"Spring would not be spring without bird songs."

The birds are in good voice from early morning into the evening. They have taken on much more colourful hues with their spring plumage. Out birdfeeders and tables are busy at home and this week we have two new visitors: Gold finches, which I love for their lovely colouring and Bullfinches. I've never seen those before, they are so colourful! We haven't see the spotted woodpecker for a while and Squzz our resident red squirrel is still coming down to feed, it's discovered the peanut feeder! I hear the owls at night and am hopefully we might see youngsters in the trees in the our garden again. Fingers crossed. Having moved to the borders just over a year ago its been amazing to see just how abundan the wildlife is just in our little corner. With an ancient woodland across the road and a river running by there is so much going on. Being married to an ecologist, this has kept David happy with all sorts of new toys and gizmos to study them including a moth trap, infrared camera and putting up his camera trap to observe the baby owls last year and badger cubs this year.

I spent Wednesday filling up the shade tunnel ready for opening next week. Its looking good with it's new net on. Just some ferns to go in and its good to go. This week is all about getting all the work done to get the nursery ready to open. Its not much, some new signs to go up, the rest of the sales tables to fill and the wee shop to organise. It will be lovely to have people visiting again and see customers face to face.

Bergenia 'Baby Doll'

Spring is all about blues

Rheum palmatum

The frog spawn in the wildlife pond is beginning to develop, lets hope the frost over the next few nights doesn't affect it. I also saw 4 newts when I was down at the pond, basking in the late (eventually) afternoon sun, the newts were basking not me  lol)

Every day there is a bit more green and more colour in the nursery and gardens. Todays highlights, I just hope the frost forecast for the next few nights doesn't do too much damage

Narcissus 'February Gold'

Narcissus 'Tete a Tete'

Prunus 'Kursar' looking lovely against the blue sky of a spring day

The latest edition of Scotland Grows, an online magazine for Scotland's gardeners is out now and you can read all about Quercus in a fab article Lots more great info and advice through out the magazine. You can sign up online to have it delivered to your inbox bi-monthly. You can also find

Scotland Grows Magazine

on facebook and Instagram. You can read it here, happy reading

Fragrant Friday - Primula vulgaris - Primula vulgaris or the common primrose, might be small but it packs a punch with it's masses of pretty yellow flowers and subtle honey scent. The name derives from the Latin prima rosa meaning 'first rose' of the year, although it does not belong to the rose family. Coming into flower now they can be seen in often abundant patches in woodland clearings, hedge banks, waysides, railway banks and open grassland preferring damp, clayey soils.

And in the wood, where often you and I,

Upon faint primrose-beds were wont to lie...

William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream

The wee shop is filled up ready for opening next Wednesday, I spent all of Sunday pricing and filling up the shelves, with not a lot of help from my side kick. He was not amused there was a lack of sun compared to the day before. There was a lot of heater worship happening.

David put up our lovely nursery map at the weekend. Painted by Shelagh Brian, it gives you an overview of the layout of the nursery and gardens waiting to be explored

Brrrrrrrrrrrr its a good thing Mondays are my polytunnel day. I arrived in the nursery to a sprinkling of snow, freezing temperatures and a very cold wind. I always think one of the worst weathers for plants is a very cold, hard, drying wind on top of freezing temperatures. Which is exactly what we had yesterday and today. It dries everything out, the compost and the foliage and of course because everything is frozen its impossible to water them. Its a vicious circle. With temperatures forecast to get even colder over the next couple of days and nights, make sure you have any vulnerable plants protected. I'm tempted to hope the forecast rain on Thursday is good plant soaking rain us gardeners are never happy where the weather is concerned

Any way, apart from worrying about the plants and the weather it was back to working with plants after a week of preparing the sales area for opening on Wednesday. I spent the day in the tunnel, which was much warmer out the wind, with my podcasts on I finished propagating and tidying up the herbs and the first side of the tunnel, progress! I managed to start the other side too, which is great. Lots of plants lined up to come over to the nursery for sale and I started potting up last years cuttings. A very productive day.

A sprinkling of snow!

First side of the polytunnel tidied, propagated, fed and top dressed

Our day off and we explored a new to us local walk, exploring Ven Law. We left the house in lovely sunshine, drove through a blizzard at Cardrona and arrived in Peebles in brilliant sunshine, did our walk and got back to the car and the snow came on again. Bitterly cold though. A lovely walk up through the woods past Venlaw Castle, then up through the forest and across to Soonhope and back down the other side of the hill. Home for domestic chores, cleaning out the fish tank and enjoying some time at home.

Its been a week of extremes of weather, we expect nothing less in Scotland but after a long cold winter, we'd (me and the plants) would really like some warmth now, thank you. Its will be another busy week ahead as we open and with lots of deliveries due.

See you soon :)

Title quote - Francis M. Chapman

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