Burgh Beautiful Linlithgow
Learmonth Gardens and Canal Basin
Burgh Beautiful volunteers fully plant and maintain the nine flowerbeds in Learmonth Gardens, a public garden near the Canal Basin. These beds are sponsored by public-spirited local people, some in memory of loved ones. Until 2016-17, the gardens were entirely maintained by the local authority. Around that time, the lower area to the rear was upgraded by West Lothian Council at the expense of the Linlithgow & Linlithgow Bridge Town Management Group to form a wildflower area with improved, ramped access. These works also included new stone sett paving, replacement stone copes and a new sign, all at the park entrance. The overall design philosophy is reflected in a transition from formal bedding at the front to mixed planting in the centre, and informal wildflowers, including recently planted snowdrops, in the lower area at the back.
Maintenance/Management – now a Community Responsibility
Until the summer of 2015, all eight flowerbeds then in the park were planted entirely with summer bedding by West Lothian Council, albeit to the specification of Burgh Beautiful Linlithgow. As part of the negotiations associated with the transfer of maintenance to Burgh Beautiful, it was agreed that the Council would add 50% permanent planting to five of the eight flowerbeds to cut down on long-term costs and maintenance associated with the bedding plants, but still retain the colourful impact desired by the general public. A combination of phormium purpureum, hydrangea macrophylla ‘Ami Pasquier’, phlox maculata and astilbe pink was selected as a suitable basic mix to tie in with established colour themes.
At the same time as the Council ceased its involvement with floral displays, it also stopped ‘high amenity’ grass cutting and edging which meant less frequent cutting, no uplifting of cuttings and the prospect of weedkiller for edging. Burgh Beautiful considered that these measures would spoil the setting for its flowerbeds and, following unsuccessful discussions with the Council, the group now organises relevant grass maintenance itself, employing a contractor (Alan Agnew) to do most of the work. The grass at the rear of the main garden area is still maintained by the Council and the dividing lines are usually clearly evident! The lower wildflower area is maintained by the Council but with the active involvement of Burgh Beautiful and the pupils of Low Port Primary School.
The 16th century Ross Doocot forms a backdrop to the formal garden area. Floodlit at night, its heritage value is described on an interpretation board. The ‘beehive-shaped’ doocot contains 370 nest holes and its projecting string courses are said to have been created to stop rats getting inside.
In November 2018, using money received from Linlithgow Primary School, and with lots of help from the school’s pupils, we planted fruit trees (espaliers or fans) in a narrow new bed along the eastern boundary wall of the gardens. More recently, the setting of the fruit trees was further improved through slightly widening the bed and adding new, permanent, herbaceous planting, undertaken by Burgh Beautiful volunteers in April 2024 (see picture below).
Trees in Learmonth Gardens
The entrance to the park features specimen tulip trees (liriodendron tulipifera) planted over 30 years ago, while two much older yews flourish close to the Ross Doocot. Four cherry trees, two prunus Kanzan (pink flowered) and two white flowered, first blossomed in the spring of 2017. The 2016 clearance of scrub and undergrowth in the lower part of the park retained a framework of mature trees, albeit with the recent loss of some ash. In 2021, we enhanced that lower area with a new hedge of hawthorn, blackthorn, dog rose, hazel, field maple & bird cherry – all native species which provide food, nectar and shelter for a wide range of wildlife. Most recently, in 2019 and 2023, Burgh Beautiful planted two specimen trees towards the back of the upper section, a fastigiate Dawyck Gold beech and a Dawyck Purple.
Planting at the Canal Basin
For 2024 onwards, the large sloping flower bed at the Canal Basin has been converted by Burgh Beautiful members from annual summer-only bedding plants to a colourful and interesting mix of permanent herbaceous planting. An earlier intervention was the group’s successful efforts to persuade BT Openreach to remove an unsightly, leaning telegraph pole which once disfigured the bed and the surrounding area.
The more immediate surroundings of the ‘Dudley’ cat statue continue to be provided with a small semi-circle of bedding plants (brightly-coloured Nonstop Begonias in the summer and polyanthus in the winter).
The Canal Basin also receives floral enhancement through the green-fingered efforts of members of the Linlithgow Union Canal Society (LUCS), with a fine display of hanging baskets and floral tubs.
Also in the vicinity, beside the wide footpath (formerly a road) down to the railway station, is a small ‘rockery bed’ which has been formed in a previously neglected area by Burgh Beautiful volunteers.
