In 2031, the National Trust for Scotland will celebrate its 100-year anniversary and, to mark the occasion, it has asked Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg of the award-winning Harris Bugg Studio to create a Centenary Garden at one of its most impressive estates.
Newhailes House & Gardens in Musselburgh, five miles east of Edinburgh, will get a new three-acre garden within its historic walled enclosure. The space was formerly the estate's Flower Garden, its most ornamental area.
The new plans will draw on 200-year-old designs, dating back to a time when Newhailes was home to an independent, curious and progressive woman of the Scottish Enlightenment, Miss Christian Dalrymple. After inheriting the house in 1792, she commissioned horticulturist and garden designer John Hay to create a new garden in the early 1800s, and although it was never built, Hay's drawings survived.
Harris Bugg Studio has drawn on these historic plans for its Centenary Garden at Newhailes, including Hay's paisley motifs, evoking teardrops and unfurling leaves.
Before starting their design work, Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg spent a lot of time at Newhailes studying the walled enclosure and the wider landscape, including the view from the Palladian villa across the treetops to Arthur's Seat beyond, and the shoreline town of Musselburgh.
Discover features by Charlotte Harris:
- Get the designer look for less: pro tricks for style on a budget
- Screen your garden from neighbours: our designer guide
- How to create a beautiful garden using only pots
- Kids vs garden? Here's how to have a beautiful family space
"A commission like this asks you to think in centuries, not seasons," explained Harris Bugg Studio co-founder Charlotte Harris. "We spent a long time at Newhailes before we began designing, reading the estate, understanding what has shaped it and what still lives within it. The walled garden, the library, the landscape beyond the walls, the town at the edge of the estate - all of this has fed into the design."
As Musselburgh's identity is rooted in its mussel beds, Harris Bugg Studio has combined Hay's designs with shell shapes to create a series of planted islands, which can be seen from the house above, and become immersive at ground level.
The new garden will honour Scotland's heritage while looking to the future. Reflecting the Enlightenment values of innovation and discovery, the new garden will make space for trial beds to learn how the gardens can adapt to the changing climate. In the island beds, there will be rich, resilient planting to support pollinators and wildlife.
Plus, the plans include a pavilion and generous seating areas where visitors can pause. The three-acre garden is designed to be an inclusive space where local communities, schools and the public can come together to learn and connect.
"We see the Centenary Garden as a living library, a Garden of Ideas, where knowledge is shared through plants, materials and craft rather than on the page," said Charlotte.
The designs for Newhailes' Centenary Garden also make use of what is already there. Hugo revealed the garden will have curving benches made from salvaged stone, while crushed bricks and tiles will become part of the planting medium.
"It is about designing with what exists, reducing waste and carbon impact, and allowing the story of the place to be told through its materials," Hugo said.
"Even the old bee-boles in the garden walls will have new life as hibernation spaces for wildlife," Charlotte added.
Claire Grant, operations manager at the National Trust for Scotland, said the new Centenary Garden will be far more than a beautiful green space. "As Scotland’s largest garden owner, we care for many horticultural landmarks across the country representing almost every style of Scottish garden.
"We are well placed to continue this legacy at Newhailes with a garden that has biodiversity at its heart, will restore habitats, showcase sustainable gardening, and provide a sanctuary for pollinators and wildlife. Just as importantly, it will be a place for people, creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone in our community.”
Work on the new garden is due to begin in spring 2027.
Discover features by Gardens Illustrated contributor Charlotte Harris
