The end of another Nursery year draws to a close

Wow, can you believe it's October and not only that, our last week of our 2024 season! I really can't, despite the ups, downs and trials and tribulations of this year its still gone incredibly quick. Still lots of jobs to get done in the last week so better get busy.

At the risk of mentioning that festive season and with only 2 weeks of our open season to go I thought I'd share some chrismassy things we have in stock in our wee shop and my christmas cards, prints of my own paintings

Seasonal flowers, Rudbeckia

As some plants start dying back for winter, Asters are getting their glad rags on partying. Tall, short, well behaved or spreading in blues, purples, whites, pinks and reds there's an aster out there for you. Some, depending on weather will flower right up to christmas. Many attract bees and pollinators and all provide great colour through autumn.

You can find out more in my blog post about asters by following the link below:

Asters: Jewels of Autumn

At home I am excited to see my fishbone cactus (Epiphyllum Anguliger) flowering for the first time. The flowers open at night and are very very scented, to the point I nearly had to move the plant as it was so strong when the first flower opened! They are fabulous tho and having taken 4 years of owning to get to flowering, I'm really enjoying seeing it do its thing.

Well, what a difference a day makes in the weather, not going to dwell on the storm as I don't want to think we'll go out of our open season with storm damage the same as we came into 2024. Fingers crossed for a calmer night!

Meanwhile here's the lovely rainbow over Whitmuir earlier today.

This week we have been busy with all the end of season jobs that need done in the last couple of weeks. Gathering up all the benches and chairs and antique barrows so they can go undercover for winter, this helps prolong their lives and if they need any work done on them, they are dry.

Isabel has been working through all the stock taking, with just the last of the stockbeds and sales area to do at the end of the week.

Fiona and I got rid of all the hedge cutting material and rubbish in our new polytunnel area, so this means we can now start laying out the new stockbeds there. This will also encourage the hedge to thicken up and be, well more hedgy rather than the leggy trees was it becoming.

We’ve also started bring in all the planted up display plants, depending on hardyness they either go into the polytunnel or shade tunnel.

I cut back the gunnera to give it some protection over winter and have been enjoying all the flowers and leaf colour in the gardens.

Rejuvenating the hedge on the field side

Aster (Symphyotrichum) pilosum
var. Pringlei 'Monte Cassino'

Cutting back the Gunnera

Stock taking all the plants in the nursery

Rainbow over Whitmuir

Whimsical trees and sparkly birds this will definitely be a card

Another job done at hoime in the back garden this week, replacing this small gravel path with these cobbles. This is mainly because when Maisie is chasing her ball she sprays the gravel everywhere and mostly onto the lawn where the lawn mower has major complaints every time I cut the grass, despite search for gravel every time. So, out with the gravel and in with these cobbles that we were kindly given (love a bit of recycling). This has given a nice level transition between the two levels and as David kindly pointed out, ideal for our old age wheel chair access......hmmmm.

Thanks for David for being the gofer and mixing the mortar and no thanks to Maisie Mouse who dropped her ball in it all or ran through at the least helpful moments.

Sometimes plants just want to propagate and really it would be rude not to help them along, especially as its one of our most popular Sedums Three pots of cuttings in the polytunnel to grow on for next year

Cut into lengths

3 pots of cuttings

A lovely lunch the Cosy Kitchen cafe after a very autumnal lunch along the river and back through the woods. Great to catch up with Elle and Linda x

A lovely autumn walk from the house along the river and back through the woods yesterday, where there was still enough leaves on the trees after the weekend storm for some decent photos. It feels like ages since I've walked this walk, which is ridiculous when its on our door step, but holidays beckon and hopefully more time for walks.

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