Out of the Blue
Stepping into Maxine Harrison Sloss’s Victorian walled garden Glenburn is like entering a secret haven. With her keen eye for design and love for the color blue, Maxine has curated a remarkable garden. But amidst the vibrant foxtail lilies, delphiniums, and roses, a hidden gem awaits – the elusive Himalayan poppy, Meconopsis betonicifolia. This notoriously difficult plant flourishes under Maxine’s care, its delicate, icy-blue blooms adding a touch of whimsical beauty to the Scottish landscape.
Walking within the walled garden tended by Maxine Harrison Sloss, is a glorious experience. Victorian brickwork replaces time with warmth and you find yourself suddenly, gently breathing freer.
We are in Scotland, just over the border with England and both Winter and Spring have been kind - a few harsh frosts but little snow, much rain and a surprising amount of sunshine. Within the walls, generously mulched soil, a greenhouse of dreams and those Victorian walls, enable shrubs, annuals and perennials to shoot early, strong and happy.
It is mid-summer and Foxtail Lilies, Delphiniums and Thalictrum throw up spikes of joy. Numerous roses feed the air and through all the romance, carefully pruned apple trees weave year-long structure. Being a rectangle, the garden is home to both sun and shade-lovers and the result is a joyful, jostling collection of plants. And yet, as extraordinary as this scene is, I know I am about to meet something particularly special.
As an Interior Designer with a passion for colour, Max regularly uses shades of Blue in her work. Gentler tones create a sense of calm and peace. Strong, bright blues inject confident drama and wit. And for me, there is one plant that encapsulates this colour’s underlying sense of optimism. It is a plant that, before visiting Max, I had not before been able to meet. It is the Himalayan poppy, Meconopsis betonicifolia.
First named in 1912 by the explorer and naturalist Frederick Marshman Bailey, the Himalayan poppy is notoriously difficult to grow. It needs the damp cool of its mountainous home replicated. But here in the Scottish Borders, the poppy is obviously given what it wants for a collection is thriving.
An involuntary gasp accompanies my first glimpse for there it is - that fine, clear, icy blue. Yet the flowers are so much larger and the stems more statuesque than I expected. They exhibit a shy exuberance and are papery delicate, apparently floating in the soft breeze. I feel greedy taking in their generosity and as I look across the whole of one border, I begin to see not one but multiple tones of blue blending into purple and pink as gatherings of the poppy reveal themselves.
Max is clever and has a brilliant eye. She curates families of previously disparate treasures like no-one else I know and seems to have a second sense for delicate finds lurking in the shadowy corners of vintage stores. Modern Art by Scottish Artists is a particular love (painter Lorna Sinclair & photographer Phoebe Grigor have both been recent Artists in Residence in the garden) and with her deft touch, Max can transform a space while enhancing its bones and past stories. It seems completely natural for the still rare Meconopsis betonicifolia, to multiply within the home she has made for it.
Images & Photography - Phoebe Grigor @phoebegrigor
Text - Sam Roffe @sammygardens1
Styling & Interiors - Maxine Harrison Sloss @_mhsstudio
www.maxineharrisonsloss.com