Edging towards Spring and the nursery re-opening

I sometimes thing although February is a shorter month it seems to last forever! The weather doesn't help, spring seems so far away. Despite the varied weathers we are getting on well with all the preparations for opening the nursery on 9th March. Days are brightened by the winter flowers coming into bloom and the bright branches of Cornus and the white stems of Birch. 

Cyclamen coum in the garden at home

Catching up on the photos I took of plants in the borders that were tidied last week. It just shows how much colour and interest you can have in the garden in the depths of winter

Betula pendula

Crocus in the entrance planters

Plants in the Wildlife garden collage

Plants in the Wildlife garden

Scottish Native plant borders

Stream Garden

Woodland garden

Another catch up post, the office border was tidied last Thursday, hence the snow on the ground. I gave the clematis a good haircut, they put on at least 8 feet a year! I found a wee old bird nest in amongst the vines, perfectly made with moss. The Hellebores are almost out in flower too. The scented garden borders are big, it’s also where the majority of the leaves from the huge beech tree in the woodland garden land. Its also the point of the garden tidy up that I lose the will to live. My back and my muscles are in the huff, I’m bored of lifting leaves, leaves and more damn leaves. The ground there is wet, the soil probably the worst in the nursery, half way and the end definitely feels like its not in sight…….. then it done, the sweet pea trough is top dressed with compost, the leaves are lifted and I’m on to the next task. This year I dug out the rest of the Filipendula ‘Venusta’ (we moved part of it last autumn to the stream garden where it can spread as far as it wants) in its place I’ve planted an Aronia ‘Nero’, white scented flowers and great autumn colour and a Lonicera fragrantissima which has amazing scented flowers in winter, looking forward to them growing and forming a back drop to the border. I’ve scraped all the moss off the edges of the track, it will grow back but looks good for re-opening (only 3 weeks!) I also raked the leaves of the upper bank in the herb garden, the Camasia are coming into leaf but no sign of all the fritalaria and Leucojum I planted last year. Isabel was in today and she’s made great progress in the top terrace borders. These are varied in design and planting including the long stock bed border, the pink border and the mixed borders along the top of the wildflower bank. The Helleborus argutifolius are looking amazing, this is their third year and they are covered in flowers. Isabel got all the old leaves and stems cleared away a good way round the borders, she gave the old trough planter a top dressing of compost, it is home to forget me nots and double daisies, Bellis ‘Pom Pom’. Great progress made today despite the wet start but at least it was warmer today.

P.S. in case anyone is wondering what the canes in the scented garden are for..... we will be re-doing the path through this garden this spring, removing the slabs which are too narrow and have moved in the wet soil despite being cemented down! We will be replacing them with reinforced grids, filled with soil and then with grass sown on top. This will be twice as wide as the existing path and easier to navigate and more accessible and safer. It means this garden will be closed for a few months but I'm sure you will agree worth the wait for a much better path

For the fungi in your life

David is fixing all our sales area tables, hopefully done in time for opening in three weeks. They were built almost 9 years ago for us opening the nursery in June 2015 so they’ve done really well. The tables fixed so far look great and don’t have a drunken lean any more, that look has been left to me, lol, only joking! Can’t wait to get them all filled up and ready to re-open on 9th March, so exciting

Looking at the early photos, there are so many changes! What can you spot?

Some of the lovely plants giving us colour and joy in the nursery gardens this week. The Hellebores are all beginning to flower, we have 11 varieties planted and I’m always adding to them when I find different colours or our own seedlings. Cornus mas is flowering, a beautiful shrub I have planted on the bottom terrace, the flowers might be tiny but en mass (no pun intended) they really are something. Salix gracilistyla 'Melanostachys' is a fascinating Salix, well I think so, with its black catkins which turn white and red when the anthers appear. It makes a large shrub but worth it for the shiny bark, unusual coloured catkins and it likes wet and damp ground Galanthus 'Magnet' is one of the most scented snowdrops and today the scent was amazing.

Cornus mas

Helleborus orientalis

Helleborus orientalis

Salix gracilistyla 'Melanostachys'

Another busy week over getting the nursery ready for re-opening after winter in 3 weeks. It was great to have dry sunny days after cold and wet most of the week. Its not all woolly hats and cosy jumpers though, its very much clarty waterproof trousers and muddy steel toe caps

Keeping it local today on our day off, a trip to Cringleti for the snow drops, a lovely lunch in The Cosy Kitchen cafe in Peebles and an afternoon at home.

If you are looking for somewhere local to Peebles to see snowdrops then pop up to Cringleti hotel and have a wander around the estate. They carpet a steep ravine through the woods and up along the stream behind the hotel. The walled garden is worth a visit too and I’ll be back in the summer to see it in its summer colours. Along with Dawyck and Kailzie we are lucky to have some great snowdrop gardens to visit locally.

A lovely day getting lots done in my own garden, but first here are some of the flowers cheering me up as I worked.

Galanthus 'Ketton'

Galanthus 'Ketton'

Galanthus 'Straffan' 

Galanthus nivalis

Helleborus 'Double Black'

Helleborus x hybridus own seedlings 'Picotee type' 

Viola odorata 'Konigin Charlotte'

In my garden on Sunday – planting snowdrops from my last garden at Easter Mosshat in my new garden. Putting wires up for the climbers on the front house wall and enjoying the warmth of the sun. Putting stones on top of the pots to stop the birdies ripping out my plants and compost That black and white weed has moved to the back garden! Starting the dry river bed around the summer house, this will wrap around the front of the summer house with more plants planted. The wee square sets are there temporarily to keep the cobbles in place until the path is installed. By 4pm I’d run out of energy and cobbles, plenty to do another day.

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