I'm running behind with my blog, not keeping up with the promise I made myself to be better at it this year. Time just goes so quickly don't you find? My week runs Wednesday to Monday with Tuesday off and that day off comes round so quickly and goes even quicker. As you can see from the following photos we've had every weather you'd expect here in Scotland in February going into March. I am catching up in the nursery slowly, but despite all our careful planning and hopes for an even more successful year in 2020 we feel hampered by what will happen with the worldwide health issues at the moment and the cafe being closed here at Whitmuir. It has become a year of great uncertainty. Which fits with this year already in that there has been lots of ups and downs and stresses already........
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| A surprising amount of snow at the nursery |
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| No garden tidying for the next few days then |
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| Hmmm |
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| It is pretty though |
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I took Friday off as we had friends over for lunch. They
brought me a wee felted mouse, there seems to be a theme
developing on the mantle piece! |
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| So cute! |
The weekend was a mixed bag of weather, though the snow had more or less melted, there was plenty rainy showers. I managed to finish off the spring clean of the wildlife garden, including removing the net from the pond. It's good to see all the plants I planted last year coming away already. It will be interesting to see how this garden develops into it's second year. The net certainly did a job keeping leaves out the pond. On Saturday we spent the evening at the Barony Hotel near Peebles with the rest of the family in memory of David's Mum. The dinner was lovely and the room comfortable, Bracken got to go too! On Sunday morning we had a walk to see the Polish map in the sleet, weather true to form! We headed back to the nursery at lunchtime to get on with work.
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| Barony Hotel |
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| Entrance to The Barony Hotel |
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| Walking to the Polish map |
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| Shiny chandeliers |
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| Waterwheels and waterfalls, Barony Hotel |
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| The hotel from the polish Map |
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| Bracken enjoying his hotel stay |
In the greenhouse my Agapanthus 'Glen Avon' has decided winter is the time to flower not summer! Clivia miniata how ever is doing what it should be. Plants can be as complicated and unpredictable as people sometimes.
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| Agapanthus 'Glen Avon' |
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| Clivia miniata |
Useful plants in the garden -
Cheese and Sage scones
Makes about eight scones.
300g self-raising flour 2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp English mustard powder ½ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar Freshly ground black pepper
110g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes 3 tbsp finely shredded sage
120g grated strong cheddar, plus 30g more for the top 200ml buttermilk, plus more for brushing
~Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Sift the flour, baking powder, mustard powder, salt, sugar and five or six grinds of black pepper into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and, using your fingertips, rub it into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
~Tip in the sage and grated cheddar, stir in well. Using a knife, stir in the buttermilk until you have a slightly sticky, rough mass of dough. You may not need all the buttermilk, or you may need a tablespoon more.
~Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured work surface and press it gently into a round about 2cm thick. Dip a 5-6cm pastry cutter in flour and use this to cut out as many scones from the dough round as possible. Gather up all the dough trimmings, gently press them together, then flatten into another 2cm-thick round and cut out more scones. Repeat until you have used up all the dough.
~Sprinkle a nonstick baking sheet with flour and arrange the scones on it. Brush the tops with buttermilk, scatter on the remaining grated cheese and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.
David is a cheese scone fanatic and he gave these a 8.5 to a 9......... out of 10. Apparently they can't be a 10/10 because there has to be room for improvement
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| Scones and butter, yum! |
Tuesday - day off - yay. After a much needed long lie I decided to tackle the front garden and have a bit of a spring tidy up. I've seen some daffodils amongst the weeds so am determined to have a tidy. The weather was lovely, blue skies and a feeling of spring in the air. It's the first gardening I've done at the cottage appart form tidying the back patio back in December. There are signs of gardening life popping up everywhere.
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| View from the cottage front garden |
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| The rhubarb is shooting up |
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| Snowdrops in the cottage garden |
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My helper decided it was too cold and sat shivering on the
doorstep until I let him in! |
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| Before and before my helper decided it was cold |
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| After |
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| After, am sure the weeds are already planning their return |
Title quote - Terri Guillemets
#rural #countrylife #countryliving #cottagelife #antiquecottagescenes #interiors #scottishborders #independantretailer #smallbusiness #localbusiness #independantplantnursery #uniqueplantnursery #hardyscottishplants #scottishgarden #gardeningontheedge #scottishborders
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