The gardeners’ journal
A Himalayan love affair - Meconopsis
Blue poppies are things of dreams. They startle and spell bind each time you see them in flower. The first blooms for this year were there today.
Onopordum, the Scots Thistle
Each year we see the magnificent stems of Onopordum Acanthium rise from the silver over-wintering rosette. Many photographs have been taken of visitors standing beside a 2 metre high "Scots' Thistle".
Old fashioned primroses & auriculas
Over the years we’ve gardened at Abriachan, there has been markedly increased interest in old fashioned primroses and auriculas.
Azaleas - a memory of colour
Azaleas are one of those wonderful plants that lift their fragrance into the air, so if you have one or more, visit them in the evening or even in the middle of the day when any warmth will intensify the scented air. Just lovely, I must plant many more.
Planting for annual colour
When we plant annuals, our aim is always to have a blaze of colour from July onwards.
Poppies
Anyone of my generation, post WW2, will be steeped in family stories and memories of the 1914-1918 war.
Sun loving rock roses
Rock roses or Helianthemums have always been favourites of ours. We love them because they thrive in our sandy, sunny beds and look just wonderful when the sun comes out through June and July. The yellow form is one of our native plants and that would explain a lot.
The sweet scent of sweet peas
The sweet peas are coming to an end. The stems are getting shorter and there is more than a little late infestation of green fly, but they have been magnificent and as they say “owe us nothing".