Carolside House
Earlston
Scottish Borders TD4 6AL
Why should we visit?
Carolside House is an elegant Georgian mansion that sits in a wooded valley in the Scottish Borders. A restrained approach has been taken to planting in front of the house, but behind it lies an elliptical walled garden that has been described as “one of the finest gardens in Scotland.”
Here roses grow in abundance, scrambling up walls, hanging in swags from heavy ropes and spilling from borders in a froth of colour.
The effect is wildly romantic and the high walls that surround the garden help to concentrate the scent of the thousands of blooms so that the effect on visitors walking through the entrance gate is like removing the stopper from a perfume bottle.
Story of the garden
There has been a garden at Carolside since the house was built, but it was only when Rose Foyle and her husband Anthony moved here that it truly began to flourish.
Growing up in Ireland, Rose fell in love with her namesake flowers when she was introduced to them in her grandmother’s garden. While living in London she crammed as many as she could into a tiny patio, but at Carolside she finally found the setting to indulge her passion and she set about filling the space with roses in all their many forms.
To do that however she first had to improve the soil. Carolside sits in the valley of the river Leader and so the soil drains readily. It takes annual applications of spent mushroom compost to provide the roses with the rich soil that they love.
Highlights
The walled garden is the heart of Carolside and it is here that climbers, ramblers, hybrid tea, floribunda and shrub roses can be found growing together.
Pass through the profusion of flowers and foliage to the back wall and visitors will find a greenhouse filled with scented pelargoniums, while around the garden the sweet peas that wind their tendrils around obelisks and trellises combine their scent with that of the roses.
Don’t miss
The garden contains a Plant Heritage National Collection of pre-1900 Gallic roses, which are Rose Foyle’s abiding love. Gallicas are amongst the oldest of all cultivated roses. They include the Apothecary’s Rose, R. gallica var. officinalis and Rosa Mundi (R. gallica ‘Versicolor’), with its distinctive red and white carnival stripes.
Anything else to look out for
Standing sentinel amongst the roses are the towering spires of delphiniums. Most of these are from specialist growers,
Blackmore and Langdon’s and the intense blue of their flowers makes a contrast to the softer shades of pink and white that dominate at Carolside.
Campanula persicifolia ‘Cornish Mist’ is use as ground cover, while look out for strawberries and artichokes growing amidst the roses.
Best time to visit
Summer is the highlight of the year at Carolside, when the roses are in full bloom and the frosts that in winter sink from the surrounding hillsides to freeze the soil are just a distant memory.
Any recommendations in the area
Philiphaugh Garden, situated 2 miles West of Selkirk, is one of the largest walled gardens in Scotland. Now fully restored the garden produces flowers, fruit, including freshly-picked strawberries, bedding plants and vegetables for sale to the public.
Directions
Carolside House can be accessed from the A68, one mile north of Earlston.
The gardens are open on Saturdays and Sundays, 11am - 5pm until 1 August.
Tel: 01896 849272
Email: info@carolside.com
Www.Carolside.com
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