Inveresk Lodge Garden is in the care of 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 organ ...

, in the village of

Inveresk Inveresk (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a Conservation area (United Kingdom), conservation area since 1969. It is situated on s ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

. The lodge lies about 10 km south-east of Edinburgh, and for over a century was one of the homes of the

Wedderburn family Wedderburn may refer to: People * Alexander Wedderburn (disambiguation) * Bill Wedderburn, Baron Wedderburn of Charlton (1927–2012), British politician and legal scholar * Charles F. Wedderburn (1892–1917), United States Navy officer * Dav ...

History

Inveresk Lodge was built in 1683, and between 1774 and 1911 it was the home of the Wedderburn family. The portrait painter

Archibald Skirving Archibald Skirving (1749 – 19 May 1819) was a Scottish portrait painter. He was born at Athelstaneford near Haddington. Life Archibald was born in Athelstaneford near Haddington the son of Adam Skirving. His younger brother Robert joined t ...

died at the Lodge in 1819. John Brunton, a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

, bought Inveresk Lodge in 1911. His Brunton Wireworks provided the cable for the

Forth Road Bridge The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge opened in 1964 and at the time was the longest suspension bridge in the world outside the United States. The bridge spans the Firth of Forth, connecting Edinbur ...

. During World War II, Inveresk Lodge's garden was needed to grow vegetables in support of the

war effort In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative size ...

. After the war, he bought and sold exotic birds such as

pheasants Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasi ...

. In 1958, Mrs Helen Brunton left the house and gardens to the National Trust for Scotland. The Lodge is let by the Trust for private occupation, but visitors can enjoy the terraced garden.

Garden

The earliest evidence of a garden at Inveresk comes from a 1781 court case to reduce trees overhanging from Inveresk Lodge's Garden to Halkerson's lodge next door.Inveresk Lodge Garden Conservation Management Plan, 2010, NTS garden department archives At the start of the 20th century, four gardeners were employed at Inveresk Lodge. After having been used for vegetable growing for the war effort, the garden became neglected. The National Trust redesigned the garden so that it could be managed by just one gardener. Inveresk Lodge Garden is a hillside garden, composed of a series of garden rooms, each with its own season and theme. Many of the plants have been recognised by the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

with an "Award of Garden Merit". Main features: *Rose border designed by the

horticulturalist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

and

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

Graham Stuart Thomas Graham Stuart Thomas (3 April 1909 – 17 April 2003), was an English horticulturist, who is likely best known for his work with garden roses, his restoration and stewardship of over 100 National Trust gardens and for writing 19 books on garde ...

*Victorian conservatory,

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

and

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. Av ...

herbaceous border A herbaceous border is a collection of perennial herbaceous plants (plants that live for more than two years and are soft-stemmed and non-woody) arranged closely together, usually to create a dramatic effect through colour, shape or large scale. ...

s *Woodland walk *Meadow pond *

Croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the Wor ...

lawn *Island beds *

Summer house A summer house or summerhouse has traditionally referred to a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden ...

Photo gallery

Image:Inveresk Lodge01.jpg, Inveresk Lodge Image:Inveresk Lodge02.jpg, Lodge & Croquet Lawn Image:Ferns01.jpg, Ferns in the Glasshouse Image:GardenRoom01.jpg, A garden room Image:Aviary01.jpg, Aviary Image:Pond01.jpg, Wildlife pond Image:Conservatory01.jpg, Conservatory Image:Sundial01.jpg, Sundial

References

External links

Inveresk Lodge Garden
- official site at

{{coord, 55.93425, N, 3.04478, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title National Trust for Scotland properties Gardens in East Lothian Country houses in East Lothian Musselburgh