Fife Arms Hotel
High Victoriana and Folklore Intertwine
BRAEMAR, SCOTLAND
The ‘banks and braes’ that gave Braemar its name inspired the garden at the Fife Arms Hotel. Fashioned from threads of Scottish geology, history and folklore the intimate space is occupied by landforms inspired by the glacial drumlins that flow through the Cairngorms. These braes weave diverse paths through the garden inviting us into mysterious mossy glens.
The Fife Arms is a gloriously ‘High Victorian’ Scottish Baronial establishment. The planting has threaded reference to this era through it. Finds from the plant hunters are well in evidence. Rhododendron luteum, the sweetly scented honeysuckle azalea, Primula sikkimensis a fragrant Himalayan cowslip that stands 90cm tall and Polystichum setiferum Acutilobum – a finely fretted evergreen fern, mix effortlessly in with the folkloric native trees.
‘From our first conversations, Jinny showed her true depth of understanding of the special character of the Highlands, its native plants, and the challenges that each season brings. It was important that the design would be sustainable and that elements of the wild beauty of the Cairngorms vistas would blend with the garden through the use of native plants and shrubs. We love it equally in the winter when its elegant structure stands against the dramatic backdrop of the snowy mountain views beyond.’
Manuela Wirth
Image credits: Jinny Blom Ltd, Sim Canetty-Clarke, Britt Willoughby