Pittenweem village trail on Sunday 12 June
A variety of gardens of Pittenweem, a picturesque fishing village in the East Neuk of Fife, will open their gates to the public to raise money for charities. These gardens display a wide range of styles: from traditional to landscaped, and include richly productive gardens, as well as those with interesting and unusual plants. This is a chance to re-visit old favourites, discover newly developed areas, and buy a plant or two at a bargain price.
Refreshments including strawberries and cream, coffee, tea and cakes, and pizzas will be available at several gardens and there are two plant stalls.
Admission £5 per person (map included).
Directions: On the A917 coast road, enter Pittenweem following the signs to the West Braes car park, next to the Crazy Golf and newly refurbished swimming pool. For traffic from the East, stop and park at Milton Road, or, from Ovenstone, there is a car park at the cemetery/football park off Charles Street.
Gardens open on 12 June are:
2 Seaview Row: A wildlife-friendly garden with wonderful views south across the Forth. The steep slope down towards West Shore is terraced with beds of mature shrubs and perennials. Look out for euphorbias, grevillea, salvias and aeoniums.
1 West Braes: An organic fruit and vegetable garden using permaculture principles. Garden microclimates and perennial vegetables are some of the solutions used to cope with the dry and windy east coast climate.
Croft Cottage, 12 Viewforth Place - Plant stall: A south-facing walled garden with paths to follow and places to sit to appreciate the herbaceous plants, hostas, ferns, alliums and roses.
14 and 15 West Shore: Two adjoining gardens on the north side of these shorefront cottages. No 14, with interesting nooks and crannies and well-established planting, gives access to No 15 which has an abundance of daisies and other perennials.
Old Church House, 3A School Wynd - Plant stall: A south-facing garden hidden behind the former Baptist Church with wonderful views over the Forth. Primarily planted in a cottage style of herbaceous and perennial plants, the garden meanders down a series of steps.
14 East Shore - Coffees, teas, cakes: Hiding behind this harbourside property is a walled, woodland garden with established trees and colourful borders. Since 2016, a kitchen garden has been substantially developed to supply the Dory Bistro. Steps lead up the garden.
Jenny’s Cottage: Enter through the back gate between Routine Row and Marygate to find a secluded, south-facing garden with a view of the clocktower. Once a barren space of pebbles and the odd shrub, it is now a mixed garden with grasses, seaside planting and cottage-style beds.
The Old Manse, 2 Milton Place - Pizza, tea and coffee: An eclectic mix of modern and traditional landscaping and planting can be found in the gardens of this early 19th century Manse. The circular walled garden features both wooded and sunny areas, offering the challenge of finding plants to suit all soils. As well as traditional borders, a mixed potager-style garden area has been established, mixing fruit and vegetables with flowers for cutting and encouraging wildlife.
24 Milton Road - Strawberries and cream: Once just a patch of grass, this garden now has raised beds in cottage garden colours of pink, lilac, blue, purple and white to the back of the property and orange, purple and lime green to the front.
Jan-Karel Querido, who resurrected the Pittenweem garden open day in 2011, and Hazel Mills, a Pittenweem gardener, with her flowering aeonium that will be on display on 12 June.
Sixty per cent of funds raised on the day will go to the charities PSPA and Parkinson's UK, both supporting people with neurological disorders.
Other garden open days in Fife can be found HERE