Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland

However, under the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2013, planning authorities are required to consult Historic Environment Scotland on "development which may affect a historic garden or designed landscape".

[4] The majority of the Inventory sites are estate or park landscapes associated with country houses.

Examples include Benmore Botanic Garden in Argyll,[5] Duthie Park in Aberdeen,[6] the Balmoral Castle estate in Deeside,[7] and Ian Hamilton Finlay's garden at Little Sparta in Lanarkshire.

These are:[9] Each site is assessed, on a scale of none—little—some—high—outstanding, for each criterion, using guidance set out in the Historic Environment Policy Statement.

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

The gardens at Drummond Castle are listed on the Inventory, as "the best example of formal terraced gardens in Scotland", and are assessed as "outstanding" for four of six values [ 1 ]