The gardeners’ journal
The Scandinavian invasion
Redwings, Blackbirds, Thrushes and Fieldfares arrived from Scandinavia overnight and we woke to a garden exploding with the movements of birds.
Making leaf mould & a recipe for potting compost
Leaf mould is a lovely old fashioned term and brings to mind old Estate gardens and poorly paid, overworked garden boys.
The woodland in November
Often weeding, moving, lifting and sweeping..… you lose the wood for the trees. So each month, I try to walk around the garden and see it with fresh eyes.
The magic of Witch Hazel
Witch Hazel, Hamamelis mollis is a wonderful shrub, a thing of legend. These beautiful shrubs flower on bare branches before the leaves.
Little drops of green and white
Does any flower give more hope than snowdrops? Pure white modest flowers with a chaste beauty, that belies their tough nature. There they are each January, bravely emerging between the fallen leaves and ivy tendrils.
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.
Signs of spring
How can I be sure that this is spring? It is warmer, yes. The beautiful but icy grip of the Scandinavian anticyclone is loosened.
Winter woodland garden walk
It all begins with an idea.
Opulence in the midsummer garden
Should I use the word opulence, or should I say abundance? The dictionary tells me opulence is great wealth or luxuriousness and I do feel this piece is about a luxuriance of flower and foliage.
Following my nose
Rain again…in fact a ferocious storm, with sheet lightening. Further south from here the storms were terrible and many people were flooded. Here it was short and very sharp.