The sloping garden at 17th-century Culross Palace in Fife is one that has been put into context over the years, with planting developed to reflect its historic focus as a place to grow crops, dyes and medicines
WORDS ANTOINETTE GALBRAITH PHOTOGRAPHS RAY COX
The best view of the 17th-century garden at Culross Palace in Fife is from the top terrace perched high above the steeply sloping, dramatically walled space behind the buildings. Reached via flights of vertiginous stone steps, it offers a striking, southerly view over the geometrically laid out beds of mixed herbs and vegetables below, all set against the ochre limewashed palace with its red pantile roof. Beyond it lies the vast expanse of the Firth of Forth with the modern outline of industrial buildings on the far shore west of Edinburgh. It’s a sight that stands in striking contrast to the 17th-century Royal Burgh of Culross with its narrow, winding, cobbled streets.
“Visitors are surprised by the garden,” says head gardener Louise Arnot, who has been in post since 2015. “It’s not until you step inside the palace that you are aware of the space rising up behind it.” The scene, she explains, is set by a route that takes you from the front of the palace, with its grass rectangles managed in Medieval style with long, wildflower-filled grass, through the building and out to the garden. “By the time you step outside again you will have an idea of the story we are trying to tell: of the emergence of the middle classes, of the successful merchant Sir George Bruce and of a 17th-century garden.”
Situated on the Fife Pilgrim Way, the ancient route from Culross or North Queensferry to St Andrews, Culross Palace and its supporting buildings were strategically located at the heart of the prosperous 17th-century port with its thriving mining, salt-panning and girdle-making enterprises. Like other gardens in the village, this one was created by terracing the steep hill behind, reinforcing and enclosing it with stone walls. “The middle wall, above which sits the Mary Luke Garden, is about 30 feet tall,” Louise says.
Bruce, who built the Palace between 1597 and 1611, took advantage of trade with the Netherlands to ballast his homewardbound ships with Dutch floor tiles, roof pantiles and Baltic pine. Despite its name, and a visit from James VI in 1617, Culross Palace was never a Royal residence but pos
