CASE STUDY ARCHERFIELD WALLED GARDEN

Two acres of scented roses, wildflowers, and heritage veg are waiting to be discovered at this glorious Georgian plot

- Photography Delia Ridley-Thomas and Murray Orr Words Miriam Methuen-Jones

Archerfield, that prime slice of East Lothian countryside and coastline, attracts a well-heeled crowd to its golf courses, spa and mansion. But theré’s a secret comer here that's even more rewarding, at least for nature-lovers: its twoacre Georgian walled garden. On a summer’s day, it’s alive with the colours of flowers in full bloom and the lazy buzz of bees attracted by the heady fragrance of old roses.

Built to cultivate fruit and vegetables for the Nisbet family who owned the estate in the 1700s, it was taken to new heights in the 1860s by head gardener David Thomson. Today's head gardener, Kerry Lyall, marvels at what her predecessors achieved: “The garden regularly provided 100 pineapples a year and had peach houses, as well as houses for forcing rhubarb and asparagus,” she says.