AUTUMN 2007

So, moving on from the awful summer of 2007. Didn't we all want to, honestly. This is the dug up section going towards the waterfall, many of the pots from England are in here now and I sowed loads of annuals, mainly nicotiana and cosmos. They have done really well, and in the slight gloom of the autumn evening, keep everything bright. The cotoneaster mini-tree with the red berries makes a lovely contrast. A couple of the alliums came up and stayed, lovely green heads that rturned very bright pink! The bed going towards the greenhouse is also coming along nicely. I have decided to put more of the red, yellow orange spectrum in this side of the garden. No real reason, just thought it might be a bit of a change. I had so many of the white tobacco plants they got put in here too, so that rather watered down the yellow/orange effect.

The main thing you notice about this bit of garden development is the distinct lack of vertical nature! This is not to say I chickened out at all, but I did not really know if anything was going to grow in those bits, whereas I was pretty sure not a lot would come up through the grass. And I was right. The section from the green house is on a slight slope though and very sandy, so I think I will be able to grow different things there perhaps. I put in a lovely orange miniature climbing rose which simply flowers away all year really. A lovely plant. It is now just behind the lamp near the edge of the burn and glows when the light is on - gorgeous!

This is one of the loveliest parts of the sheltered garden - the wildlife. We used some of the cut down bits of the beech branches slung behind the leaning tree to provide a bit of shelter for living things. If you look really carefully you can see a rabbit in the middle of the branches. Mind you, if it eats much more of the garden, the wild bit will be rethought! The pheasant is fabulous and pops up into the hidden part of the slope when Husband puts the seed out, running back down moments later. I love this place.

SUMMER 2007 LESS SAID THE BETTER

What more can you say about summer 2007 than this photo? Wet, wet and more wet! Actually, the hailstones feature in there somewhere too, along with the 132 slugs we found one night and the complete annihilation of any crops I sowed food wise.

Mind you, the waterfall looks pretty impressive, doesn't it!

I planted some of the previously sown foxgloves by the edge of the waterfall - much to Husband's disgust as he had organised a light to be dramatic at night outside over the water. The foxgloves got in the way and created wierd shadows. The foxgloves will be a one-summer wonder.

There were some parts of the garden that progressed though, so although I am sounding as gloomy as that summer was, beds were dug and cuttings taken from friends (thank you Mae!) as well as some of the pots from England re-homed.

And there were the obligatory sunsets...

MORE SPRING 2007

We were very busy bunnies that springtime. Or rather we managed to get other people to help with being busy. The next major project for this time was the extermination of the conifers in the front of the house to let more light in and open up the whole area. This was vertical gardening at its limit! We knew we were beaten with this one and called in the professionals and they did more wonderful a job than I could have imagined. The largest of the conifers must have been at least 40 feet and twin trunked. Not only did our tree man cut them down, but he left me with these unbelievable mushrooms. A true craftsman. Then he let loose on the rest of the trees and hey presto! SPACE I planted a couple of acid loving bits there, dug up an azalea from the back and put in a rhododendron which I bought with a gift from the lovely Elaine. When we left England, Elaine's daughter had some of our roses and made up a "memorial garden" for us - glad to know we are creating something similar for here here!

SPRING 2007

The main thing about the next stage of the garden was the cold! I waited, in said cold, for anything to grow. I had no idea what bulbs were in the garden, beyond the daffs I saw in the photos of the house particulars. They looked lovely, but was there anything else? Answer: A bit. I had some pots which helped add a little colour and kept waiting. The second picture shows the more "naked" bank in the back near the waterfall. That is going to be a challenge and a half. There are loads of wild raspberries growing there, so I am torn about pulling them out as I want the birds to have the berries. Ho hum, thinking to do. This really is very high gardening and I will need to be tethered, goat-like I suspect, somehow. Tall ladders? Leave till next year was the decision.

Those summer days of putting on wellies and keeping my feet cool in the burn were long gone, and it was freezing in the water now. The earth was too solid to dig so it was back to wrapping up warm and sowing a few seeds. The seeds I sorted out during the summer were doing well and would provide a good splash of colour in this summer.

I looked at lovely pictures in the gardening books and watched countless back episodes of odd gardening programmes to try and see what people did with high gardens - but there wasn't much about really. Short of terracing - not really an option for the vertical gardener - the advice was top of the sadly lacking list.

Much of the work that needed to be done that spring was clearing, clearing and cutting. The copper beech tree was so beautiful and like the shy little sister, hidden behind a larger specimen. So, with the help of wonderful, strong, and willing friends (thank you Alan and James for the strong, thank you Elaine for the willingness to lend them and open the wine!) the green beech met its maker during the Easter holiday.

And then we were left with this glorious specimen, which literally glows when the sunset is behind it. Okay in this picture we have jumped ahead a few months, but it is worth it to show the difference.

Every good gardener starts by drawing up a plan of the garden, does soil testing and then looking at the potential for hidden spaces and so on.

I am not a good gardener.

I looked at the garden, cleared a bit here, dug a bit there, watered my little pots and sowed a few seeds. I measured nothing. I drew nothing. I was heroic in my intention, weedy in my application. Do I regret this haphazard approach? A little bit sometimes, but then my friends would all recognise the less than tidy nature of my thinking. However, I just love my garden and that's enough for me. So, starting in front of the rather grandly named conservatory (nothing oak and glass, slate and blinds, more a lean-to, but great functionally) I decided to dig a bit and put in some of the pots I brought with me from England. Husband cut down the conifer at the top of the waterfall and I cleared half a ton of green stuff, making room for the water to flow - eventually. We also spent lots of time lookig at more fab sunsets. Life didn't get much better than this.

WORK!

Now we get to the part where it starts to get more interesting. The changes. Apart from sounding like a sad old Bowie fan (which I am not) changes had to be made. Husband wondered why, but Husbands generally do.

The summer of 2006 was the most idyllic summer of my life. I do not say this lightly, but I llok back on that time as magical. The weather was fantastic, so the doors and windows were open all the time. The light in Scotland is amazing and you can work until midnight if you wish. And I wished. The children were on holiday and so was I. No work. All play. Poor Husband did have to work, but with such a place to come back to it didn't seem so bad.

I cleared some of the overgrown weeds around the trunks of the trees by the bog garden. The resulting knarled roots and trunks which came through are fantastic. There are all kinds of little holes where I am sure creatures live. I did regret starting with this section when many, many bugs were disturbed and ate me alive. But it was very rewarding. I also sowed tons of seeds for next year, foxgloves, verbascum, oriental poppies and the like, hoping to plant out in the autumn. Also spent many hours looking at the sunsets with a glass of well-deserved wine. As Alan T says, you have to enjoy the garden too...

This is the last section from the "when we moved in" period. This is the sort of front of the house really. Otherwise known as the car park, rugby kicking place, football posts, stilt walking area and shouting space - as in "if you kick that ball against the window one more time" place. Quite a boring area and very dark. The surveyor says we need more light and air in where the banks of - yes - conifers are so - yes again - the saw gets another airing.

Through the gate at the front is the septic tank area (another joy of living in the country) and greenhouse. The oil tank is another feature, though not one for the saw! A lovely cherry tree sits in the middle here and someone clearly did some gardening in the past as there is an old cold frame at the back of the garage wall. Unfortunately it is the only thing holding up the garage, so that will stay for the moment!