Scotland Garden Tours

The Scottish Lowlands hold some of Britain's most rewarding and least-crowded gardens. Between Edinburgh, the Borders and East Lothian, a mild coastal climate, long summer light and centuries of estate-making and plantsmanship have produced botanic collections, romantic walled gardens, contemporary landform gardens and intimate private gardens of real quality.

Scotland's garden story runs from the scientific collections of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh — one of the world's great botanic gardens — to the romantic old-rose gardens of the Borders, the great walled gardens of East Lothian and the landform imagination of Charles Jencks's Garden of Cosmic Speculation. Many of the best gardens are private, opening only by arrangement, which makes an escorted garden tour a particularly rewarding way to see them.

Our Scotland garden tour

GardenTours.com is preparing a summer garden journey through the Scottish Lowlands for 2027 — Edinburgh, the Borders and East Lothian, with private gardens opened for the group. The priority list is open now.

When to visit

High summer — late June to August — is the classic season for Lowlands gardens, when the herbaceous borders, walled gardens and old roses are at their peak and the northern light lasts long into the evening. Our planning guide covers the seasons in detail: Best Time to Visit Scottish Gardens.

Scotland garden guides

Detailed guides to the headline gardens of the Scottish Lowlands programme.

• Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh — one of the world's great botanic gardens
• The Garden of Cosmic Speculation — Charles Jencks's landform garden at Portrack House. A visit would be subject to private access or public-opening arrangements.