April and May

How did nearly two months go past? Obviously things have grown amok in the garden and I have been busy dealing with some of those, as well as the rest of the family growing too and heading off into wild blue (or grey, or thundery) yonders for rugby and now athletics. Ah well, I do see lots of lovely gardens as we drive through some towns!

This weekend involved an athletics meet trip to Inverness and then a chopping down day on the bank holiday. There was a huge ash tree above the burn which was a) blocking light out from the bog garden and b) self seeding everywhere and driving me nuts.

So up the ladder the lovely boys went and cut it down... The main trunk is still lying across the burn and will be moved this week, but by the time the branches had been lopped off and put away the poor chaps were exhausted so I let them off the last bit. My plants, so lovingly tended (not) on the bank of the burn took a bit of a battering so I will have to do a bit of remedial work there - which obviously will involve a trip to the nursery to help get over the trauma!! There is a dark purple buddleia which was hidden behind the (ex) ash tree, so that should be better this year. We tried to prune it the first year we moved in, but never too successfully because there was so much in the way. I will leave it for this year and then give it a haircut next spring. The children's den is now more visible, so I have promised to plant stuff to cover it a bit more - how noble of me!!!!

I have also been moving plants in the bog garden which should flourish a little better with more sun. The hostas are coming up beautifully and the primulas are a treat. I moved the rodgersia further back a couple of weeks ago and that is coming on well, the fatsia has sulked a bit and thrown off a couple of leaves in tantrum, but is struggling through. So, the after the chop should give them all a good go this year. The bit on thebottom right hand side is a quandary because the spring trickles through the wall and onto the stone there and I am not sure how to deal with it. Thinking hats on.

The last part of the garden for today is bit in front of the kitchen and patio. The tree peony I planted there has just been magnificent, and if only we had smelli-net! The rosy scent is delicately gorgeous. It is surrounded by aqulilegias and has a lovely rose to its left so has a bit of shelter and has flowered itself in a frenzy this year, hurrah!

MARCH 2009

Well, it is the last day of March, so technically speaking I am still able to label this blog March. The weather has been a bit wild and windy this week, after a lovely few days the week before. Very little rain to be had, so the garden is drying out very nicely. I have dug out a few more bits of the beds by the pergola and been watching the hostas closely to see if I can dig them up and divide them yet.

The bulbs from last year are starting to look lovely on the bank opposite the conservatory, so I am making sure I know where the gaps are; I may not forget by the autumn and end up bunging bulbs wherever - a plan perhaps? The large buddleia to the left of the picture is the yellow globe variety and I did not prune it properly last year - hence it is too big now. I will cut it back when it has flowered and give others a chance to shine. The large bush on the right was ENORMOUS when we first moved in, a lovely red escalonia. Unfortunately it was taking over the garden there and had to be cut back by about 3 quarters. Husband reckoned anything cut back that hard would never want to grow again, but grow it has and may even flower this year (it sulked last year and refused even one little flower). I stuck a couple of the "freebie" clematis plants around it, for a bit of company. The one in front got eaten by a rabbit last year, but the one nearest the steps had a couple of large flowers - maybe both will put on a show this year. I bought a job lot of pink heathers from the garden centre and one sits nicely on the slope with the mini-daffs (tete a tetes I think). The foxgloves will look pretty up the slope behind the escalonia and towards the sorbus. The little wood anemones are gorgeous and almost glow int he dark, which seems to be the only time I got to see the garden after work at times! I tried clearing some of the wild raspberries along the slope and the ivy, which seems to have roots of steel. Hard work when you are also trying to balance, then a large root gives and you are away down the hill!

There is a Gardener's World programme on about vertical gardening, so maybe I will get round to watching that this week and see if they have any saftey tips....

WINTER 2008

Well, as winters go, that was a cold one! We even has a deal of snow, although the children didn't get their desired time off school because they were already on holiday. I gave them lots of sympathy though. Obviously. Much fun was had with the toboggans on the slopies, for more information see youtube I understand.

I am now the proud owner of a pergola. Husband kindly used some of the materials left over from the bridge as the uprights and we improvised to get the "rustic" logs across the top using branches from some of the trees we have lopped.

The pergola was, of course, required because in one of the windy spells the cheap rose arch was not so much cheerful as completely horizontal. So, not being in the spirit of the vertical garden any more, it had to go. I also had a few of the pots I had brought from England which needed something doing with and this was the something. A beautiful dark pink rose, paired with a dark pink clematis is on the corner nearest the bridge, with a couple of day lillies and a kaffir lily (I did get to the point where I was bunging what I could into pots whilst packing so please don't frown). The pot with the honeysuckle and red clematis is on the side nearest the ladder. I have used some of the stone from the wall to build up the slope a little as the cherry tree roots made digging that section a bit of a struggle. There is also a pretty little abutilon mixed in with that lot and I am hoping it will survive there. The yellow rose and the jasmine with the pink rose and pink that were already there will need pruning properly and it should be gorgeous. I am apparently going to have another two poles, nearer the bridge but will have to move the clothes drier. Can't wait.

In the mean time, I have been extending the beds round the pergola, when fingers aren't frozen. My goodness it has been cold. Mind you, I am starting to see a resurgence of the slug so I have been ruthless in flinging the little b******s to the birds. Some of the "free" bulbs I got in the autumn are coming up now, and the ones I put in pots when I ran out of time/inspiration/inclination have been planted into this new section too - for the future. We'll see what they look like shall we! I have also been sowing like mad for the wild flowers on the bank and waiting for the plants by the bog garden to peep through so that I can lift and divide them. So many plans.....

AUTUMN 2008

I decided to start doing a little planning for the next bit of gardening - looking forward to 2009 and all its glory. So, like all best laid and all that....
The bog garden section with the hostas needs the larger parts dividing. I would love to put more going up the slope behind the leycestria but it gets quite dark up there as there are tall trees all around so in the past that has not worked. I tried a few things last year which didn't work so have chucked some more in this year of the more traditional waterside plants and see what 2009 brings. I also wondered if the fact that the water from the road above probably drains into this section and in the winter that is loaded with the gritting stuff and might be a bit of a killer. One fatsia pegged it, but the other was okay. Not sure why! Rodgersia at the front needs moving back as it is far too dominant.

The bank on the far side of the bridge also needs something doing with it. It is quite dark there too as the sun only gets there on summer mornings. I popped a few foxgloves in there going up last year and they have flowered well, hopefully seeding too for years to come. That gave me the idea of a few more wild flowers. I put some campion and ragged robin to the right of the swing tree and we'll see what they do. They also flowered this year. Again, mild amounts of wincing when children swing, but I suppose it is their garden too!

I have been extending the beds towards this end of the bridge and getting odd plants in there as I rescue them. A garden centre about 10 minutes from here does a good line in half price plants when they are "finished" so a treasure trove for me! I found a "deep secret" red rose there which Husband gave me in the last house and I didn't have the heart to dig it up. The leaves have all fallen off, but there is still a little sign of life. Fingers crossed. Maybe that's a better name for my garden in retrospect! I did my usual trick of finding larger plants that are pot bound and then digging a hole for them in the middle of the lawn to give them space, knowing I will "catch up with them" when digging out the bed later. Drives the lawn mowing person mad. Not the intention, honestly. I found a cheap rose arch in argos and put a bedraggled "china" yellow rose to grow up it, with a small other climber I can't remember the name of. I will regret the cheap arch later. I know.

SUMMER 2008 - NO BETTER THAN 2007!

We all hoped that the summer of 2008 would be better than 2007 - and we were wrong! I am so glad that the first summer we were here was fantastic or I might have been tempted to think we had made a mistake by moving here and my garden would be fine. We have a dry stane wall at the top of the garden where we look down to the Basin. We eventually want to put a summerhouse up here and need to move the wall to get the best position for it. So, this is the wall moving summer. A lovely Czech girl is going to do the moving and all I can say is - good luck! The weather has been pretty average and everything looks green and lush. The colours are coming gradually, but about a couple of weeks behind what I thought.

Husband also decided to build a bridge, definitely on the sloping scale rather than vertical, but hey, little acorns.

The bridge is at the far end of the garden, just in front of the copper beech. I tried to look away when feet were perilously close to naturalised daffs, will only weep if they don't come up next spring! A major feat of engineering, to which I contributed very little. Even advice. But mid-august, the opening ceremony was performed with some friends in attendance - thanks Mae for the glittery elastic and Aileen for the bubbly! Isn't is fantastic! I know it goes to a brick wall, but that will change. Give it time.

So despite my complaining, there were a few sunny days and we did get some jobs done. I cleared a huge amount of overgrown ivy and grass off the slope in front of the greenhouse and loads of grassy self-seeded stuff out of the bog garden. I planted some hostas and a couple of fatsias there, with a rodgersia and gave in to some persicaria. Some of the primulas I planted last year have come up again - hopefully they will self seed. Other trials have not been as successful, primarily the ligularia, which I have moved to another part of the garden to see if it can be saved - bloody slugs! The tomato plants got blight - and I have NEVER had that before. Husband had even constructed a frame for growing some of the toms outside in front of the greenhouse, but even they were taken from us. Not a good year for chutney then.

We were however, thrilled to see a couple of huge moths one night as we sat in the conservatory, and just managed to get a photo or two.

THE WEATHER IS GETTING BETTER!

The hellebores that Shirley gave me, along with the little pots of mini daffs and a couple of other bits have gone into the vertical garden opposite the conservatory. I agonised a little over this because the garden round the side of the house where the conifers were looks pretty bare and I thought they might go there, but then I bought a "job lot" of very small hellebores and put those in at the side - they'll grow - eventually. So the bank where we sit and look out was the best place - and the whole thing looks lovely. The hellebores are dotted about, with a double one I bought by the old steps. I put little daffodils in with a leucomis and some aconites amongst the snowdrops to make up what I hope will be a colourful spring display. Husband has now left his old job in England and is no longer travelling. Some friends were very kind and gave him a bench as a leaving gift which has now been placed on the patio looking over to the Basin. Thank you Tim, Lynda and Sally. I planted a couple of pots with new zealand flax in and some ivy to add a little interest at each side of the bench. In a fit of activity we cut down the conifer at the beginning of the steps to the top so that we could actually get past. It has opened up the whole section of the garden and I will do something with it at some point.... The primulas are flowering on the bank to the left of the steps and almost look like another waterfall when they are all out. I have pupt some snowdrops here, as well as some heathers to see if they survive the rabbits. The lilac tree is also about to flower and when the sun shines it is just heaven.

SPRING 2008

When the spring came in 2008, there was so much hope that we would have a better year than 2007. I decided to attack some of the less horizontal areas of the garden and see what could be done. My friend Shirley came up to stay and we headed off to the glory that is the snowdrop walk at Cambo in Fife for some timely inspiration.
It was absolutely lovely, although we were slightly early for the major carpets of white, we wandered down through the woods to the sea. After a warming lunch and restorative shopping, Shirley surprised me with some beautiful hellebores to go with the plants I bought. Only thing is, where to put them. The hellebores should be somewhere where the heads can be looked up into - vertical gardening at its most obvious! I had also been keeping my eyes peeled for bargains (as you do) and during various shopping trips and tesco there were some pots of mini daffs, so those found their way into my trolley and then the loveliest thing happened. My neighbour who is above us on the burn was out digging up his snowdrops and offered me some. I, needless to say, accepted in a flash, expecting a clump or so. He came back with a bin bag with loads of snowdrops in. Apparently his auntie gave the original ones to him and made him promise to divide them so I was the beneficiary! A million thanks Robert. A dose of backache for the planting, but very, very much worth it. Robert's bank by his garden is glorious with the snowdrops and he has planted them all along the road - they really cheer you up of a winter's day. We had some snow, but not enough for the children as they didn't miss any school, but we had a fair bit of rain and the burn was pretty high! The icicles were sweet on the side of the waterfall and it took ages to melt a hole in the fishpond with a pot of hot water; all in all I prefer the cold to the wet. And just for a change, instead of the sunsets, here's a sunrise! The view to the glens with the snow on the hills and a beautiful pink sunrise.... brrrrrr!