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Icing on the cake
So there I was last week, quite content. Content because I was actually up to date with things in the garden. This is very rare as the Good Lady will tell you. The ‘to do’ list stuck to the fridge...
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Going Gothic
Before the snow came, the family and I had a winter outing to Dalkeith Palace, which is not so very far away. The younger members of the party had the adventure playground in their sights, but I had...
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End of the ice age?
It’s been a challenging week in this part of the world with blizzards on Monday and Friday nights and temperatures hanging around 0 Celsius. We’ve been very reliant on the Estate tractor ploughing its...
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February Dawns
Always good to get to the end of January - a long, cold, damp, dark month in Scotland, but as we turn the corner into February, we see the days start to lengthen, certainly at the end of the day …...
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February Focus
Wee extra for this week! I rather liked this combination of winter aconites with their cheery moptops and green frilled collars against the contrast of the red cornus stems. Discovered earlier in the...
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Seeds of Discovery
In a month or two’s time or so, the seed-sowing season begins. Here at the Scottish Country Garden, we wait until the sun’s rays provide a decent heat in the greenhouse, which usually means getting...
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Signs of spring…
Just a few pictures this weekend, as we have been spending all our time on drive-maintenance, filling the potholes after the ravages of winter! Finally the woodland snowdrops are starting to appear –...
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A weekend of contrast
Saturday proved the ideal day to get on with the final phase of cutting back the borders and the herb garden – cold, dry, no wind with a bit of sun thrown in. We’ve been cutting back the borders in...
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In like a lamb and out like a lion, and that’s just the first week!
The battleship grey skies and cold temperatures have returned, with even a light covering of snow this morning, heralding (according to the long-range forecast) a rather more wintry March than we had...
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Happy Unbirthday!
Well, I’m another year older- not quite at the big 50, but getting perilously near, so a very Happy Unbirthday to all my fellow green-fingered bloggers! Each year, the Head Gardener’s birthday usually...
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The miracle of the ice house
Well, the blizzards continue here at the Scottish Country Garden. The snow that arrived on Tuesday morning is still here, and the high winds tonight are blowing it and some new stuff off the fields...
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Easter Greetings!
After a week of almost nightly snowfalls, the garden has been slow to shed its white mantle, very different from late March last year when we enjoyed temperatures in the low 20’s C. Much of the garden...
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Daft about daffs
The continuation of a relatively cool airstream has meant an outstanding spring bulbs season so far. We still have a few snowdrops, even now, although the spotlight is now firmly on the daffodils, with...
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Dynamic Autumn
Autumn has arrived at the Scottish Country Garden, a time of year when the weather titans battle it out for supremacy, as evidenced by the contrast of this and last weekends. The Autumnal equinox is...
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The Last Attraction
As the water in the pond starts to cool and the daylight hours shorten, we don’t tend to see water lilies flowering here much beyond early September. Imagine my surprise, then, when on Sunday past, I...
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Two for tea!
The hedge trimming season has finally started at the Scottish Country Garden! These yews we call ‘the teacups’. Judging by their girth, these were probably several metres high at one stage, but we have...
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Green Sculpture
The hedge cutting continues. The main feature of our Walled Garden is a large T-shaped arbour made out of English Yew which effectively divides the garden into 3 sectors. It runs about half the length...
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Autumn reflections
Not a lot of interest over at the pond now. The water is cooling and the water lilies have finally finished blooming. And yet, on a calm day, it provides a looking glass for the world above. This has...
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Seasonal shades
Well, it’s been quite a growing season here in South-East Scotland. A spring, albeit late, free of severe frosts. A summer, predominantly dry with plentiful sunshine and real warmth. And an autumn,...
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Over the Hedge
As well as the Yew Hedge, featured in a recent post, we also have a beech hedge which runs along the south side of the Kitchen and Secret Gardens. The beech hedge is rather shorter than the Yew expanse...
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