Six on Saturday – Notes From My Garden

Gardening Resumes

Published on July 29, 2023August 25, 2023 by Catherine26 Comments

My lovely family visitors have returned home. The house is quiet. We still have two grandchildren nearby to keep us on our toes (they do that with enormous ease) but it’s nice to be able to get back to my summer gardening duties. However, in just under two weeks my two teenage grandsons will arrive from the US for a visit, so I’ll possibly have to duck out again from Six on Saturday for a couple of weeks and I expect the garden will get a bit untidy, again.

It’s summer…so they say…and heading rapidly towards the final summer month, but I feel the garden is taking on that distinct feel of autumn a little bit before it’s time. Perhaps it’s because it’s so cool and there’s been so much rain or because the roses are currently taking a rest. In a few weeks though, there will be more colour back on the rose bushes, as they’re showing plenty of new growth. Meantime, colour is being provided by cosmos, clematis, hydrangeas, heleniums and rudbeckias (more about rudbeckias next week).

Continue reading →

The Unexpected Heatwave

Published on July 8, 2023August 5, 2023 by Catherine25 Comments

When I packed my cases towards the end of May and headed off to visit my family in Washington D.C. never did I think that home would be in the grip of temperatures almost as high as they were in D.C. – with barely a drop of rain. This is Scotland after all, and I thought any problems in the garden would have been caused by wind, rain or a late frost. That was not to be, and although my son had dutifully watered the garden weekly as I requested, it just wasn’t enough.

I’ve been home for a couple of weeks now, and busy with family, the garden, and life in general. I could ramble on all day about the damage the unexpected heat and drought made to the garden, but instead, I’ll share with you, a few of the photos I’ve taken over the past two weeks of…wait for it…torrential downpours, strong winds and (for July) ridiculously low temperatures (Highs of 14C (57F)! Quite the opposite of what I returned to such a short time ago.

Continue reading →

It’s all About Tulips

Published on April 22, 2023May 13, 2023 by Catherine19 Comments

What a difference a week makes in the garden. Last week I was almost despairing about the general lack of colour in the garden and now more tulips have made their entrance, and I’m loving the splash of colour.

Buds on the crab apple and the Amelanchier are starting to open – though I’m now wondering if I’ll be able to reach up to the branches to capture photographs – the trees are growing…I’m not! Maybe that’ll be next week’s Six on Saturday. I think I might have to get the ladder out of the garage.

Continue reading →

April – Sunshine, Windchill and Flowers

Published on April 15, 2023May 6, 2023 by Catherine22 Comments

I’m sure everyone up and down the country has been wondering what happened to the weather, after the lovely sunny & pleasant temperatures we enjoyed last weekend! Where I am we’ve had a marvellous amount of sunshine this week, which has been brilliant, but it’s also been combined with spells of heavy rain and bitterly cold, strong winds.

Those winds were strong enough to break a climbing rose, ‘A Shropshire Lad’, free of the obelisk it was growing on. I found it lying on top of other plants, but remarkably, without any apparent damage. With the help of husband, I managed (with a few scratches) to get it back up and tied in again. It seems none the worse for wear, but time will tell.

Continue reading →

Glorious Spring

Published on April 1, 2023April 22, 2023 by Catherine22 Comments

Perhaps it’s too early to label the Spring of 2023 as glorious. It’s been a miserable, cold winter, and spring got off to a poor start, but this week has seen a huge change in my little part of the world. The sun has finally returned (not every day – that would be asking for too much!) and temperatures have moved upwards rapidly! It’s great to have some real spring weather. Perhaps I should reserve that title until spring 2023 is almost over, for knowing my country as I do, we will have wild stormy days ahead, probably frost and possibly a dusting of snow, along with rain, sleet & hail! But today the sun is shining – and it’s glorious!

Continue reading →