Progress and End of the week review

This week I am started backwards on Friday, today, we'll get around to Monday in a minute. Great news on the buying a nursery front, the sale went through today and we are now excited and slightly terrified owners of a plant nursery. Because we've been on site on and off over the last couple of weeks we are ahead in some jobs, but now we can really power ahead. As you can imagine there will be lots more updates, pictures and probably some OMG moments too as we start this new adventure. 

We have lots of exciting plans, lots and lots of work to sort out the existing stock and get on top of the weeds and bringing it back under control. Come and visit us, then come back and see what improvements, changes and new gardens we have made and of course buy plants. There will be lots of updates on the Quercus Garden Plants face book page so follow us there and I am also working on a new website. We look forward to welcoming you to the nursery.

Looking up from the car park, lots of weeding to do

If you are looking for a great day out make your way to Whitmuir farm. Not only will you find our nursery and gardens there where you can have a wander and buy plants, there is also a great organic restaurant and farm shop, art gallery, wood work studio and lots of walks around the farm where you can see the animals and enjoy the lovely views and countryside. We are 16 miles south of Edinburgh on the A701 at Lamancha.

The sales shed / office and top terrace of plants

In other news Monday was a domestic chore day, then we went off to the nursery for the afternoon where I did more weeding up the side of the drive and uncovered more plants. David built more sales tables from pallets, great recycling and cheap too. 

Tuesday was gloriously hot and sunny, productive and a very enjoyable day in my garden after a trip to Lanark to do some errands. I planted out the veg seedlings at last. Red cabbage, purple sprouting broccoli, kale and dwarf beans and sowed the last of the veg seeds in the new vegetable patch (lettuce, beetroot and spring onions). I earthed up the tatties and planted out squash plants into pots in the greenhouse and the spares to chance their luck outside under the runner beans. There was a lot of watering done, it being so dry and I moved the last of the patio plants out of the greenhouses and onto the patio, updated the data base, took photos, lay on the grass with Bracken in the sun for a while relaxing. A most excellent day.

Aquilegia vulgaris in the garden

The exotic corner on the patio

Ranunculus aconitifolius 'Flore Pleno' and Chaerophyllum hirsutum var roseum

Veg seedlings planted out

Wednesday found us back at the nursery, another hot, sunny day with great views over the Pentlands. I sorted out more stock, weeding, top dressding and rowing up plants and David built more table tops. Bracken as always found a sunny spot to relax in. We got lots done and are making a difference already.

Its a hard life being Bracken

We also got our wandering cat Milly back, she was back at the same farm again.

Thursday was again hot hot hot. I did the food shopping in Biggar, discovered a new antique shop has opened, bad move, and enjoyed wandering around the town. In the afternoon I weeded the big bed in the back garden, leaving the annuals I had sown last month. I planted out the annual seedlings coming on in the greenhouse and sowed the last of the annual seeds here. I'm looking forward to seeing how this annual bed turns out, it has lots of different Poppies, Nicotiana, Nigella, Calandulas, Larkspur, Ammi and Myosotis.I got the tomatoes potted into big pots and in the greenhouse and did more watering. We had dinner outside it was so lovely.

The greenhouses have natural shade in the middle of the day under the young trees

Bracken making sure the annuals are planted correctly

Squash plants have their first flowers

Tomato plants potted up

Friday was exciting with the completion of the nursery sale and we spent the whole day there working, it was hot and sunny again, which means we need to adress the watering ssues (lack of water and preasure). Daniel and I started moving stock together so that we can make room for the first lot of sales table infront of the sales shed. David and Ben got the pallet boxes David built last week in place behind the office. these are to store all the pots and trays. Having spent 12 years in retail horticulture I know the mess they can get in! So storage in place right from the start and some one can have the job of sorting out the piles of pots and trays now.

Have a great weekend and hopefully this great weather contnues.

Find us on facebook as the Quirky Bird gardener and Quercus Garden Plants