a berry, a thorn or an interesting bark. For instance, the Paper-bark maple, Acer griseum has a peeling orange bark and Betula jacquemontii, has a brilliant white bark that stands out against a blue sky." She is passionate about the tall, upright Devil's Walking Stick, Aralia spinosa as it can be easily underplanted with bulbs. "This is a wonderful time to enjoy its sheer gawky shape," she laughs, pointing out a tiny pool of rare shell pink Helleborus thibetanus in the lower border.

One last surprise is reserved at the end of the tour of this extraordinary garden. East of the house, cold frames give protection to a varied selection of alpine plants that require shelter from the elements. Here, weather permitting, you will find tiny, specialist narcissi, crocuses, mounds of saxifrage and the emerging shoots of Fritillaria. In the compact glasshouse are rare cyclamen and you might catch a glimpse of an early primula.

"Everything that I have learnt here I want to share with other people," says Stella, who was originally inspired to start Kevock Garden Plants when she found herself throwing away surplus plants and seedlings. Her displays have been Best in Show for the last four years at Gardening Scotland. Passionate about helping her clients develop a list of plants best suited to their growing conditions she often invites them to walk round her garden so they can see what plants will look like once they mature. "They can also show me planting combinations they like and I can help them reproduce them using stock from our nursery. The aim is to help people have a garden with flowers every day of the year."

Kevock Garden is open under Scotland's Gardens Scheme today 12pm-3pm and also on Sat 17 and Sun 18 April. (3:00, children free) On both occasions the plant stall will feature rare and unusual plants. Kevock Road lies to the south of A678 Loanhead/Lasswade Road. k

Kevock Garden Plants, 16 Kevock Road, Lasswade, Midlothian EH18 1HT (mail order only, design and consulting service available) (0131-454 0660, [email protected], www.kevockgarden.co.uk)

This article was originally published in Scotland on Sunday on 28 February 2010