Pitmedden Garden is a garden in the town of

Pitmedden Pitmedden is a rural village in the parish of Udny, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated midway between Ellon and Oldmeldrum, and approximately distant from Aberdeen. In addition to local shops, primary school, church, village hall and parks, t ...

, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is owned by the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

. It is the largest surviving

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

in Scotland and dates from around 1675.

Notable features

The garden is noted for its geometric

s which vary in shape from a

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves ...

to Sir Alexander Seton's coat of arms. Pitmedden also has several long, varied borders which run along the garden walls. Sir Alexander Seton and Dame Margaret Lauder, his wife, established a house and garden at the site in 1675. The original house, together with the garden plans, was largely destroyed by fire in 1807. The 20th century restoration based three parterre sections on the 1647 plan of Holyrood Palace by Gordon of Rothiemay, and the fourth section represents a memorial to Alexander Seton and his father John Seton.Scottish Garden Buildings by Tim Buxbaum p.30

References

Buildings and structures in Aberdeenshire National Trust for Scotland properties Gardens in Aberdeenshire Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes 1675 establishments in Scotland 1670s establishments in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Aberdeenshire {{UK-garden-stub