The calm after the storm.......

The bad weather hit us a couple of days ago. Heavy rain and gales. Snow in the Highlands.
Not the sort of weather we were expecting in May, heading towards "blazing" June.
We were bombarded by winds of 80 - 100mph, there was no electricity in the city of Inverness, the Forth and Tay Bridges were closed, trains were not running or delayed and trees were down blocking roads. Even though the forecasts had warned us the force of the gale was unexpected.


It is a small happening compared with  tornadoes in the States or volcanic eruptions in Iceland etc but the damage next day was plain to see and devastating for some.


This part of Scotland is famous for it's soft fruit, particularly strawberries and raspberries. With such a warm April the crop was heading for a bumper harvest just in time for the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament at the end of June.  Nearly all the fruit is grown under poly-tunnels which lengthens the season. Gale force winds had ripped off the polythene and mangled many of the metal structures.

Hopefully the strawberry crop can be saved but repairing the tunnels will cost the growers a lot of money.

Fallen trees were a major headache blocking roads and railway lines (and even paths that dog walkers use!)

Locally some more permanent structures such as green houses and gazebos were damaged beyond repair and newly planted bedding blackened by the harsh winds.


The garden at Gallery in Angus was due to open for the first time this year at the weekend. I was going to do a post about it as Gallery is a very fine garden full of treasures. Due to wind damage the opening was cancelled. They are also opening in July and hopefully everything will be flourishing by then.


 In our own back yard the damage was less dramatic but bad enough when an Open Garden day looms. Fortunately plants have a great capacity to recover and can be tidied up, or even replaced if necessary.


While the gale blows there is nothing the gardener can do except baton down the hatches and ignore the havoc outside.
My attitude has mellowed somewhat from the wild woman in Orkney who used to rush about madly trying to rescue precious plants and stop plastic ripping off the poly tunnel. What a waste of time that was!


The winds had died down slightly by the second day but were still blustery enough to cause damage to trees and shrubs. I was so relieved that the two cardiocrinum giganteum (now about 4 ft tall) were still standing unaffected by the turmoil.


The inventory of damage in our garden was as follows:


• Cirsium rivularis  Parts of clumps flattened and flower heads snapped off.
• Crambe cordifolia  The largest of the three had split in the middle.  Cut of the damaged offshoots and  planted in pots.
• Buddleja davidii "Black Night"  Some new sappy growth had been snapped off.
• Clematis armandii  This had come loose from the metal arch over the gate and the foliage was withered and blackened.
• Fruit Bushes  Redcurrants and gooseberries had been battered and lost a lot of the top growth. I thought the fruit cage might have offered some protection.....Wrong.
• Vegetables  The net over the chard and spinach had come loose and caught on the young plants breaking them off. The peas (heritage pea "Gravedigger") were flattened by the wind and look beyond help.

• Herbs Some of the clumps of taller herbs such as French tarragon have fallen over and others now  have a distinct list to one side.

By the time I had finished tidying up I had a wheelbarrow full of debris.

It could have been worse..........

John's Garden

Don't you find that one of the biggest pleasures for gardeners is to visit other gardeners and their gardens?
We visited John's garden is in Perthshire the other day and had a wander. There's always so much to see and inspire.
We've known John since our days in Orkney when he reclaimed the walled garden at Kierfiold from the brambles and other weeds. It was opened it to the public with a small nursery attached and John also ran classes in horticulture.

His trade mark plants are hardy geraniums, aquilegias, primulas and crocosmia.
John trained at the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and is a very knowledgeable plantsman. His memory for the Latin names puts me to shame!

I am joining Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.  I hope to see you there.

A Cuckoo in the Nest?

For those that thought this post might be about birds, you may be a mite disappointed........ as I'm looking at a plants capacity to pop up in the middle of other plants uninvited.

For example on a walk round the garden today I came across an ongoing problem with our  stipa gigantea or Golden Oat Grass. Its one of my favourite ornamental grasses and it so lives up to its name when the oat-like flowers catch the warm late evening light and it almost shimmers in the breeze.  It has grown happily near the house for about three years.

Last year  several daisy flowers (shasta to be precise) appeared to be growing out of the middle of grass. We have never grown shastas in this particular garden. I think it must have come in as a seed when we bought the grass or a very small plant and now it's quite a size.

I hummed and hawed about what to do about it last year. I ended up doing nothing more than snapping off the flower heads and of course the daisy is back again in the middle of the grass bigger and better than before.

This is what it looks like at the moment as the shasta is about to flower. A small investigation last year showed the daisy to be deeply entwined with the grass.

There's also a plant growing through the  Egyptian walking onions (Allium ×proliferum) . A campanula I think.

The agapanthus or African Lily has double trouble in the shape of a dandelion and a grass entwined.

So what to do? The campanula and the Eygptian onions are easy to separate  as the onions grow on the surface and can be broken into individual bulbs. And we should also end up with a free campanula.

The only solution to the other plants I think is to dig up the clumps and remove the interlopers. Probably this something that should be done next spring and the plants immediately put back in the ground although they may be in smaller clumps.

Any gardeners out there got any other suggestions? I would love to hear them!

A Garden visit to Dunninald

We visited Dunninald Garden near Montrose last Sunday for their Open Garden Day. We have been several times before but not when the bluebells are in flower. A wood carpeted with blue is always a great attraction. This did not disappoint. The bluebells (with the odd pink or white hybrid) covered the wild garden on either side of the Beech avenue. The avenue once led to an earlier Dunninald House and must have been an imposing way to arrive. We meandered along the paths that dissect the avenue heading for the walled garden.

The walled garden is a hidden treasure set apart from the house as was the custom in the 17th and 18th centuries. Unusually at Dunninald instead of straight walls the south side has sweeping curves which support trained fruit trees. Walled gardens have a great historical significance in gardening history. Many were in their hey day before the first world war and employed a team of gardeners. I wondered how many gardeners had once worked here supplying fruit, vegetables and flowers for the house.

The gate into the garden provides an tantalizing glimpse of the well tended productive garden beyond.
It is kept in immaculate condition. This is amazing on two counts, Firstly because it is so labour intensive and secondly because there are only one or two people looking after it. The plants are thriving and must benefit greatly from the shelter of the walls and woodland and the micro-climate this creates. What a treat to wonder along the many paths admiring the range of fruit and vegetables as well as the herbaceous borders.

Also of note are the elegant 18th Century Glasshouses which shelter the more tender plants and fig tree.The original heating system of pipes is still in evidence but I'm not sure if it is still in use.

The Glasshouses and cold frames. The brick vents of the heating system can be seen at the base of the windows.

 So reads the Italian inscription on the greenhouse door at Dunninald Walled Garden. This translates as "Each flower speaks to the heart"

 Dunninald is open from 30th June - 31st July (except Mondays) from 10am - 5pm.

7 Ways to Brighten up your Shed

Sheds can be very boring and utilitarian. It can also be a interesting focal point with a bit of imagination.

• Paint it in a joyous colour or like us a tasteful Silver Birch gray.

  

• Hang bells from it. These ones came from New Zealand but you don't need to go that far to get them or add a set of wind chimes.

• Add a plaque....

• Or a quote...

 

• Plant the roof with sedums. We reinforced this roof, covered it with pond liner and capillary matting. Spread a layer of soil and planted it up with sedums, houseleeks and other alpines.

 

• Add a bird house...

• Lastly a window box or row of pots add a splash of colour.

How did you brighten up your shed?

WW : A Dandelion

Open Garden

Time is flying by. The posters have arrived with more to follow later. That means it only six or seven weeks before we open. Don't panic!

 One of the best things about being a local organiser is that I get to pop into all the gardens and talk gardening with enthusiasts. And  allay any anxieties. The garden owners here are an organised optomistic group of people and I'm sure they are all looking forward to the opening. Homemade teas and an amazing plant stall at Dorward House to look forward to. What a treat for all garden lovers

Our own garden is growing well with the odd bare patch.  It's a great time for verbena bonariensis to remind me they’re a short lived perennial hence the bare patches. We will have to replace them with some fast growing annual or potted up perennials from last year.. It's time to raid the store of plants lined up in rows for the plant stall on the open day.

Carol's Blogger Bloom Day

Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" said the White Rabbit.
I hope I shall not be too late (well just a day) to post on Carol's Blogger Bloom Day! I had intended to do it but didn't remember until I saw other blogs this morning. Blame the visitors and the chocolate mousse - it addles the brain.

 This first photo was taken looking up the garden form the shade area.

 Lets start with a very special little hardy geranium that we have a connection with.  It's called "Tanya Rendall" This was bred by Richard Rendall in Orkney and named after his daughter. We knew Richard when we lived there and bought plants from him. This is the first flower this year.

There are several epimediums in flower at the moment. The leaves of epimedium peralchium themselves  are very striking.

The flowers of epimedium younganum "Niveum" so tiny and delicate. No wonder they are also known as fairy wings.

 Two cirsiums ruivularis are in flower and as you can see from the photos these vary slightly in colour.

 The elegant arching stems of the Solomon's Seal with their white and green bell flowers have been gracing the garden for a few weeks now. They look so effortlessly graceful. You can never have too many clumps. Ours are in the shade part of the garden with hostas, and gunnera for company.

 

My favourite Rose "Canary Bird" is not finished yet. It's been covered in blooms for the last few weeks

 

 Likewise the tree peony.

The only clematis in full flower at the moment is this white montana. It grows from a crack in the  wall between out neighbours and ourselves. So we have adopted it.

Life in the Scottish garden would be incomplete without at least one photo of mecanopsis sheldonii. This one is a real electric blue and lights up the shade.

 

 Our garden is probably at it's best in June. These buds are a prelude to that.

A Walk on the Wild Side

 St Vigean's is a small village near Arbroath in Angus. It was the site for an ancient monastery in the 8th Century and for Pictish Stones which are now housed in a former  cottage in the village. It's one of these places where you pop next door and ask for the key and then spend as long as you want in the museum examining Pictish stones and symbols.

Come for a walk along the old railway line at St Vigeans, part of the Arbroath path network. See our dog Freya has already gone on ahead.

The path runs along a river for about five miles surrounded by trees and fields and a few houses.
What is surprising are the number of wild flowers (and the odd garden escapee). It's a bit windy which made photography more challenging and some of the images are bound to end up fuzzy and just out of focus. However I hope some will good enough.

Red Campion.(Silene dioica) I think this is the red variety. If white and red are both present they tend to cross and produce the pink variety. The only difference in the appearance of the hybrid is taller than it's parents and may be pale pink. This plant is found widely in Angus.

Common comfrey((Symphytum officinale) is an erect hairy leafed perennial. It forms dense clumps and is related to the garden comfrey used as a compost and soil improver. Other colours of comfrey in evidence along the river were shades of pink and purple and are probably garden cultviars.

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) Also known as May locally.This is a quick growing tree or is often used as a hedge. Has the most beautiful flowers and berries in the autumn. Great for adding to hedgerow jelly.

Water avens (Geum rivale) can be seen in abundance on both sides of the old railway line.
The flower is a dull orange pink in colour and is very similar to the wood  avens which was growing on the same banks on either side of the path.

Wood avens ( geum urbanum) This plant is closely related to water avens and is very similar in structure but is a yellow colour.

White Bryony (Bryonia cretica). I think judging by the height of the plant and the size of the flower this is the male flower. the female is much smaller. Can you believe that this plant is a member of the cucumber family?

Cow Parsley (anthricus sylvestris) is very common in Britain. It grows in hedgerows and has a pretty froth of white flowers.

These are only some of the wildflowers on the banks of the old railway line.