how to keep the summer all year

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twitter madness

The garden this morning is the centre of a twittering madness. Swirls of low-flying small birds are streaking past in their droves. Mainly tits, they whizz from tree to fence to plant chattering away in the excited tones I havent heard since Spring's mating & nesting season.

The cocophany of tweets is loud enough to be clearly heard above the roar of the thundering burn. Swollen by the torrential rain in the last 3 days the chocolately coloured water is tugging at the trees as it rolls down-river. Many of the lower branches are stripped bare and bob constantly above the water.

There was no rain overnight so it's already receding this morning. You can see where the grass on the opposite bank has been combed flat on the rocky shelf like a bad comb-over on a balding man. The lade, always genteel and calm, even when it raises by a metre is now also slowly lowering.

After days of rain, the birds are celebrating and feasting on all the new bugs.

Alliums: great all round

Alliums are one of my all-time favourite plants. They may be related to the onion family but these fantastic bulbous plants are real showstoppers. Guaranteed to make you smile - rather than cry like their common cousins!

So what's so great about alliums? they are just divine.

design - they are the garden designers no1 friend - great with both architectural and cottage schemes.

impact - the spectacular round heads with delicate flowers suspended in a perfect sphere create a real wow factor

variety - from compact drumsticks to showy plate sized spheres alliums come in all colours and sizes including yellow, purple, blue and white

intricate - each allium head draws you in to marvel at its detailed composition with tiny flowers held aloft on slender stems in a perfect sphere

nature loving - the butterflies and bees love them

elegant - with graceful long perfectly straight stems holding striking heads they give balance and height to borders and containers

Alliums are easy to grow - they just like a sunny spot and they'll return happily every year. With so many different types they flower from April to August in my garden.

My favourites include:

Allium cristophii: this was the first allium I bought (because of the name it shares with my husband) It has a large metallic purple spherical head that looks great in flower or dried.

A. schubertii: another large allium with a head that looks like a burst of fireworks.

A. sphaerocephalon: compact pinky drumsticks on long wiry stems that last for ages.

A. nigrum: dome shaped white flowers on a long tall stem

Allium hollandicum 'Purple Sensation' - a tight deeper purple round head on a tall stem. For really tall and massive purple heads try Allium giganticum or globemaster.

Allium moly: a small allium with yellow flowers

Allium bulgaricum - an unusual drooping flowerhead in white with purple markings

Glad all over

No more blues - I'm in the pink this week. Yes, my gladioli and lilies are a stunning crescendo in pink. The first of the pink dahlia's, elegant pink fuschia's and the willowy verbena bonesaris flowers are also poking out.

Other treasures from this weeks garden include the striking bell shapes of the agapanthus, the strong velevety blackcurrant flowers of the hollyhocks, the gold and orange fronds of crocosmia and the delicate and spiky silvery balls of the echinops.

In the veg garden we enjoyed the first yellow tomatoes at the weekend - but its not looking like it will be a bumper crop this year so we'll have to treasure each tasty one. Small green peppers are dangling from the capsicum but the chilli are still being blighted by greenfly. The beetroot are looking great and we saw the first tiny cauliflower head tonight.

butterfly heaven

Today is defintely a day for flying. Around my deck is a swirling cauldron of butterflies, hoverflies and bees. Attracted by the asiatic lilies that have just opened on one side and the buddlejia in full flower on the other, its a veritable feast.

The hoverflies also seem to be loving the orange shuttlecock-like flowers of the helenium on the bank and the bees have even taken to sleeping on the contorted lilac arms of the veronica fascination, they cant get enough of it!

Here are some of the photos from this mornings winged wonders on the buddlejia.

small tortoiseshellpeacockpainted ladies

Dont get blue: lilacs keep summer cheer

This week the garden is full of unusual lilac blooms. The stars of this week have been the lovely lilac poppies that have battled to survive the changing weather. It's been glorious sunshine one minute and torrential rain the next. Their delicate blooms are only lasting a day before being battered.

The veronica "fascination" is also living up to its name - forming some very fascinating and somewhat spooky shapes. Dont you think this one looks like a hand?

It's planted next to the lovely contrasting orange helenium or sneezeweed which is also battling bravely not to be trampled by the rain.

The lilac/purple theme is continued round the garden by the lavender, alliums, foxgloves, primula vialli, lupins, campanula, buddlejia and callicarpa and the new buds of the echinops, gladiolli and agapanthus that are yet to make a show.

In the veg patch things are progressing nicely. The peas and potatoes are cropping heavily and the beetroot and carrots are coming along well. I had to rehome dozens of chillies and peppers this week as all the seeds had grown into strapping young plants. The peppers are flowering but I'm battling the greenfly which arrived on 2 plants this weekend. It's such a pain but such are the trials.

If you turn your back ....

Turn your back on your garden for a month in June and it goes mad. I imagine its like having teenagers that are left at home while your away. Things start appearing everywhere, lying around where they're not meant to and generally letting their hair down and getting unruly. But then there are the surprises. The plants that blossom and sprout to greet you when you get back. It's like a new garden.

Talking of new gardens I've spent the last month in Australia trying to landscape a new garden. Now that's a different challenge. No soil just sand. And no I dont mean sandy soil like you get here, it's just like a visit to the beach! More on that in a later blog.

Since I've got back I've spent the last few evenings trying to pull out the worst of the weeds - some of which, like the giant lobelia - are taller than me! Speaking of giant plants - there's a fantastic 7ft tall purple foxglove by the shed. The drift of pink and white wild foxgloves on the bank looked great when I got back.

The purple lupins are in full bloom and still looking very striking in contrast to the gold and orange geums they're planted with.

I'm still trying to work out what I've missed. A few daylilys maybe, but the tall cardocrinium lillies are open now and sporting lovely white trumpets with yellow centres. The delicate lilac, purple and white bells of the campanula are all round the garden. While the profuse pink roses are fading now the delicate buds of the white and red roses are peeping out. The ligularia has thrown its tall yellow flowered spires and the two tone primula vialli spikes are standing tall.

The veg patch is looking fantastic. Luckily my dad did a fantastic job of keeping it (and the grass) under control while I was away (thanks dad!) so other than some shot salad leaves and radish everything else is progressing nicely. We've been savouring the first of the new pototoes, turnips and peas and the last of the strawberries this week. The tomatoes, beetroot, carrots and caulis are growing nicely and the chillies & peppers have formed this amazing dense wall of green!

Back to it... more weeds to pull.

blooming marvellous!

30/31 May: What a weekend! It's been blisteringly hot with clear blue skies all around since Friday. It's been a long weekend of several gardens. In between working in my garden (more on that later), I've been enjoying life in a beer garden (ok, not many plants to look at but you cant beat a long cool drink with a friend on a sunny day), a garden centre (to help the same friend get some plants for pots), and Gardening Scotland. The sunny weather certainly encourage people to visit the show in their 1000's. The childrens pallet gardens at Gardening Scotland were inspirational in their creativity and a perfect reminder that you dont need a big space to create an impact. In the floral hall, my favourite display was the mecanopsis garden which was simply full of the most stunning metre high blue poppies.

My mecanopsis (bought at the show a few years ago) is yet to make an appearance this year, but it wont reach the striking heights of its show cousins. This weekend however, the garden has been jam packed with new appearances. The peony is now in full bloom and heavily laden with soft ruffled heads of crimson.

The graceful purple iris with fine dark purple and white markings and yellow centres has started to flower alongside the vivid yellow hemerocallis (day lily).

Every week new types of aquilegia open this week's additions include a stunning pink and yellow variety and the blackest purple one has tall lilac tufts that start like tiny blackcurrant berries.
The alliums continue to shoot forth while the normally understated silver leaved celmesia has thrown a plethora of thick rope like stems with with daisy like flowers.

Mr & Mrs Great Tit are still working hard but no sign of the chicks yet other than the sound of constant clamour when food arrives. More orange tipped butterflies are breezing through the garden but no others to report yet.

Finally, it great to see the grasses quietly making a come back alongside the showier blooms. The first heads on the stipa gigantica are fluttering in the sun glinting green and pink whilst a very different smaller grass sports the first spiky mace-shaped heads.

With everything sprouting its proving tough to stay on top of the dead-heading and weeding but I'm trying. The vegetables and fruit are also coming on in leaps and bounds. This week:

• We've been enjoying the first peppery radishes along with more salad leaves.
• Potting on the chilli and pepper seedlings that we've grown from seed along with some cauliflower seedlings we've been given.
• The peas are now about a metre high so I've added more string to the wigwams to give the something to hold on to.
• The tomatoes have been basking in the sun and are already sprouting their first flowers.

Fingers crossed for a good crop!

Gardening Scotland starts tomorrow

This year's Gardening Scotland exhibition starts tomorrow (Friday 29 May) and goes on till Sunday 31st May at Royal Highland Showground, Ingliston, Edinburgh.

It's Scotland's leading gardening show and a great mix of plants, floral, food and garden furniture Lets hope it will be buzzing again this year. For more information check out the Gardening Scotland website.

I'll be there on Sunday and heading straight for my favourite garden furniture designer, Fusion Metalwork who'll be exhibiting some fantastic new designs. I'm also looking forward to seeing what new plants are on display this year (and perhaps coming home with a few!)

Fingers crossed the weather stays sunny.

Peonies and herb tarts - summer is here!

Today was just glorious. An impromptu alfresco lunch with friends and family perfectly captured the reason everyone should have a garden - so they can sit in the sun, surrounded by nature and friends with food made fresh from homegrown ingredients.

More on that soon, but first. The peonies! They have finally started to open and the large deep crimson cup shaped flowers filled with tightly packed ruffles look fantastic. There’s just three open so far and lots of bulging round buds waiting their turn.

Next to the peonies the first oriental papaver has opened. It’s plum petals are so thin and papery they are almost translucent. With black spots like thumb prints they circle the tight black centre packed with loops of stamen. The rest of the large hairy poppy buds are still tightly closed.

It’s been a long week of waiting for the big buds to open. The weather has been so mixed, and yesterday seemed more changeable than most going from sun to blustery winds to lashing rain and back again. But today the sun shone.

Mr & Mrs Great Tit are still going in and out of their eaves nest constantly while other birds hop around the garden. The orange tip butterflies are still flitting around.
















The aqualegia and cranesbill geranium are in full bloom all and the ferns are all unfurling new stems.

The purple and white alliums are a spectacular mass of tiny flowers in a perfect sphere.

The oregano, thyme and rosemary are all growing madly. With lots of delicate new shoots it’s the ideal time to make a lovely herb tart.

Since cooking is my other creative passion, here’s the recipe for the herb tart I rustled up for lunch.

I hope it encourages you to make the most of the new herbs.

Brie & Tomato Summer Herb Tart

1. Roll out a rectangle of puff pastry, place it on a floured baking tray and lightly score round the pastry about 2-3cm in from the edge with a sharp knife. Make sure no ingredients go onto the border.




2. Next go and pick a selection of rosemary tips, oregano, thyme, chives etc. and chop them finely.




3. In a small food processor, add 3 cloves of garlic, some fresh black pepper, a little extra virgin olive oil and 6 slices of parma ham. Blitz and sprinkle the ham over the pastry.




4. Next cut in half about 15 baby plum tomatoes, chop a few soft sundried tomatoes and sprinkle them over the pastry. Sprinkle the tomatoes with half the chopped herbs.




5. Now take a wedge of brie and chop it into thick slices about 2cm wide and place them on the tomatoes.




6. Grind some salt and pepper over the tart and sprinkle on the remaining herbs.




7. Lightly brush the outside border of the pastry with milk and pop the tart in a 190 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.




8. When its golden brown and bubbling take it out and let it cool for 5 minutes before covering it with freshly picked rocket and baby salad leaves. Eat & enjoy.

Great Expectations

16/17 May: The theme for this week is great expectations. The week started well with some lovely weather and then it turned to rain and strong winds. Even the ducks have gone into hiding!

Everything, including me, has great hopes of the summer to come. So many large buds are sitting tentatively and teasingly waiting for their moment in the sun. Peonies, poppies, alliums, iris are all poised to burst out. But, despite looking so promising, very few flowers have opened this week.

The deep pink magnolia, cherry armagowa and lilac all look a little weather beaten, even though they are in full flower and the gusty winds have finished off the last of the tulips.

Over the weekend, in between showers, the garden was quickly full of butterflies, bees and birds all looking for something to eat before the rain started again. More pairs of orange tipped butterflies could be see flitting very quickly from plant to plant. I spotted this pair of mating dragonflies on the wood anemones.

Mr & Mrs Great Tit have been flitting in and out of their nest in the eaves constantly this week with mouths full of food. It’s been like a baton race. All of the birds seem to be enjoying the lighter nights with full evening chorus cracking off about 8.30pm every evening as the heron does its nightly fly round. The water in the river is too high and fast for the ducks this week so hopefully they’ll be back next week.

The fruit and veg are doing ok though. The extra water doesn’t seem to be going amiss there. The peas and potatoes are shooting up and the strawberries are in flower already. I even managed yesterday to harvest enough salad leaves for lunch. It's not all bad even on a wet day!