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, contained within a lovely bend of the Pennyland Burn. Boggy in one large area, a pond was introduced. Elsewhere, it is post glacially stony, but in some parts, particularly near the burn, a good depth of rich, loamy soil can be found. After nearly 20 years it was radically extended to include an adjacent field of tough pasture, now developing as an arboretum. The whole extent is around three acres, maybe a little more. In recent years on this blog I have written about the garden extensively, and also produced an open access book describing its annual cycle. The whole Dumfriesshire Garden project is an endeavour of amateurish enthusiasm, laced with a good measure of insights from horticulturalists, as well as the benefits of reading and of gardening programmes on TV and radio.

I have already confessed that the garden has seven distinct borders that somehow crept up on me. It also contains a fair amount of hedging and clipped evergreens, a greenhouse, an allotment of raised beds, a labyrinth and an orchard. Over time I have reduced the amount of grass that needs assiduous mowing in summer, and modified our path and grass management in the arboretum. I’ve added two dead hedges – excellent for woody prunings – and hope to create more: they are much loved by wrens as a nesting site. We also have three hefty compost bins, worked in rotation for the vegetable patch. Dogwoods, willows and hazel all get cut back or thinned on an annual basis.

The garden has evolved over almost three decades, incrementally and empirically. There is no blueprint or design. But as I get older I feel conflicted. The garden gives profound daily pleasure and opportunities for deep reflection, as well as for new ideas to emerge. If I try to curb my enthusiasm for further developments, I am usually unsuccessful. At the same time I worry that it has become a rather weighty responsibility, especially around late June and early July when everything seems to be growing apace, including the grass and the weeds. Then I fret that the garden is getting away from me. If it has evolved out of hubris, perhaps it now threatens to become a liability. Then as summer growth slows, I breathe a sigh of relief and tell myself that we can keep going for a while yet.

In between these extremes I think of mitigations. If the grass management in the arboretum becomes a chore, it can be left to nature. The trees are now well established, the paths between them can be maintained by walking rather than mowing. In the big border (my biggest worry) where this year bindweed and sticky willy have been getting a serious hold and where some herbaceous plants have been knocked back from their peak of a few years ago by winter frosts, another mitigation is under consideration. Here I might plant more trees and evergreen shrubs. If some of the latter could be clipped into shapes, so much the better.

The Dumfriesshire Garden as we now see it has only been made possible by three people who over the years have helped make it what it is .

The late DP laboured valiantly to landscape the pond, wrestle the field grass near the house into shining lawns and to build stone walls and terraces. From him, the baton went to AN: he built raised beds and compost bins, ploughed and fenced the big border into existence, took pride in his striped mowing and when the arboretum began, found and relocated huge rocks to go amidst some of the tree circles. Then came JG, she works in the garden every Tuesday morning, all year round, manages all the mowing, does all the arboreal pruning, fills dead hedges, weeds and tidies the winter borders, and strims once a year through the silver birches and pines, preparing the ground for the return of the spring bulbs. To these three amazing people I owe huge thanks and gratitude for their individual and collective contributions to the Dumfriesshire Garden. It has been, and continues to be, a shared endeavour.

So there we have it. Keeping on top of things is important in the garden, but equally the garden needs to find its own way, and as gardeners, we are guided by that as much as our hand guides the garden.

The full list of pieces that make up my A-Z in the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024 can be found here: https://davidgrahamclark.net/a-z-of-the-dumfriesshire-garden-in-2024/

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 a knowledgeable blog post about Arisaema Candidissimum – in which it’s explained that the plant was first introduced into Britain from Yunnan (the most south-western province in China) by George Forrest, in 1914. Well done him, I thought as I set out to cultivate it in the most south-western region of Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway – though we are not so close as Yunnan to the Tropic of Cancer.

I also discovered that this form of Arisaema has a variety of everyday names including Chinese Cobra Lily and Striped Cobra Lily. But my favourite variant is the jaunty and faintly irreverent, Jack in the Pulpit.

Growing in confidence, after flowering I decided to move my three plants from the greenhouse to an old salt glazed agricultural trough, fairly close to the house. I reasoned, correctly, that they may not get through the winter in an unheated greenhouse. With hindsight, I should have planted out my specimens in a damp and dappled-shade border, where, covered with leaf mould they might better escape the depredations of frost.

The following spring (2023) no plants appeared in the trough and I assumed they were a lost cause. In the months that followed, I failed to get round to clearing out and re-planting. Just as well. This year (2024) on the 29th of June, I was completely taken by surprise one morning to see that Jack had reappeared, his lovely waxen flower-bearing spadix surrounded by a delicately patterned spathe. As you can see from the picture below, he was growing among another delightfully named wild plant – Herb Robert.

I think next year I will start some Arisaema bulbs in the greenhouse and when they have flowered, introduce them to that leafy border, among the meconopsis and primulas. Who knows, those late spring favourites might prove a welcoming congregation to the exotic Jack in the Pulpit!

The full list of pieces that make up my A-Z in the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024 can be found here: https://davidgrahamclark.net/a-z-of-the-dumfriesshire-garden-in-2024/

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 past flowering and looking for a home. I took them in, found they did well in our conditions, and then gradually spread them out into what is now a dozen or so clumps around the garden. These groups flower in sequence, depending on their aspect and how much sun they get, and to me the irises are clear evidence that Spring is in high gear. Their grassy foliage and branched stems make them situate well in semi-naturalised settings, where the borders are mature and things are flowing freely. A low-budget give away they may have been, but that doesn’t diminish the pleasure they bring.

The beautiful Japanese water iris, seen below, is a different story. It was spotted in the ‘damp loving’ section of one of my favourite plant nurseries. I bought three and 2024 has been their first year in flower. Shorter stemmed, longer flowering and altogether more exotic than Siberica, they certainly looks good beside a chocolatey ligularia.

The plants in our gardens come to us by various routes. My third iris example is the humble, native flag. This one came of its own volition. I created a pond, it soon appeared and took up residence, spreading its rhizomes in the watery shallows.

Whichever way these storied irises were acquired, they are all extremely welcome aspects of the spring garden.

The full list of pieces that make up my A-Z in the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024 can be found here: https://davidgrahamclark.net/a-z-of-the-dumfriesshire-garden-in-2024/

An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Hydrangeas

In contrast to other aspects of the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024, it’s been really a good year for hydrangeas.

I particularly like the hydrangea flowers when they are first appearing, especially the green-white paniculatas. And the lace-caps. But incredibly long-flowering plants that they are, hydrangeas can also a delight as they subtly gain or lose colour, or even fade to papery elegance.

Early in the season this year I bought some young specimens in pots and had them near the house. A bit unseasonal maybe, but a cheery splash of interest just outside the window. Later I planted them in the garden and they seemed to settle and put on growth. The question is whether they will flower. Over the years I’ve had quite a few vigorous and healthy hydrangeas that have yet to produce blooms. I’m not sure if an old gardener’s remedy is efficacious: a rice pudding spread round the roots like a mulch! It could be tried I suppose.

The rather gaudy specimen shown here below was a single flower this year on a plant that had not bloomed for years, and had otherwise been admired for its foliage alone. Overly bright perhaps, it was still very welcome in 2024 – all in all, quite a good year for these stalwart plants.

The full list of pieces that make up my A-Z in the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024 can be found here: https://davidgrahamclark.net/a-z-of-the-dumfriesshire-garden-in-2024/

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. I have been totally amazed at the pleasure and productivity that has ensued in the intervening years: from a greenhouse.

True, there was some labour and expense in preparing the ground works, and building the brick base (we chose a pattern called Flemish bond). When the folks arrived for the installation there was also the anxiety (completely needless as it turned out) about whether the structure would fit on the base. Since then it has been plain sailing, and lots of fun.

The greenhouse has many functions and is hugely effective in extending the growing season. Depending on conditions, I start in early March sowing small batches of mixed salads, radishes and ‘micro veg’. I also try some early herbs, especially parsley. I’ve found the round pots made for hanging baskets are good for all of this. Then I move on to wooden boxes for spinach, ‘pick and come again’ salads and a few courgettes. As the salads fade by late spring I make sowings of hearting lettuces that will be planted out in the vegetable garden from late July. I’ve also found that the pick and come again plant out well in the early summer. As the weather warms up I make regular sowing under glass of my two favourite herbs: dill and coriander. In the autumn I repeat the practice for early spring. This year was such a success that I had bowls of lovely ‘bistro’ salads right through to November.

The greenhouse is also the place for bringing on spring bulbs in pots, as well as some of the larger and more exotic decorative plants that can be quite tender, such as colocasia and pineapple lilies. Likewise small bare rooted herbaceous plants and flowering shrubs. It’s also the place for sowings of cosmos, lupin and nasturtium.

Of course there can be issues. Greenhouse grown tomatoes are tasty but need a lot of space and bother. Largely unheated, sudden frosts can flatten tender new produce in the greenhouse. If subject to frost, over-wintered exotic bulbs can fail to re-appear and are revealed as a sludgy mess when the pots are emptied out (I now prefer the risk of planting out in the borders). There is also the fact that in summer the greenhouse is home to a lot of buzzing biodiversity.

The hidden bonus of the greenhouse however, and one I hadn’t much considered in advance, is that when the months of peak production are over and the place has had a thoroughly good clean out, then it becomes a perfect winter garden. Out go the seed trays, the wooden boxes and the salad bowls. In come a wicker sofa, side tables, and a few decorative lights. We now have a freestanding conservatory , decorated with things like Norfolk Island Pine, Fatsias, and Cordyline. With a cup of coffee and a notebook, it’s the perfect place to contemplate next year in the garden. Whatever the details of the plan, I’m pretty sure the greenhouse will figure all year in the daily routine. Oh and by the way – I’ve never missed the camper van.

The full list of pieces that make up my A-Z in the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024 can be found here: https://davidgrahamclark.net/a-z-of-the-dumfriesshire-garden-in-2024/

An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Ferns

The fern by the water in the featured image here comes from the edge of the Dumfriesshire Garden. This large plant with its gorgeous fronds spreading gently down to the water of the Pennyland Burn is growing wild. I’m fortunate to have such beauty in the ‘borrowed landscape’.

There are indeed many native ferns in and around the garden: from the ubiquitous bracken, to harts tongue, to spleenwort, to several more I can’t name. This hasn’t deterred me in recent years from acquiring decorative ferns of various names, forms and colours, which I have added to newly created borders in particular. We can see here some newcomers for 2024 that have really taken a hold. When seen on social media earlier in the year they prompted some approval, and with it, an invitation to a nearby castle, where the fernery holds over 100 different specimens!

It’s been a pretty good year for ferns!

The full list of pieces that make up my A-Z in the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024 can be found here: https://davidgrahamclark.net/a-z-of-the-dumfriesshire-garden-in-2024/

An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Early arrivals

Once things begin to move in the early season garden, every day can bring the pleasure of a new arrival. After a chilly spell, or perhaps at the end of days of false hopes, suddenly something is poking up through the leaf mould in the borders, with a clear message: Spring is round the corner. But March and April 2024 weren’t so simple. Spring came in fits and starts to the Dumfriesshire Garden and set the tone for a mixed season in the garden, when the notes rarely came together in a harmonious whole.

Nevertheless, here’s a selection of just a few of the plants that marked the intermittent Spring at various points, and gave a lot of pleasure in the process: narcissi, celandine, hyacinth and squill in yellow, blue and white, along with the bright stems of monk’s hood and iris.

My particular early favourites though have just one colour at their disposal and always feels particularly special. I’m thinking of the several hostas that are scattered round the garden. First the spike of green that appears when you least expect it. Then after a day or so, the tightly rolled, unfurling leaves and the promise of luxuriant growth. To me they capture everything that is fresh and anticipatory about spring.

This year I bought three of the hosta variety named Tyrannousaurus Rex. It’s said to be the biggest hosta of them all. Two I gave away to friends, and the third I’m looking out for next spring, as I wander round the garden ‘by the light of the magical moon’.

The full list of pieces that make up my A-Z in the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024 can be found here: https://davidgrahamclark.net/a-z-of-the-dumfriesshire-garden-in-2024/

An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Dogwoods

Oh yes, I know that the cornus is a plant much maligned – especially the ones with variegated leaves. I’ve addressed this before and remain resolutely a dogwood devotee, a cornus connoisseur, albeit an amateur one. Even if they are often seen in car parks and on roundabouts, they continue to get my vote.

First, let me list this plant’s virtues. It’s tough and hardy, and seems to be disease resistant. If neglected it will grow from shrub to straggly tree, which can still look well in ‘shaggy’ areas. If tended it brings stunning interest all year round. It comes in a range of stem and leaf colours. It produces drifts of delicate creamy/white flower heads, followed by berries in late summer. It’s easy to grow from cuttings. If some of the plants in the Dumfriesshire Garden didn’t do too well in 2024, the dogwoods were as reliable as ever.

Here’s a short video of my favourite group of dogwoods, cornus alba, swaying gently in the breeze. Planted about seven years ago, they comprise an outer circle of the red, sanguinous form with a clump of green stems in the middle. For me, it’s one of the top garden treats of autumn.

Leafless, in winter and spring it also looks beautiful. The key is assiduous pruning before the new growth gets started each year. Here the contrasting green and red stems in the group look fabulous on a bright winter day.

This year, in this same circle, a lovely blow-in raised its head: a dog rose, in amongst the dogwoods.

Elsewhere in the arboretum field, I have a couple more dogwood circles. One, recently planted and grown from cuttings, has green on the outside and red on the inside. Planted by my grandchildren, it should look good in a few years from now. Another is a set of purple-black stemmed plants that circles round a holly oak. Underplanted with snow drops, it looks lovely in February.

Several years back I saw an episode of Gardener’s World in which the idea of juxtaposing green stemmed dogwoods with silver birch was suggested. I decided to have a go, and was not disappointed, as we see here. Note also how the stumps have become substantial masses as they bulk up in response to the yearly pruning.

To conclude this hymn of praise to the dogwood: they also look brilliant in a dead hedge, as you can see here.

The full list of pieces that make up my A-Z in the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024 can be found here; https://davidgrahamclark.net/a-z-of-the-dumfriesshire-garden-in-2024/

An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Cammasias and Cosmos

These two favourites in the Dumfriesshire Garden couldn’t be more contrasting. One perennial, one annual. One lover of the semi-damp of the arboretum. The other more at home in a sunny, drier border. One first planted as bulbs that gradually bulk up. The other beginning life each year in a seed tray, before potting on and planting out.

I’ve written quite a bit about cammasias. They originate in the Pacific North West and have a central place in the lives of the Indigenous peoples of that region, particularly the Quamash, from whom their name derives and who cultivated them as a food source and a ritual object.

The cammasias in the Dumfrieshire Garden are growing in a circle of meadow grass surrounded by nine mop top beech trees, and seem at home there. Their shoots start appearing in late April and are usually in flower around the second week of May. They make a thrilling sight, though perhaps a little less so this year for some reason – possibly the nibbling of night time visitors. I have started gathering cammasia seed recently and scattering it in other parts of the garden, but I’m told it can take five or more years from germination to flowering – so nothing to report just yet.

By contrast, cosmos is an annual that needs to be grown from scratch each year. I sow in seed trays in April, germination is swift and I pot on as soon as a few proper leaves appear, then plant out in June-July when the weather warms up. Sowing to flowering is just a few months.

The name, Cosmos, is of course wonderfully symbolic and speaks of order, balance and harmony. Or it may derive from the Greek kósmima, referring to its jewel like qualities. In recent years I’ve had a lot of success with white varieties of cosmos, especially if I remember to keep dead-heading, but this year I tried one called ‘coral’ and as the pictures show, it proved very attractive, if perhaps not so heavy on flowers. I’ll maybe try both next year. A few packets of seed will go a long way with this excellent annual.

The full list of pieces that make up my A-Z in the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024 can be found here: https://davidgrahamclark.net/a-z-of-the-dumfriesshire-garden-in-2024/

An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Borders

There are seven distinct borders in my Dumfriesshire Garden. How I allowed this to happen, I do not know. When all is going well in ‘borderland’, there is always the temptation, if you have the space, to add something more. So here’s a brief tour of the borders, in what I mostly consider a below par kind of year, 2024.

In the sunniest part of the garden diarama (angel’s fishing rod) and some succulents did well, likewise thalictrum. The diarama has excellent provenance, bought at Kiftsgate in the Cotswolds a few years back. The Cotswold-style garden remains a big inspiration for me, albeit without the accompanying weather conditions.

In a work-in-progress new border, the white foxgloves, grown from seed last year, were very striking and shone out in the evening light. Their backdrop here is a scene of quiet symmetry, creating the calming mood of the garden that is so rewarding.

The damp summer undoubtedly favoured big leafy plants.

The big border that runs along the track leading to the house, catches a lot of sun. I was delighted this year to see how the oxeye daisies had spread, nicely setting off the chocolaty colour of the sambucus. Such a lovely sight when arriving home.

Throughout 2024 there were many individual plants to enjoy in the various borders, but the overall impact that results from a spectacular combination of flowers and shrubs at their best together didn’t seem to happen. I should probably have written these ABC pieces in 2023!

Nevertheless, here are some of the plants that did catch the eye in the 12 months from January, and for which I am grateful. The final one – the dancing pixie – was photographed in November. As I write, hints of long yellow flowers are appearing on the mahonias …

The full list pieces that make up my A-Z in the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024 can be found here; https://davidgrahamclark.net/a-z-of-the-dumfriesshire-garden-in-2024/