The flowers and birds think its spring

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This is a longer blog to catch up so kind of covers a week and a half of crazy getting the nursery ready for re-opening. The weather has been all over the place with night temperatures getting below 0C and other nights its 8C! Lots of plants are coming into flower and leafing up so hopefully we won't get too cold temperatures at night. We've had snow, ice, rain, sun, sleet and wind over the last two weeks but there is always something to do outdoors and in no matter the weather. Everything is coming together for opening on 7th march thanks to everyone's hard work.

Galanthus 'Ketton' at home

Its lovely to see some spring colour in my garden at home


Galanthus 'Lady beatrix Stanley'

Galanthus nivalis 'Flore Plena'

Cyclamen coum


Lots of leaf colour in the greenhouse too





At the risk of being boring, this damneable weather………I mean, its pretty, look at that blue sky illuminating the miscanthus flowers…….. but it does hinder work in the nursery to get ready for opening in three weeks. Any hoo enough of my whinging 😉
I spent Tuesday and Wednesday cutting back the old woody material of last years growth on the perennials in all the borders waiting to be tidied. This will speed up tidying the borders when everything defrosts. Some admin done, getting all the deliveries booked in, I can’t wait to see the new ranges of outdoor pots when they arrive next week. Lots to look forward to snow or no.



Look at all these beauties doing their thing in the woodland garden this week. The woodland garden is definitely one of my favourite gardens, I love woodland gardens, the dappled shade and fab plants, add in a stream, some fungi on the branches, moss on tree roots, a perfect place to sit and contemplate with the birds chirping in the branches.



One question we get asked a lot when the nursery is open is about the maintenance and pruning of Clematis. So I've written a new sign for the climbers table about Clematis pruning and it is away being printed. Meanwhile here is the blog I have also written on the same subject.



Looking for a new garden to visit?
Every year I try to find somewhere different to go and see snowdrops in February. This year we headed over to Fife to Kirklands House and Gardens in Saline. I’ve met Gill and Peter before when they came to buy plants in the nursery last year so it was good to go and visit their garden, have a chat and see the carpets of snowdrops and hellebores. We had lunch before hand at the Saline Shaw farm shop and café which was very good and just 5 minutes along from the gardens. Despite the wet weather we enjoyed our walk around the gardens which run down to the Saline burn, a wander around the woodland and a browse of the plants for sale (I did buy a few which will make their way to the nursery gardens). Hopefully I will make it over to see the gardens in summer.
You can find out more on their website and social media.




Our grand old lady Poppy who will be 20 in September
making herself at home on my chair

Crocus 'Pickwick'

Not long now until we re-open. We are very much looking forward to opening up again for the
2026 season on Saturday 7th March with our usual hours of Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
We have our tough hardy perennial growing on (being outside all year makes them truly hardy), old
favourites and lots of new varieties to tempt you with. Trees, shrubs, a larger selection of soft fruit plants this year, shade plants, wildflowers, bamboo, conifers and grasses. Herbs and alpines will
be out later in March once the weather improves and water plants will be in stock in April and we are constantly bringing out new plants to the sales area.

Our wee shop and pot area will be stuffed full of lots of lovely things, including some new lines. These include outdoor pots, pot covers, planters, plant supports, bird feeders, bug hotels, garden sundries, books, string, gift cards, vases, gift vouchers and peat free compost. All of which are made from natural materials and recycled if possible. So even if gardens and plants aren’t your thing there might be something to tempt you in our wee shop.

You can see what is available on the shop page of our website https://www.quercusgardenplants.co.uk/nursery%20shop.html

The Garden railway will be running during the summer and the timetable is on our facebook page and website events page. You can find out more about us and everything we do on our website www.quercusgardenplants.co.uk

You can also find us on Instagram and Tik tok, I also write a blog https://ronaquirkybirdgardener.blogspot.com

so lots to read up about us before you visit.

The Whitmuir cafe is open seven days a week with great coffee, cakes and lunches and the Farm shop has great food to take home including a great butchery counter, pies and so much more.

An improves path on the circular farm walk takes your round the farm where you can get great views of the farm Heiland coos and the valley and Pentland Hills beyond.

You can also find the Re-use hub at Whitmuir in the main building for lots of recycled items directly across from the fabulous farm shop.

So make a day of it, gardens, plant buying, a walk, good food, a recycled bargain and lunch or a cake and coffee, sounds like the perfect day out to me.

I am really looking forward to seeing and catching up with all our customers soon xx




My Hellebores are coming into flower both at home and at Quercus. They really do brighten up a dull winters day with their hanging flowers hiding their spots or inner ruffled petals. There are so many varieties and colours these days to choose from, I like the spotted varieties and I have a very lovely picotee at home.
Here's a blog I wrote about Hellebores, maybe you'll be inspired to buy a few. We will have several varieties available when we re-open 🙂


If you are thinking about planting a tree this spring have a look for some inspiration in my tree blog where you will find ideas for Spring interest, autumn interest and suggestions for trees for small gardens.

I've updated the tree page on our website with all the trees we will have for sale when we re-open on 7th March.
All trees come in 10 or 15 litre pots and are already a good size for instant effect in your garden (generally they are anything between 7 and 10 feet tall 🙂
David's valentine card - a Japanese tree with heart shaped leaves

How good was it to see some blue sky and actually feel warm earlier in the week? ☀️
Isabel finished tidying the scented garden, top dressed the sweet pea trough and tied up the canes ready for planting sweet peas when the time comes. I finished the herb garden, getting the compost on the beds and sweeping all the brick edges. The net is off the pond and the steps all tidied. We even very nearly finished the top terrace borders too, we were definitely on a roll and determined to get the gardens tidied and they will be in time for opening 😃
Great to see the hellebores, snowdrops and crocus in flower in all the gardens, a hint of spring and the bluetits are building their nests in the nursery gardens 🐦




How cute is this chicken on a basket in vintage green glass ❤ couldn't not get it 😃



I was in on Saturday to get our wee shop stocked and set up for opening in a week’s time (exciting). I’ve had great fun over winter sourcing new suppliers and especially independent businesses to support like us. We have lots of new items and old favs back in stock and it was great to pull them all together today and curate them into the vision I had in my head (always a strange place 😃 ) We have some new shelves to fill too which is exciting. All the items are on our nursery website shop page, so you can put together a wee shopping list for when you visit.
I had my "helper" with me who was persuaded to model for me 🤣 as nursery dogs should lol
I also want to give a shout out to youngest son Dan who came in and built me a stand for all the fab plant stakes we have in stock this year. They are easy to see and will stay upright, you’ll find them right next to our outdoor pot display.
And if gardens and plants are not your bag then we still have items to catch you attention as a gift for a loved one, a friend or to treat yourself
❤



Sunday was all about sorting out the outdoor pots and getting them onto the pot stand. We have a new collection of decorative terracotta pots which are fab, I'm so happy with them and I think you will love them too. Handmade and in five different sizes and three designs they are perfect for so many plants and gardens.
We have more colours in the range of glazed pots we had last year and of course the everyday terracotta pots. We have six different sizes, saucers and new for this year three different sizes of half pans. These are perfect for bulbs and alpines or any small plants that don't need a deep root space.
I was also working on another collection of pots, I'm really excited about them and sharing them with you. they are very special and new for this year but they deserve a post of their own 😉





Staying on the theme of going potty……… last year I was delighted to be asked by two customers if I would buy their vintage terracotta pot collections, of course I said yes. I love a bit of vintage, after all I married David 🤣 sorry I mean I love vintage garden things 😊 Now that I have sorted through them all I am excited to be selling them in the nursery when we open back up this Saturday.
I love the texture of old terracotta pots, mostly they are hand made so have an honest, earthy roughness to the surface and a beautiful patina. I have given them a light brush but nothing more because I wanted to preserve that patina and aged look ❤️ Many of them are original Sanky pots with the company stamp on them.
There are five sizes from 2.5 inch to 6 inch diameter pots, the smallest ones are so dinky and cute! See them displayed on the vintage bottle rack I bought last year, knowing I would come up with a use for it in the nursery 😃 I will have an easy to use price guide up beside them to work out the sizes.
Perfect for alpines, cacti, succulents, bulbs, home décor, crafts and soooooo much more ❤️
We also have a bucket of crocks, so if you fancy replicating my cacti feature you can pick up some broken pots and pop a donation in our charity collection pots.

Simply a Scots pine

Last week we finished the post winter garden tidy up, you know us the weather doesn't stop determined horticulturalists on a mission 😃 Isabel got the scented garden done (its bigger than it looks and harbours a lot of leaves) and then the top terrace borders. I finished the herb garden and did the other side of the top terrace borders. So that's great to get this mammoth task finished as there's still plenty to do before we open in a week’s time! We’ve worked hard in all the weathers to catch up and to get the gardens ready for opening. Its lovely to see all the spring bulbs and plants coming into flower and brightening up the borders and also great to finally see some blue sky and feel warm while working outside 🌞🌷☀️
David has put the new bark on the bottom terrace path so its looking fab and put out all our signs around the gardens and nursery and Maisie as nursery dog has been keeping an eye on everyone’s work and making sure its up to standard 😃
I was in both days on the weekend to get the wee shop stocked up and ready for re-opening on the Saturday and then spent Sunday sorting out and displaying all the out door pots and our collection of vintage pots for sale, new for this year. Its all so exciting to see everything coming together for re-opening on 7th March 🎉
Special thanks goes to Natasha our soon to be daughter in law (yes we have a big family wedding this year, the first one, so exciting) who solved my problem of how to update our garden map with the changes that have happened in the garden over the last two years. Thanks to her digital skills you would ever know its been changed ❤










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