Here we are flying through summer, I feel every time I blink another month has disappeared! The weather for gardeners has certainly been challenging both in the nursery at home, watering feels a full time job (on top of everything else). Part of me wants to enjoy the sunny days (though the high temperatures have been challenging) and the other is worried about lack of water and keeping all our plants in the nursery alive. This is another two week blog in order to keep ahead full of glorious summer flowers and places to visit and eat.
In the front garden at home over the past month. These borders are in full sun and it turns out very free draining, so I am having to replace some of the plants I'd put in with more drought tolerant varieties. The ground is also very stoney making it almost impossible to plant, certainly no digging. A garden is never finished, its an ever evolving creature.
looking good too.
Throwback Thursday - this late summer border from a narrow space of rubbish soil - In order to use as much of the space as possible and soften the space between the stock beds and wildflower banks I created some narrow borders along the edge of the top terrace to showcase some of the plants we had for sale. The soil here is awful, even with years of compost its not the best but so many plants are doing really well in it as you can see if you visit.
Beginning of February 2016, we only had a third of the amount of stock beds that we have now, no borders along the edge of the stock bed terrace, no fence, no gravel paths. Its amazing the progress we've made.
Early February 2017, the top terrace borders were marked out, dug over and mulched with compost before planting.
Today at this time of year you can barely see the ground in the first area behind the trellis as it fills up with mainly late summer flowering plants, giving a punch of hot colours to brighten August days.
One thing people often struggle with is what plants to plant together to get either year round interest or a little montage at a certain time of year. Over the next few months I’m going to put together a few plants I would heartily recommend for your garden that you can grow together. They will like the same conditions and act as a perfect contrast for each other and are for sale in the nursery.
August gives us the perfect opportunity to play with some colours at the hotter end of the colour spectrum. I do love an orange / purple, blue / yellow combo and these for work perfectly together.
Phlox paniculata ‘Uspekh’
A vigorous cultivar with arresting purple flowers that have a white star centre and great scent. Plants are bushier than upright so ideal for the middle of a border. Plant in a sunny position and well-drained soil. One of our favs here in the nursery. H 80cm, S 30cm.
Helenium ‘Rauchtopas’
This taller perennial has vibrant golden-yellow flowers with distinctive red-brown flecking, particularly on the underside of the petals. Perfect for a bit of showy height in mid to late summer. Plant in moist, well-drained soil in full sun. H1.2m, S40cm.
Agastache foeniculum
“Anise Hyssop” An aniseed-scented perennial with downy leaves, whitish green beneath and dense spikes of blue flowers in June to September. A great plant for bees as they love the flowers and will feast on them all summer. Plant in full sun and protect from frost. H 1.2m, S 40cm.
Hemerocallis 'Double River Wye'
My favourite Hemerocallis with beautiful showy clusters of eye-catching double light yellow flowers with a green throat from mid-July. Great for mid height in a border through July. H70cm, S 60cm.
There's lots of new plants out in the sales area, a few end of batch bargains too and the gardens are looking great, there's so much to see. I could be here all night telling you about it all but better to come visit yourselves and enjoy mid summer in the nursery.
We're open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm
See you soon 
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When your work has to be inspected by the small, judgy opinionated nursery dog!
"I mean mum, you've been doing this potting nonsense for a while now, you might just be getting a bit old and slow and not doing it right"
Cheeky dog! I am however excited to get this very successful sowing of Sarrococca seed from my own plants at home potted up
The week that was......... last week I was working through Geraniums and Geums that we propagated last years and needed potted and put out in the stock beds as well as lots of new propagation, Tunnel 3 is filling up remarkably quickly!!! I’ve brought lots of new plants out into the sales area and we have a few reduced plants that we are discontinuing. It was great to get a break in the weather and some cooler temperatures and rain, its takes the pressure off me trying to keep everything watered and refreshes the plants. We do need an awful lots more to refill the reservoirs and the ground around the country though.
It was great to welcome Isabel back at the weekend, she’s been away home for a month, it was great to catch up and have the full team back together. On Saturday Fiona finished potting up the oldest cuttings and made great progress through all the seedlings waiting to be potted.
Isabel and I got started on tidying the nursery gardens which are well overdue for a weed and tidy. Over the weekend we got most of the borders done and it all looks so much better.
David has been creating more stock beds through next to the tunnels for more plant storage space, you keep buying we keep producing more of our lovely healthy hardy plants.
We had a visit from Peter and Gill Hart of Kirklands House and Garden over near Saline in Fife. They a have a lovey garden and its well worth a visit. We visited early in the year for their snowdrops and hellebores. It was great to catch up with them. We’ve been busy with all our customers and its been great to chat to new folk just finding us and our regulars and help them find the perfect plants for their garden.
I’ve been asked to do 3 talks over the winter which is lovely and a great way of meeting fellow gardeners and spreading the word about what we do here at Quercus.
We are into August already, hard to believe and the gardens shift into late summer and the hotter colours of flowers, there is so much to see right through our open season.
You can also read the latest Quirky Bird Gardener blog here:
Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm
See you soon
Staying local on our day off with a wee drive along to Traquair for lunch at the cafe and a walk around the grounds. Great food and lovely to catch up with Val and Maisie had great fun chasing sticks in the river. The food in the cafe was excellent as Val's food always is. We first met Val when she came to work at Whitmuir in 2016, running and cooking in the cafe. It was Val who did the amazing food for our wedding in 2017 and its always good to catch up when we run into each other.
Its all go in the sunny borders in the front garden this week. Lily 'Black Beauty has erupted into flower and the Echinacea pallida is looking fab. I have been removing some plants this week which are not coping with the free draining very sunny conditions (not what I'm used to dealing with) but it does give me a chance to grow some different sun lovers I cant grow in the nursery. The fluffy astilbes and the ligularia have had to go and I have replaced them with sun loving lavanders and anthemis
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| Lilium 'Black Beauty' |
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| Acanthus and Allium seedheads |
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| Echinacea pallida |
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| Agapanthus 'Dokter Brouwer' |
From shady corners to our woodland garden in full shade, sunny borders big and small, gardening for wildlife, gardening in containers or gardening in ponds and small water features you’ll find it all in our inspiring gardens and nursery at 850 feet above sea level. Our hardy plants are grown here in the nursery and with nearly 1900 different varieties planted or for sale to choose from there is something for every one 
How cute are these
Now available in our wee shop
Catching up on my water colour journal
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I spent a very relaxing, much needed three hours painting in our summer house this evening and painted this..... summer flowers with bees, echinacea, lavander and chives  |
Maisie discovers doggy ice cream pup cups, Poppy enjoying the sun and hoping for a glimpse of the solar eclipse, enjoying a couple of relaxing days catching up at home, coffee and cake in Peebles and out for anniversary dinner at night as the second half of August gets busy
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| Our grand old lady enjoying the sun |
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