As we make our way through the first week of February we are still in the grip of snow and ice here in the borders. As each little bit melts, more falls. Progress is slow in the nursery, we fall further behind with each snow fall, but in the end there is nothing we mere mortals can do about the weather. On a more cheerful note the birds have been making the most of the feeders and bird tables we put out in the back garden and the red squirrel visits every day now, such a joy to see.
I was off on Wednesday because my car was the garage for its MOT and service, always an expensive exercise. David is away for the day so Bracken and I hibernated in front of the wood burner. It snowed all day, still. I put a slow roast cooking in the oven for dinner, I saw the woodpecker several times during the day, I managed not to eat extra chocolate and one of my photos is being used in a book. Onwards and upwards.
What's your favourite garden task when you can't get out into the garden for the weather (snow and ice here) I love getting into the greenhouse where the heater is on and tidying up the plants and taking cuttings. These are trays of pelargoniums which will be for sale in summer. Something to look forward to.
I managed to get a (distant) shot of the woodpecker, its very nervous, so flies off at the slightest movement. These were taken with my phone through the window, hopefully will get better photos with my camera, if I can remember where my tripod is.
Arrived at the nursery on Thursday to another 3 inches of snow on top of the snow and ice there earlier in the week 
so I headed over to the polytunnel. A productive morning was spent in there moving last years perennial seeds that haven't germinated yet and lots of the cuttings I did in the autumn to another bench. This frees up the bench where all the annual seeds mice find tasty will go. It was nice to be under cover out the rain / sleet and wind. I sowed a pile of packets of annual seeds (the mice attractive ones) and put them on the empty bench. Needless to say there were more than there is space for, no I haven't got anywhere safe for them to go 
so I headed over to the polytunnel. A productive morning was spent in there moving last years perennial seeds that haven't germinated yet and lots of the cuttings I did in the autumn to another bench. This frees up the bench where all the annual seeds mice find tasty will go. It was nice to be under cover out the rain / sleet and wind. I sowed a pile of packets of annual seeds (the mice attractive ones) and put them on the empty bench. Needless to say there were more than there is space for, no I haven't got anywhere safe for them to go The afternoon was spent brushing away cobwebs, cleaning and tidying the covered area where our wee shop is located. Everything is now clean and ready for re-stocking in time for re-opening.
Its the first productive day I've had in a week, sinse I finished the willow weaving. Onwards and upwards and happy gardening if you can.
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| Keeping out of the rain and sleet in the tunnel |
Fragrant Friday - Sarcococca confusa or Sweet Box. A bushy evergreen shrub with glossy, deep green, wavy ovate leaves and in winter, inconspicuous, very sweetly scented, creamy-white flowers, followed by glossy black berries. A great shrub for the winter garden or by a door where you can enjoy its heady scent and evergreen foliage through winter. H 2m, S 1m.
If you were driving up and down the A701 on Friday morning I was the daft noodle 
working in the sleet, so excited was I there was a border with no snow and ice on it for the first time in over 5 weeks that I could get tidied I got the planters in the car park tidied and top dressed and more annuals sown in the tunnel. So despite the awful weather it ended up being a productive day.
working in the sleet, so excited was I there was a border with no snow and ice on it for the first time in over 5 weeks that I could get tidied I got the planters in the car park tidied and top dressed and more annuals sown in the tunnel. So despite the awful weather it ended up being a productive day.
Starting with the small border in front of our office. Its always in shade and has seven plants in it, repeated along its length. Starting in spring with Helleborus x hybridus ‘White Lady Spotted’, then three early flowering Clematis, Geranium 'Mrs kendal Clark', Gillenia trifoliata, Persicaria 'Firetail', Phlomis russelliana and finally Aconitum Arendsii flowering in autumn. Cut back, clematis tied in and a top dressing of our home made compost and this border is ready for another year. I finished sowing all the annual seeds and loads of other wee tasks done. Meanwhile David is over half way through putting up a new fence but thats an exciting announcement for another post 
Our Saturday night takeaway infront of the fire was well earned.
Its wee turfty ears were blowing in the wind as the snow blew past. Anyone else ever been late for work cause you were watching the squirrels? 
As well as squirrels I love a good before and after photo 
On Saturday I got the dry shade border tidied (there was no snow in there, yay!). You may have not noticed this area before as its hidden down in the gully but it will be much more obvious when we start a huge new garden 
more on that in another post Anyhoo back to the dry shade. This small bank contains Aster (Symphyotrichum) pilosum var. Pringlei 'Monte Cassino', Luzula sylvatica, many Digitalis of various purples and whites, Deschampsia caespitosa, Brunnera macrophylla and Brunnera, 'Jack Frost', Euphorbia amygdaloides var. Robbiae, an unknown Epimedium, Rhododendron 'Percy Wiseman', Lamium galeobdolon 'Florentinum' and Mahonia aquifolium as you can see in the first photo. Quite a few of these plants are quite invasive, another reason they are planted in this border 
You can read about dry shade plants on our website http://www.quercusgardenplants.co.uk/plants%20for%20dry...
On Saturday I got the dry shade border tidied (there was no snow in there, yay!). You may have not noticed this area before as its hidden down in the gully but it will be much more obvious when we start a huge new garden more on that in another post Anyhoo back to the dry shade. This small bank contains Aster (Symphyotrichum) pilosum var. Pringlei 'Monte Cassino', Luzula sylvatica, many Digitalis of various purples and whites, Deschampsia caespitosa, Brunnera macrophylla and Brunnera, 'Jack Frost', Euphorbia amygdaloides var. Robbiae, an unknown Epimedium, Rhododendron 'Percy Wiseman', Lamium galeobdolon 'Florentinum' and Mahonia aquifolium as you can see in the first photo. Quite a few of these plants are quite invasive, another reason they are planted in this border You can read about dry shade plants on our website http://www.quercusgardenplants.co.uk/plants%20for%20dry...On Sunday I hid in the polytunnel out of the bitter wind chill all day starting to do the great tidy up listening to podcasts, not a bad way to spend a working day
listening to podcasts, not a bad way to spend a working day 
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