Roses are not my specialty. But they are nevertheless essential to most gardens. In the Dumfriesshire Garden the big rose feature is the rambler on the metal arch. We try to tidy it up every winter as it seems to get more and more unruly. But the effect can be fantastic. It’s had a reallyContinue reading “An A-Z of the 2024 garden: Roses”
Category Archives: Dumfriesshire Garden
An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Quercus Ilex
It was a fine February day in 2019 and I was on a pleasant visit to St Andrews. Sitting in the sheltered sunshine of the courtyard beside the University’s School of Divinity, I was struck by the massive tree, with it huge girth, that dominated the space. The tree was in the perfect shape ofContinue reading “An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Quercus Ilex”
An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Pots
Most gardens have some pots of some kind: for that special plant, some early bulbs or perhaps for summer annuals. I’m pretty much the same, though in recent years I’ve got more interested in having them dotted around the place in small groups and have invested in a few more upmarket specimens, from a favouriteContinue reading “An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Pots”
An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Orchard
A rather mixed year in the orchard began with unwelcome visitors on the 10th of February. I’ll deal with that in a separate entry to the A-Z. An uncertain flowering with late frosts increased the sense of an unsatisfactory season to come. One promising plum tree, though ignored by the visitors, didn’t make it atContinue reading “An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Orchard”
An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Northern Lights
This entry in my A-Z series is really here under false pretences. There is nothing even remotely horticultural about it. The reason for its inclusion is simply this. On the night of 10th October 2024, we got wind that the aurora borealis might be visible in our part of the world. A quick look outContinue reading “An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Northern Lights”
An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Moss
In the Dumfriesshire Garden I am surrounded by something special and important, but until recently I paid it little attention. Moss. Ubiquitous in a damp climate like ours. Taking many forms from close clinging to pin cushion plump. From slatey grey to deep forest green. Ubiquitous. Largely ignored. Settled and colonising the tops of stoneContinue reading “An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Moss”
An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Keeping on top of things
The Dumfriesshire Garden in south west Scotland started as a modest border at the back of a farm building that was under renovation as a home. Paradoxically, it began in the poorest piece of ground imaginable, where a thin layer of soil sat on top of bedrock. Gradually the scope of the garden extended, containedContinue reading “An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Keeping on top of things”
An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Jack in the Pulpit
When I first acquired my greenhouse a few years ago, I was soon drawn into the pleasure of growing what I considered to be more exotic plants, under glass. The first of these was Arisaema Candidissimum, with which I had considerable success, as can be seen here in the top image. I came across aContinue reading “An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Jack in the Pulpit”
An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Irises
‘Beware of gardeners bearing plants!’ I was once told. Yet that experience more or less accounts for the largest group of irises in the Dumfriesshire Garden, and none the worse for that in my view. The source of the Iris Siberica seen here was the contents of a couple of carrier bags, plants just pastContinue reading “An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Irises”
An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Greenhouse
It was almost a second hand camper van, back in 2020. I was very tempted. Then reason kicked in. In all my years of gardening enjoyment, in various locations, I had never had my own greenhouse. Rationality prevailed and I chose daily enjoyment and utility over occasional camping breaks. It was undoubtedly the right decision.Continue reading “An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Greenhouse”
Quotidian 