The Drs Nancy and Andrew Neil were a husband and wife General Practitioner team with a surgery on the ground floor of their home at Jock's Lodge, near Meadowbank, about half a mile from Duddingston, on the opposite side of Arthur's Seat. For 40 years from 1947, they cared for their local community, delivering babies at home and providing both surgery and out of hours care. They were an energetic and lively couple who loved to travel through Europe on their summer holidays, towing a caravan through France, Spain, and as far as Greece, collecting plants and young trees which caught their imagination e.g. the Mediterranean cypress hedge arbour overlooking the herbaceous border in the garden. They called this hedge 'La Herradura', 'meaning 'the horseshoe', after the name of a village in Granada province on the Costa del Sol. They worked hard and enjoyed all aspects of their garden. It was their joint passion, along with Dr Andrew's orchids. Dr Andrew later became interested in Bonsai, through meeting visiting Japanese doctors, and the results of his 'take' on this ancient traditional art found a permanent home in the garden.

Originally Nancy and Andrew had an allotment beside the Masonic Hall in Morningside, close to where they both grew up. When the allotments were lost to the development of a car park, they looked for an alternative. One of their patients, who was the Session Clerk of Duddingston Kirk, suggested that part of the Glebe (church lands) known as 'The Calves Field' might be made available. And so in 1963 Dr Neil's Garden was begun. Friends and patients began to become involved, and found that they benefited from the rejuvenating effect of activity outdoors, in a location that became famous for its peace and tranquillity.

Many plants and items of 'garden furniture' have been gifts. The first was the Monkey Puzzle (Araucaria araucana) which dominates the view from the entrance. This was given to the Doctors in 1973 by Mrs. Davina Baird, when it was 18 inches (45 cm) high; it is now around 10 metres tall.

In 1981 Mrs. Sylvia Sinton, late of Willowbrae Road, gave us a Giant Redwood burl, which she brought from California. This is a piece of bark which is very hard and has to be kept moist until it shows signs of developing a shoot. Mrs. Sinton had left it in a bucket with a little water for about a year. We left it for several months more and our patience was rewarded. The burl was divided into three and the trees were planted in 1983. The success rate for propagation from survival a burl is reputedly less than 1%.

In 1975 the garden won an award from the British Tourist Authority during European Architectural Heritage Year, another from the Conservation Foundation in '84, and another in '86 in the Garden of the Year Competition organised by B&Q and the Sunday Express.

In the 1980s the garden twice appeared on BBC Scotland's Beechgrove Garden, and in the 1990s on Channel 4's Garden Club.

In 1991, the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society presented Drs Andrew and Nancy each with The Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother Medal in Horticulture, the first time that it had been awarded to amateur gardeners, or jointly.

In 1997, Dr Neil's Garden Trust was formed, with funding from the National Trust for Scotland, in order to take over the running of the garden, and to safeguard its future.

Dr Neil's Garden is open every day including weekends from 10 am till Dusk.

Open Days
- Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September Doors Open weekend

Entry is free of charge (except during advertised events) but a donation of at least £1 per person would be greatly appreciated.

Group visits and tours must be pre-booked. Please contact 07849 187 995 (available 10 am till 6pm, Monday to Friday)

Thomson's Tower will be open to the public every Sunday during June, July & August from 2 pm till 5 pm.
Entry: Adults £2, Children under 16 free.

For more information on events and special weekends see the News page.

Dr Neil's Garden, Old Church Lane
Duddingston Village, Edinburgh
EH15 3PX

Info@DrNeilsGarden.co.uk

07849 187 995
(available 10 am till 6pm, Monday to Friday)