A Year at the Parsonage Garden

By the Editorial Team · Saturday, October 3, 2026

Ben Pentreath has begun restoring a neglected walled garden on the island of Rousay in the Orkneys, focusing on cultivating vegetables, fruit trees, and native plants to support local food production and biodiversity. His project demonstrates the viability of sustainable horticulture in a challenging northern climate and highlights the importance of preserving traditional garden heritage in remote communities.

Ben Pentreath, author and gardener, has embarked on a new chapter cultivating a walled garden on the island of Rousay in the Orkneys, off the northern coast of Scotland. After leaving the Old Parsonage garden, he has shifted focus to reviving a traditional garden space left untended for nearly a century.

Rousay’s location, closer to Norway than to Edinburgh, initially raised questions about its suitability for growing a diverse range of plants. However, Pentreath points to local examples, such as the walled garden at the Castle of Mey, tended by the Queen Mother and now King Charles III, which successfully produces crops including peaches in its glasshouses. The relatively mild summer climate and protective stone walls create favorable conditions that defy common assumptions about the island’s growing potential.

The project involves restoring the walled garden to serve as a source of food for the community. Pentreath is cultivating a variety of vegetables with an emphasis on salads, while also expanding the collection of spring-flowering bulbs including tulips, hyacinths, and lilies for both ornamental and picking purposes. He plans to lift and divide existing plants, such as several varieties of galanthus and narcissi, and is introducing fritillaries, cowslips, and other native species to enhance biodiversity. Since taking over, wildflowers and orchids have begun to appear naturally in the area, reflecting the garden’s gradual regeneration.

Pentreath has planted around 25 fruit trees including apple and pear cultivars sourced from Scottish Heritage Fruit Trees, resulting in a modest but promising first harvest. He also addresses the challenges posed by the island’s frequent strong winds, employing stout stakes and guy ropes made from natural materials to protect tender plants.

Efforts to create windbreaking hedges involve planting fuchsia, escallonia, and experimental species such as hornbeam and laurel. Sustainable gardening practices are also being introduced, with seaweed from nearby shores used as both direct mulch and liquid fertilizer after fermentation, aiding soil health and plant growth.

The local horticultural community has also made a significant impression on Pentreath. The Rousay Horticultural Society’s annual show displays a wide range of produce, flowers, and handicrafts from the island’s 230 residents, reinforcing a vibrant culture of gardening despite geographic isolation. For Pentreath, this marked a sense of belonging and continuity in his move to the Orkneys.

This venture, described in Pentreath’s forthcoming book, “A Year at the Parsonage,” reflects a commitment to maintaining traditional gardening heritage while adapting to the unique environmental conditions of the Orkneys. The restoration aligns with wider concerns about the decline of historic walled gardens, many of which have been replaced by leisure or decorative uses rather than productive horticulture.

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