Decking Garden

This decking came back from the Strathclyde Garden Show in 1998 and we put it up at the top of the garden at one end of the Beechgrove Terrace. It has an upstairs and a downstairs and is frequently used by the cameramen to get a birds eye view of the garden. Lesley has also used it to try out container plants for windy balconies. Down below there is a split level decking area with several raised beds built on to the side.

Walter Gilmour (one half of the Hit Squad) planted one of the raised beds to great advantage when he came back to the Beechgrove for a visit in 2003. He created a bed of sempervivums (houseleeks), using a range of the rosette forming plants mulched with gravel and artfully interspersed with driftwood and tufa. The bed has matured quite well, with the houseleeks multiplying and spreading beautifully. Even the little Sempervivium arachnoideum, that doesn't like the wet, has survived several winters, sheltering under a pane of glass.

This area is still under development and the presenters have big plans for this decking. So far, Lesley has planted two climbers up the 'legs' of the decking in an attempt to soften its outline and Jim cut trapdoors in the decking through which we dropped containerised conifers - the idea was to make them look as if they grew out of the ground.

The decking is also used to grow a range of mini vegetables in a variety of containers and try to show that you can grow fruit and veg in a very compact area. We try everything from special bags for growing potatoes to troughs full of dwarf beans. This has been the site for Carole and Lesley's tattie challenge for the last few years, where they both grow tatties in containers of some sort. The lower deck is roughly 10 square feet, but we usually manage to pack it full of attractive veggie planters.