The Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland is a listing of garden

Garden

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...

s and designed landscape

Designed landscape

A designed landscape is an area of land which has been modified by people for primarily aesthetic effect. The term is used by historians to denote various types of site, such as gardens, parks, cemeteries, and estates. Such sites are often protected for their historic or artistic value...

s of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a continually evolving list. From 1991 it was maintained by Historic Scotland

Historic Scotland

Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...

 and Scottish Natural Heritage

Scottish Natural Heritage

Scottish Natural Heritage is a Scottish public body. It is responsible for Scotland's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and scenic diversity. It advises the Scottish Government and acts as a government agent in the delivery of conservation designations, i.e...

, and is now updated by a dedicated team within Historic Scotland. The original Inventory contained 275 sites, and by March 2007 the Inventory included 386 sites across Scotland.

Background

Unlike listed building status, there is no statutory basis for the Inventory, and inclusion of a site on the Inventory does not offer any legal protection. However, under the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (Scotland) Order 1992, planning authorities are required to consult Scottish Ministers on "development which may effect a historic garden or designed landscape". As such, the inclusion of a site on the Inventory is a material consideration

Material consideration

A material consideration in the UK is a process in Planning Law in which the decision maker when assessing an application for development must consider in deciding the outcome of an application....

 in planning terms.

Types of site

The majority of the Inventory sites are estate or park landscapes associated with country houses. However, a wide variety of other types of site are included, including cemeteries, urban parks, and small gardens, where these are of historical significance. Examples include Benmore Botanic Garden

Benmore Botanic Garden

Benmore Botanic Garden is a large botanic garden situated between Dunoon and Loch Eck, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It features a large square walled gardens, a waterfall, the remains of a fernery, ponds and walks up the hillside to where you can look out across the Holy Loch...

 in Argyll, Duthie Park

Duthie Park

Duthie park, situated in Aberdeen, Scotland, by the banks of the River Dee, comprises of land gifted to the council in 1881 by Lady Elizabeth Duthie of Ruthrieston, in memory of her uncle and of her brother...

 in Aberdeen, the Balmoral Castle

Balmoral Castle

Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...

 estate in Deeside, and Ian Hamilton Finlay

Ian Hamilton Finlay

Ian Hamilton Finlay, CBE, was a Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener.-Biography:Finlay was born in Nassau, Bahamas of Scottish parents. He was educated in Scotland at Dollar Academy. At the age of 13, with the outbreak of World War II, he was evacuated to family in the countryside...

's garden at Little Sparta

Little Sparta

Little Sparta is a garden at Dunsyre in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh, created by artist and poet Ian Hamilton Finlay and his wife Sue Finlay....

 in Lanarkshire.

Site selection

Sites are selected and graded based on seven criteria, or "values". These are:

• Work of art
• Historical
• Horticultural
• Architectural
• Scenic
• Nature conservation
• Archaeological (added in 1993)

Each site is assessed, on a scale of none—little—some—high—outstanding, for each value. There is no overall grading system. Decisions on inclusion are made by a steering group which includes representatives of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Originally founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies four sites across Scotland — Edinburgh,...

, the National Trust for Scotland

National Trust for Scotland

The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...

 and the Garden History Society in Scotland.

Other parts of the United Kingdom

Separate registers of parks, gardens and designed landscapes are maintained in the other countries of the United Kingdom

Countries of the United Kingdom

Countries of the United Kingdom is a term used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These four countries together form the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is also described as a country. The alternative terms, constituent...

:

• The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England
  National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
  In England, the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by English Heritage under the provisions of the National...
  
   is maintatined by English Heritage
  English Heritage
  English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
  
  
• The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales
  Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales
  The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales is a heritage register of significant historic parks and gardens in Wales. It is maintained by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government.-The Register:...
  
   is maintained by Cadw
  Cadw
  -Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...
  
  
• The Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest
  Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest
  The Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest is a listing of significant ornamental parks and gardens in Northern Ireland...
  
   is maintained by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency

External links

• Gardens and Designed Landscapes, Historic Scotland