Not much to post about today as I drove back down to Newcastle today through at times torrential rain. We don’t seem to have had that level of rainfall here although the garden is damp and it started to rain gently when I went to sit with Ben in the Magic Garden. Early night for me & hoping for a bit of dry weather this week to get my new plants in and to plant out the forest of seedlings and young plants.
Tulach Ard
My parents have created a garden over the last 30 years creating a wooded part with rhododendrons and azaleas s well as native planting. The flowers this year are spectacular - my father would have been delighted. The bluebells are true natives - their bells are all the same direction as well as the beautiful blue
The sides of the drain ditch are now covered in ajuga binding it together as well as being another source of blue in the garden. Dad’s grevillea is blooming & its spider flowers are feeding the bees above the main garden.
Dad planted a cordon fence of apples for their blossom rather than the apples - in fact they are good fruiters despite the northern climate but they are lovely at the moment - later than the ones in the Magic Garden
Inverewe Gardens
If you have never been to Inverewe, you really should and this is the time of year to do it as it has the most amazing rhododendrons & azaleas. Mum and I had a bit of a damp walk round but there was so much bloom around it was wonderful. I was originally inspired to garden by a visit as a young child one summer holiday and have been hooked by plants ever since.
The walled garden was looking lovely today too despite the rain.
Friday 20th May
I took my mum to the local plant nursery today, the Garden Cottage Nursery at Tournaig Lodge, Poolewe. I bought mum some alpines and had an extravagant moment for my own - as well as these I bought another broom Cystisus ‘Killney Salmon’ and a scented geranium.
Cirsium r, ‘Atropurpureum’
Dodecatheon pulchellum ‘Red Wings’
Epimedium ‘Akebono’
Pelargoniium Vancouver centennial
Thursday 19th May
I’m back up in Badachro for a long weekend and so am enjoying azaleas and rhododendron flowers and bees galore. The NW Highlands seem to be a perfect place for these as the peat soil is of course acid.
Wednesday 18th May
I was meant to have driven home today but life got in the way. Instead I spent some money and bought two new lavender plants for the front door pots. I also bought some old fashioned cottage pinks to do a little gap filling and then Ben and I had a happy few hours in the Magic Garden together.
I put out fresh prayer flags too as the old ones are just worn through - there are now three generations of them across the garden.
I pruned out some of the woodier bits of the spirea now its finished flowering and I’ve taken some cuttings to see if I can propagate it. They are all wrapped up in a plastic bag.
Tuesday 17th May
Another busy work day followed by a sit in the garden with the cat! The birds quietly ignored us and got on with that important business of attacking the bird feeders. There were a fair number of midges about and a mix of bees, hover flies and flies. My robin was introducing his family to me.
I had a brief spell removing snails and slugs from their more obvious positions - pointless really given their large numbers. I’m not sure how much good nematode treatment is for snails but I’m planning another treatment for the Magic Garden together with a nematode treatment for ants. The latter worked well with the ant hill under the olive tree and I’m optimistic that I can get on top of the ants in the hotbin and in amongst the patio slab stones. I inspected the gooseberry again and I am happy that there does not seem to be any more rot occurring. The currants are looking as if I should get a good crop and my wee blueberries are also looking as if I should have several meals from them.
Busy Monday
It was tipping down with rain this morning and so when I came home from a busy day at work and it was sunny I was straight out into the Magic Garden with my camera and with an accompanying cat. It was still a bit damp but the garden had a lovely fresh smell. I only had a few minutes but it was enough.
Sunday 15th May
Today felt like a bit of a bonus as I had rather expected it to rain. It wasn’t sunny but I was able to get on and do a lot of the wee jobs that just take a few minutes but stack up a little. I planted a Heuchera Tokyo and added a Bacopa Barostps Golden Leaves into the edging mix together with the dainty little red leaved clover. I sowed as an experiment some parsnip (Gladiator) seeds into a container - the depth should be good but I’ve never tried to do this before so am not sure there will be enough space for the plants to develop. I’ve sown a few more between the cauliflowers that are doing quite well currently.
I added more copper tape around the troughs to try and deter the slug / snail population from chewing my vegetable collection. I fear my wee carrots might getting cropped before they truly get going. I added feed from the hotbin to waterings of all the soft fruit bushes and apple trees.
Ben has spent a lot of the day in the Magic Garden with me again today and spent quite sometime attacking his catnip and looking as if he was watching mice. I know from the tracker camera that there are plenty around so maybe he’s waiting for them to have nibbled on the catnip too for extra flavour!
Saturday in the Sun
I’ve spent much of the day outside enjoying sunshine & a mild day. Ben also elected to be outside for most of the day and even went further away than the Magic Garden to enjoy the sun in the Community centre’s grass while I sat on the bower seat and enjoyed its view
I took a lot of weed & sludge out of the pond and left the bucket on its side to allow any wildlife to escape. I had turned the compost in the hotbin too so a bit of a messy day. I have a problem with ants in the compost bin so will have to find a nematode solution.
I cleared away geranium and creeping buttercup from under the gooseberry bush. I have checked carefully and not found any more disease. The goosegog crop is going to be rather small this year but better than none. The other fruit crops are coming on well so will fill some of the gap.
Friday 13th May
Another late return from work and the wind is ripping the garden to pieces again - its difficult to convey the motion in a photograph!
The carrots are just coming through while everything seems to be growing so fast that I see changes everyday.
The golden globe cuttings have rooted and are growing and the rudbeckia are growing fast. Another set of plants arrived today - little lavenders. They aren’t in the best condition but hopefully a little water will revive them
Throwback Thursday
I ended up not getting time in the garden today because I had to go and sort things out at work. I took a couple of photographs of the goldfinches while they demolished more of the nigella seeds but the other two are photographs from the same day 2 years ago
Windy Wednesday
Home from work to a sunny but very windy evening in the Magic Garden. I was not surprised to find the tomato ‘house’ has been blown to shreds. I think the tomato plants will recover but they are now inside the summerhouse until its a bit warmer outside on a regular basis. On the good side the potatoes are beginning to come through with Casablanca just sprouting ahead of the others. On the other side of the Magic Garden as far away as I can get them, the raspberry I brought from the allotment is in flower, belying its ‘autumn’ status. Raspberries and potatoes are the opposite of companion planting.
I had a lovely wander round inspecting the progress of the garden and noting where I need to rescue plants from more robust neighbours.. I have some delicate looking alliums coming out. The white version of the centaurea montana is out and is much more delicate than the common blue version.
Happy Tuesday
Today has been very windy but sunny & mild. Once I got home, I found my heuchera had arrived from Plantagogo - the most beautiful looking plants. I then spent a happy couple of hours planting the majority of them out. Ben clearly thought I was being boring as he decided to have an upright snooze.
Heucherella ‘Onxy’
Heucherella ‘Tapestry’
Heuchera ‘Cafe Ole’
Plum pudding
I also put in couple along the north path together with a celocephalus
Most of the plants were destined for the back border where the catnips are getting established. I’m really pleased with how this is progressing.
Heuchera ‘Paris’ PBR
Heuchera ‘Paris’ is I think a new favourite & there were two in this set.
Heuchera citronella
Heuchera ‘Tinamisu’
Been Away
I was in Birmingham overnight & today so back really late so just recycled photos tonight - all 3 from two years ago
Sunny Sunday
Its been a beautiful sunny day. Inevitably I only had this morning to play in the garden. I love how green & lush its looking & how quickly the spaces are filling up.
I am pleased how the formality of the thyme zone is broken by a stray aquilegia and by how the plants in the area round it are coming together . I think I will have to replace the lavender which is a bit woody though. I added a new little Helichrysum petiolare yesterday which has a delicate leaf and pleasing silver.
Saturday 7th May
I went up to a little nursery near Morpeth, Stanton Hall, this morning and had a happy time buying plants for specific uses and indulging in a bit of instant gardening with a box of stocks and nicotiana. I was lucky to have an afternoon then of sun allowing me to plant out most of today’s acquisitions.
I found a lovely Trifolium repens purpurea which I hope will be happy along the edge of the Magic Garden plot.
It was a beautiful afternoon in the sun which Ben seemed to enjoy to its full
I bought three new catnips. The littlest is Nepta x Faasseni “kitten around” which I’ve put in with a new Persicaria microcephaly “Red Dragon”. In the back corner I put in another Nepta alba and a Nepta mussini adding barriers in to try and discourage Ben from rolling on them until they’ve got established.
I also got round to planting out cut & come again salad - a mixture of oak leaved lettuce and losso rollo.
Friday
It was raining when I came back from work today but I still popped out for a few minutes. I love the way every time I walk round the garden there is something new to see and always something needing doing. Its garden waste bin day tomorrow so I’ve pulled the bin full of gooseberry clippings and dead wood round the front of the house. I’m pleased to see that the remains of the bush is still looking healthy and there is a tiny crop of gooseberries.
Ben has helped me train the sweetpeas upwards
My windowsills are full of seedlings & I am hoping that I can get some of them moved onto their homes. The view from the top back bedroom is showing the garden looking so green. Its interesting to look from above and realise how much space there still is.
Thursday 5th May
I had to go into work this morning so I didn’t get much done in the garden. I did pot up two of the cherry tomato plants and put them into the wee plastic growhouse and I sowed beetroot, nasturtiums and calendulas in the fabric troughs. There are non-salad seedlings amongst the lettuces I sowed in one of the troughs but at least the lettuces are coming on well.
Ben spent most of the day outside again and followed my progress round the garden before snoozing on the hedgehog house
I have taken out some of the kale that’s gone to seed but I am enjoying the visitors to their flowers too much to totally remove them. The centaurea montana is coming out now providing fodder for the bees.
Wednesday 4th May
It had rained on & off during the day & the garden was looking better for a drink. I was pleased to see that the posh ‘thrift’ in full flower in the rock garden. There is lots of bloom just coming out now and small changes each day to enjoy.
Another work day so not home until late. One of the benefits though of the time of year is that it was still light enough to sit in a damp garden with Ben. It was very soothing to just sit & watch the garden.
