Traversing Scape Lodge: The Sloping NGS Garden 1,000ft Up In The Pennines

Set 1,000 feet up in the Pennines, Scape Lodge is the highest garden in the UK that can be visited as part of the National Garden Scheme.

Not only that – this garden is built upon extreme slopes that have been joined together by unique gravel paths and rocky edges since Elizabeth and David Smith moved here in 2012.

I spoke to Elizabeth and David about gardening on a slope, as well as the highlights and challenges they come up against in their distinctive garden.

You can watch the full garden tour below:

Gardening On A Slope

“We’ve not gone for the ‘build a big wall and make a flat area approach’, as most of the beds deal with the slopes,” shares Elizabeth.

“We’ve put little rocks in to hold things and we’ve got a lot of Alchemilla mollis, which has a lovely matted root system that helps the slope to hold on to the bank.

“Thinking beyond creating flat areas is really important and sloping beds work quite well.”

“There is no sense of something being at the back of the border and hidden,” adds David.

“Most of the garden is visible all of the time thanks to the slope.”

Eight Hundred Potted Plants

“We also have around 800 potted terracotta plants in the garden,” reveals David.

“I particularly like hand-thrown British terracotta and I’m always looking for a pot I’ve not come across before to add to my collection,” Elizabeth shares.

“We keep a display of pots on the terrace and the deck around the house so there is always something visible from our windows when we are inside.

“We keep the colour scheme the same all year, so it’s always a creamy-yellow and blue. That way, you can change things in and out throughout the seasons.”

Areas Of The Garden

“I like succulents, which need some help to get through the winter up here, so they all have to go inside,” explains Elizabeth.

“We have two cold frames, including an upright one, for housing the tender things in the winter. This one doesn’t have any heat, but we’ll put bubble wrap and a blanket over it if it gets really cold.

“We also have a greenhouse that houses a permanent collection of succulents on the shelf in little pots.”

“In the kitchen garden, we’ve built box beds,” she continues.

“The advantage is that everything gets its own sunlight when it’s on the hillside. You can also create washes of colour that you can’t in a flat bed.”

Visiting Scape Lodge

“I think people when they come and visit they’re really surprised as to what has managed to survive up here in the Pennines,” jokes David.

“It’s about having a garden that’s in tune with its place.”

“I like the garden to have an atmosphere of being cared for, which I think it does, as it’s just a really nice place to be,” Elizabeth says.

More information and the opening dates for Scape Lodge can be found on the NGS website.