Diary catch up, the week before, trains, sunsets and sushi

Woefully behind in everything but have caught up a bit over the past couple of days. I've been under the weather for the last few weeks, although only a cold, it's made me feel exhausted, I've been sleeping on the sofa in the evening, then sleeping all night (which is good) and really struggling to get up in the mornings. Those that know me know I'm usually on the go all the time, super organised and have lots of get up and go. Fortunately the last couple of days I've felt more energetic and have a bit more motivation. So now I've got lots to catch up on. 

Autumn in the borders

Modern day railway children (and Bracken)

We took Ben and Dan down towards Stow to the Borders railway to see the steam train go past as it finishes running at the end of October. It was another beautiful autumn day. We've been so lucky this year, the autumn colours have been amazing and lasted so long, and the weather has been lovely too. I've really enjoyed the tree colour driving to the nursery and back and when we are out and about. The colours around the house have been beautiful. More of that in a future post. 

There she is, nothing better than a steam engine

There's been some foggy starts to the day and of course I've made the most of photographing
 them on the way to work

Aconitum and Persicarias providing some lovely bright autumn colour infront
of my office

Helenium 'Riverton Gem' in the nursery, lovely hot colours for a late autumn border

A great mix of colours for autumn gardens in the nursery, from red leaved Cornus to blue Aconitums and evergreens 

Leaves are falling thick and fast in the nursery and the temperature is dropping, making it a chilly start to the day. I've been working through the potting, trying to get as much done as possible before the weather turns all together. I've also been catching up on paperwork and pacing myself until I feel a bit better. 

Another glorious sunset from the back garden

A different colour of sunset over South Lanarkshire

Last Monday I spent the day at home to catch up in the house garden, luckily the weather was good and I got lots done. I cut the grass (hopefully the last cut of the year) and edged the lawns and David did the back garden lawn. I also got the borders in the front garden tidied and weeded, the poppies stripped down and the seed heads stored in paper bags to dry out. I gave the greenhouses a tidy, started to dig over the veg patch and harvested what little produce there was.

Healthy version of a chocolate orange, waiting for me
when I came in for my lunch

A mini Cotoneaster in the alpine troughs with Gentiana Sino Ornata in the back ground

The chickens like to be up high and enjoyed
the company as I was tidying the borders next to
their run

Our carrot crop was enough for one meal, but they were very tasty

Darmera peltata, a favourite plant of the Quirky Bird Gardener, great for damp, wet
shady spots and great autumn colour too

Euphorbia characias subsp Wulfenii is doing well in the side border

Poppies and carrots

Our sum total of runner beans!

There have been successes and failures in the prairie bed, the enthusiastic poppies hampered everything in the left border
and the Gaura have done very well in the right border

The prairie bed has done well this year, despite the left border being a bit swamped by the poppies. You can read about creating them here. The Stipa gigantea and Echinops ritro have done well and hopefully in another year all the plants will have bulked up more. I will be a bit more prudent with sowing the poppies!

Autumn in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh

On Tuesday we headed into town to meet up with Becky, David's daughter. We haven't seen her for ages so it was good to spend some time together. We went to Yo sushi for lunch, which we all enjoyed, watching the world go by from the restaurant window and enjoying trying different types of sushi.

Watching the world and sushi go by

Afterwards we did some shopping, which made a nice change, although the soap shop gave me a headache as usual

These amused me, I could use them and fill them!

I was impressed with some of the planting in the city centre, a more up to date approach with Verbena bonariensis
(above), grasses, Bergenias and other interesting perennials and grasses

We ended the day with mochas in Volvona and Crolla before Becky headed home and we headed back to the car, walking through Princes Street Gardens and then home.

Late afternoon in Princes Street Gardens

Edinburgh Castle

Find us on Facebook:

The quirky Bird Gardener

Quercus Garden Plants

www.quercusgardenplants.co.uk