Visit to Dumfries House

Published on by Catherine18 Comments

My visit to Dumfries House last week with my husband was the first since before the pandemic when we went with our daughter, her husband and the two children. The grounds had partly left spring behind, most noticeably in the walled gardens. Elsewhere though, spring loveliness was still a treat.

The car parks were busy, but apart from the area around the cafe, the grounds were large enough to absorb the visitors and on our walks, we barely passed a soul. It was lightly overcast, but warm and perfect for a leisurely walk.

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Having a Ball

Published on by Catherine28 Comments

It’s been a glorious week of sunshine, and the lack of wind meant that we had fairly decent temperatures again; 20℃ is high for this time in May. With no school runs this week (our nearby family were on holiday) we decided to call it a ‘home holiday’ and ease off a little on gardening. We had a lovely lunch on Monday to celebrate my husband’s birthday and the following day made a visit to Dumfries House, which is set in 2,000 acres of land and where I took some photos of the grounds. I’ll post them as soon as I can get time to upload them from the camera. We also took a trip to a couple of garden centres and I managed to find two pots for my new roses, plus a few other goodies too, of course.

But we couldn’t resist the pull of the garden, especially with such lovely weather. Thursday found us back at work in the garden tackling the tasks at hand.

At this time of the year, the tender plants are just starting the in-out process of hardening off, but the greenhouse and the cold frame have been too hot and the plants are all out in the open now. I think (hope!) they will all be in the soil by the end of next week. Weather permitting course. 🤔 Here are my six choices for this week’s Six on Saturday.

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Warm Spring Days

Published on by Catherine31 Comments

Our temperatures reached 19C (66F) one day this week, and three other days were a pleasant 18C (64.4F). Some may find it amusing that here, on the west coast of Scotland, we consider 19C warm, but we’re used to cooler temperatures and like to make the most of warm, sunny Spring days when they finally arrive! Working and relaxing in the garden this week has been enjoyable. We’ve also had some much-needed rain to loosen up my clay soil. If I had any minor complaint it would be that the mix of sun and strong winds made it challenging to take photographs. In most cases, I waited for some light cloud cover – and here are my six choices for the first ‘Six on Saturday‘ of May.

Prunus ‘Kanzan’ is the perfect example of a wrongly placed tree. It’s at the back of the garden, surrounded by shrubs and other trees which means that I can’t get into its area to get photos when the blossom arrives. The main culprits are an old Syringa ‘Red Pixie’ that I’m planning to cut back, along with a very old and weak azalea that seldom flowers. The area needs breathing space – both shrubs might even be better removed and replaced with something else.

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Five in a Row

Published on by Catherine22 Comments

Five what? Five dry days without rain! The perfect cause for excitement, don’t you think? With heaps of sunshine adding to the joy, it’s definitely a reason for celebration. We’ve managed to accomplish a remarkable amount of work in the garden this week. Despite the chilly air, by afternoon, the garden’s been a ‘jackets off’ workplace. This weekend is shaping up to be more of the same! I hope your week has been as good as mine. Let’s take a look at my six subjects for today.

Six on Saturday

Exochorda x macrantha ’Niagara’ This was planted last year, so it’s still not quite large enough to create the beautiful waterfall of flowers shown in the marketing blurb. One day…

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Fiery

Published on by Catherine23 Comments

Six on Saturday

While I was away last weekend, the garden finally burst into glorious, vivid colour. I couldn’t get near it for the first few days due to high winds, rain and sleet. Finally, when it appeared as though the entire week was destined to be wild and wet, the sun arrived.

I normally resist photographing in sunshine because I prefer the results I get with overcast light, but sometimes you have to take what you get. The only day available to me this week was very sunny and windy, with only a few fleeting clouds hurrying by to soften the harsh, contrasty shadows that sunshine produces.

Tulip ‘Orca’. I’ve planted Orca many times over the years. It usually blooms first, aside from the species tulips, but this year it was a bit late. The flowers are big and hefty and don’t handle the elements as well as some other tulips, but I can’t resist its bold orange colour.

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