For 2025, Scotland’s Gardens Scheme (SGS) has a collection over 400 unique gardens opening for the public, including 53 new gardens – raising vital funds for the 244 charities and local good causes.
In 2024, the SGS raised just under £400,000, of which approximately £220,000 directly benefitted 240 charities and local good causes – chosen by garden owners. A further £22,000 was donated to each of SGS’s core charities – Maggie’s, the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland and Perennial, and the charity also awarded bursaries totaling £7,500 to Scottish horticulturists, through its Cattanach Award.
A few SGS garden highlights for 2025:
- Carolside garden in the Scottish Borders with its rose-filled elliptical walled garden, which featured on Netflix’s The Buccaneers
- The lochside croft garden that featured on Monty Don’s ‘British Gardens’, 2 Durnamuck in the North West of Scotland
- Drummond Castle gardens, an impressive formal garden dating back to the 17th century, which also featured in Monty Don’s ‘British Gardens’, in 2024 formed the backdrop for Dior’s first Scottish fashion show in 2024 and has also featured in the ‘Outlander’ TV series
- Papple Steading in East Lothian has a meadow planted with Scottish native wildflowers – reported to be one of the largest of its kind in Scotland, and sown with a wildflower and grass mix from Scottish wildflower seed specialist Scotia Seeds, including species such as yellow rattle, knapweed, ox-eye daisies, selfheal, yarrow, lady’s bedstraw, cowslip and quaking grass, among others.
- Ascog Fernery on Bute boasts a well-stocked subterranean Victorian fernery topped with an ornamental ‘terrarium-like’ roof in the grounds of Victorian Ascog House and has a 1000-year-old King Fern.
- New Lanark Roof Garden, designed by Douglas Coltart and was created on the 9,000 square feet of roof on one of the New Lanark mill buildings – reported to be the largest of its kind in Scotland. The garden’s patterns of gentle curves and swirls, reflect the turning arc of the great waterwheels which once powered the cotton-mills, and the flowing lines of the threads moving through the historic machinery as the yarn was spun, twisted, wound, and woven.
- Dalswinton Mill in Dumfriesshire – the garden of Colin Crosbie, a former Curator at RHS Wisley. The garden is set on both sides of the Pennyland Burn which flows through the middle and the garden includes the owner’s growing collection of specimen plants, and the opening will include a mini plant fair, with music, stalls, talks and horticultural demonstrations.
“It’s wonderful to be able to present yet another exciting programme of open days to the public and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to our 2025 season. Our garden owners and volunteers are truly inspiring people, and we are so grateful to them for their generosity in sharing their passion for plants and gardening knowledge to inspire many others. We have a passionate following of regular visitors, and we hope to welcome many, many more people new to Scotland’s Gardens Scheme this year, to enjoy the delights of open gardens. Visiting open gardens is a wonderful way to do your bit for charity, the chance to learn something new about gardening and be inspired, to meet other garden lovers and to reap the benefits of being outside in a beautiful environment. Please join us in 2025 and help us raise funds for charities and local good causes again this year,” said Liz Stewart, Scotland’s Gardens Scheme Chief Executive.