Crazy weather, crazy plant growth, crazy times. We are enjoying the warm dry days and tolerating the rainy days as looking for positives, it means we don't have to water the outside areas.
I've put together this wee corner of fabulous specimen and foliage interest plants. If you are looking for something a bit more instant then a larger specimen plant might be just the thing.The large Juniper 'Blue Arrow's would look great in pots on either side of a doorway, path or entrance. Cercidiphyllum japonica, Corylus maxima 'Purpurea', Cryptomeria japonica Elegans, Pinus wallichiana, Pinus mugo Mughus and Acer palmatum 'Extravaganza' will add interest right through the year with either evergreen foliage or autumn colour and of course Cercidiphyllum has that lovely burnt sugar smell in autumn and is one of my fave plants, which you will have heard about if you listened to my podcast with Scotland Grows Magazine
Honestly done with this weather! I wasn't in the area at the beginning of last week so I din't know how heavy the rain was at the nursery but the evidence suggests very! Our new grass path is washed out 
so there will be grass seed germinating everywhere and I now have to source in more top soil and grass seed and the wood chip path on the bottom terrace has been washed out too and we have our charity open day on Sunday. I'll be the one medicating with chocolate and wine later. Gardening, who said it was good for your mental health and emotional wellbeing?
Back in March I posted about the Ajuga pyramidalis plants I've been given to propagate by Philip from Borders Forest Trust. This plant only grows in 2 places, one in the Scottish borders and one in Westmoreland. I was delighted to get a tray of divisions from the two plants and now it has flowered and produced seeds, so we will get those sown and see if we can raise even more to eventually be planted back out in its native habitat in the Scottish Borders hills.
I love the projects we've been involved in over the years propagating plants to be replanted in the Scottish borders to help regenerate native species for the future. We've grown bearberry several times and juniper Communis for Borders Forest Trust, salix from the Grey Mare's Tail Nature Reserve NTS's Tail Nature Reserve NTS for National Trust for Scotland and Borders Forest Trust and Currants for the East of Scotland Moth Group and now these ajuga. Its been a great learning process for us growing and propagating these natives and we feel proud to have helped rewild and help regeneration of our borders hillsides 
The railway squad are in today making improvements and alterations...... There were mumbling about plant removal.....
I gave them the sideways look....
It's important to supervise the railway works.
Tunnels under the stock beds were mentioned, I had words with them......
Thank you to everyone who came to our charity open day last Sunday. The weather behaved, we had lots and lots of lovely visitors and customers enjoying the nursery and gardens.
You helped raise £320 for Breast Cancer Now and the charities chosen by Scotland's Gardens Scheme. Huge thanks to David, Fiona, Isabel and Daniel for all their help getting the gardens and nursery ready and on the day today for everything, I massively appreciate you all
I'm off for a much needed lie down with a bottle of wine and chocolate, and then back to it next week with the next stretch of stock beds to sort out 
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| Start of the walk at Broughton Place |
We had a lovely walk doing the other half of the Buchan way, this time from Broughton to Stobo. A great antidote to a busy week, waking in the hills, with the birds chirping away enjoying the warm sunny day and great company and chat. Until we came over into the next valley and a new forestry road was being carved out of the beautiful valley with sitka spruce being planted on all the hills. I’m glad we walked it now before the scenery changes and is ruined for ever. We walked down to Stobo village hall where we’d left my car and then back to Broughton to pick up David’s car and a coffee and cake at the Laurel tearoom in the village, even met one of my lovely customers and saw another in the distance lol.
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| Maisie Mouse on the Buchan Way |
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| Walking up Broughton Hope |
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| Come on Dad, you're too slow |
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| Its all down hill from here |
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| Looking back down Broughton Hope |
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| Ladies smock, Cardamine pratense |
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| Cotton grass, Eriophorum angustifolium |
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| Walking down towards Stobo Hopehead |
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| Walking down towards Stobo Hopehead (2) |
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| Forestry motorway carving up the country side ( |
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| Forestry motorway carving up the country side ( (2) |
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| Looking back towards Stobo Hopehead |
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| Maisie Mouse taking in the view |
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| Looking down towards Stobohope |
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| Looking down towards Stobohope (2) |
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| Rhodos in flower |
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| Stobo |
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| Stobo Castle |
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| Coffee and cake in Borughton |
Took myself off into town today, which I don’t do enough of, mind you the parking costs would put anyone off! Anyhoo, I at last went and visited Viki and her new shop in Edinburgh. It’s a fantastic space, with lots of old industrial bits and pieces and walls which she has kept and they really add to the place. It was great to catch up over a coffee and pastry, I really miss her company at Whitmuir but I am so happy to see her doing well in town and in her career. Here’s to successful women running indi businesses :D I then I went off to the Botanics, its ages since I visited, used to go in several times a year.
Highlights from my visit to Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on Tuesday
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Oh no what a rain you've had! I hope you get everything sorted in time.
ReplyDeleteLovely walk photos!