Necessary rain spoils my fun

So after the lovely weather last week and weekend the garden definitely needed some rain, which it got today. Yesterday the air was full of mist and promised rain and when walking across the Meadows it was a cathedral of green - Gothic height of trees that are full of spring growth, verdant grass reaching into the distance. Today the rain arrived, which is good for the plants, although I would have liked a morning in the garden to recharge and prick out the salvias that are massing in the propagator.

This weekend it's Gardening Scotland which I am really looking forward to. I have assessed my gaps and thought very carefully about what type of plants I will need. In the event I will get swept away and buy whatever moves me but it's nice to pretend that I am approaching it in a mature frame of mind. Last year I bought some beautiful and successful plants, many of which seeded and are coming back this year: Geranium Kashel White, Geranium Orion (desert island plant, or at least in the top 5), Ladybird Poppy, Salvia Patens, Purple Salvia. And on a different note Crambe Cordifolia, the heart breaker.

So instead of gardening I have done some Kundalini Yoga and am reading a Deborah Kellaway book about her learning about gardening. Very middle class, especially as I'm off to make a cappuccino.

Who's been eating my garden?

I have returned from a lovely weekend in York and taken a stroll around my garden to see how things are getting on. The over-riding theme seems to be that my plants are very delicious. Above is what I hope will become a beautiful white lily, if whatever is eating it can ever stop! And below is my Anenome which was beautiful when I left on Friday morning but has decided to die in my absence. Clearly just couldn't live without me!

These Lilium Regale are looking much healthier but maybe the bugs haven't found them yet. These are mysteries so we'll see what they look like when they arrive. My sweet peas at the back are looking awful and are just about hanging onto life. I wonder if the soil is just too water-logged as in the planters it's just compost. I always mean to get some grit in there but never get any from the garden centre.

I have had a bit of a garden bonanza since arriving home about 5. I have read my new gardening magazine cover to cover - a bit more up-market than Gardener's World but with some lovely pictures of design and planting to stimulate my thoughts. I had a barbecue in a friend of a friend's garden on Saturday and one of the beds took my breath away. It was poppies growing through Crocosmia spikes and the angle of the light lit up the poppy buds and filtered through the Crocosmia beautifully. There were a few blowsy orange poppies open which were beautiful but almost superfluous. The bed had been planted in memory of Charlotte's grandmother and without knowing her, she'd have loved it.

In my new magazine I see gardens thick with the plant above, Crambe Cordifolia. So what pesky creature do I have that doesn't visit the other gardens? I am desperate for this to prosper and fill my garden with it's cloud of white foamy flowers but the wonderful powers of nature have other ideas. You are supposed to feel honoured that pests have chosen to decimate your plants - clearly I missed that memo.

Here we have my least favourite group of honoured garden visitors - slugs and snails busy decimating the Hosta. Now I don't particularly mind that they are feasting on this plant from the point of view that I don't like it, but they make that whole corner really messy. Guess I'll be filling up the slug trap with beer.

This is where the silver lining starts - while I was away the azalea has leaped into bud and it seems to like its new location. And the Stachys (I think) and the Lavender below are just stunning.

So my current ruminations are:
1) The slug trap needs filling with beer
2) I need to make a list of the major gaps prior to going to Gardening Scotland next weekend so I can ensure that any plants I buy are appropriate
3) Next year I'm planting more Astrantias and Oriental poppies
4) I'm interested in veiling - seeing a plant through another
5) I need more height in all my beds
6) I love the Arne Maynard and Cleve West Gardens at Chelsea

2 hours of sunshine before the next crazy weather

I am in pretty fine fettle today, having slept for almost 12 hours last night and woken at 830 to bright sunshine. I went to be really early last night which was my fortnightly weeknight off and I feel like the deep-seated fatigue has finally left me. And 2 hours of sunshine and garden time have cemented my positive state of mind. I think the hardest part of living in Scotland is the weather, and while this year it has been particularly crazy (hailstone rainbow last night anyone?) in general it isn't inspiring. Personally I need to be outside regularly with my hands in the soil to feel centred and positive, and this spring simply hasn't allowed me that luxury. Anyway, at least I live on the east coast because largely that is much dried than the rest of the country.

Today I tackled the front garden, and am trialling hiding the necessary recycling boxes around the corner where before I was hiding a heinous and unloved Hebe. I am definitely happy with the move but it has revealed a requirement for spending! I have placed the Azalea in front of the bin right no, but I need a nice pot with a tall screening shrub to sit in front of the bin, and maybe another for the coal bin. I don't think those crocosmias are ever coming up and in retrospect they maybe weren't tall enough anyway.

The Azalea was always destined to move to the front because it's shocking pink and the Acer has now taken the shadier position by the back door where I hope he thrives (pernickety Acers are clearly male).Looking rather nice just now with the 2 bluebells poking through and a froth of tumbling foliage. I can see why people get obsessive over Acers but personally I'd rather have a Eucalyptus, and the latter are not so delicate.

Loving the Aquilegia also which is coming into its prime and wasn't as buffeted by the hailstones as my darling Anenome (how fickle I am).

Speaking of my fickle nature, isn't this Hebe looking lovely with the delicate flowers? I had warmed to her because of the lovely small and distinct leaves but these snowflakes of flowers are pretty damn lovely as well. Apparently this will grow and spread, but not more than a metre. I am looking for more height in the bed generally, because it's all recent planting a lot of things are low down, and I also don't really have the eye for placement so the whole composition is higgledy-piggledy. Could never be a garden designer and David Hicks would choke! Also he hates Delphiniums which I love. I potted on the 3 plants that grew from the Delphinium seeds from last year and hope that they are indeed Delphiniums. That bed is looking really sparse because neither the Delphiniums or Salvia Patens have come back. See.

This will also need some work and spendage. The main bed will look amazing once the bigger gaps are plugged (spendage!) and I planted the Cosmos out today as they have been hardened off outside for 2 weeks. Hopefully they will survive and there's no frost forecast this week so it's worth a try. They look a bit sad though, dotted throughout the beds.

Anyway, off to work now in a better mental place, long live gardening.

Picture 1 = Picture 2

So as you can see, it is blowing a hooligan today and therefore no garden pottering is on the cards. Or boring but necessary runs along the canal. Amos is sleeping in the bedroom and I have taken up residence at the kitchen table with coffee, laptop and books.

Today I have been reading Garden Design by David Hicks, which was lent to me by the Garden Poet last time we were in Devon. Interestingly it is nearly all in black and white, because his focus is texture and structure, but there is a section in colour which is concerned with his favourite type of gardens - green gardens. I like that touch and the gardens he shows are very beautiful. If I had a huge garden I would certainly like to have a green enclave, but in my tiny plot I want everything I can get. I sometimes think that green gardens are the preserve of those who are rich in space and can afford to have sections fallow. What I mean is without the plants that bring joy - in green gardens calmness and serenity abound, but I need joy. To me this means fragrant lavender by my front door, tumbling Geranium Orion seen from my back door, ripe pinky-gold Compassion rose brushed by silver eucalyptus. To each, what brings us joy.

Unexpected Flower in the Garden Area

Maybe I will try bluebells again next year!

A short burst of activity today with potting on of Kale seedlings into smaller pots. The poppies and smaller cosmos have moved outside to spend the days getting used to the outside (nights still inside for another week). I also planted 2 trays of Salvia Patens. The Salvias and Delphiniums from last year are really taking their time outside so I did all the seeds.

And beautiful Clematis is starting to open the lovely coy buds. Look at the one surfing down our neighbour's tree.

How do you solve a problem like Anenome? Or Acer?

There has been a hiatus in recent days where there depressingly doesn't seem like much to do. I hear the phrase 'low-maintenance garden' bandied about but it's really the opposite of what I would like. Gardening is my favourite activity and I wish there was more!

These 2 pictures have been placed here at the whim of the blog because I cannot really work out how to move them. Anyway, I collected seed from Icelandic poppies last summer and tried to sow a tray of them to no success. This one like its position by the gas meter and I am cheered by its flowering in this ridiculously un-May-like May. The Peoniolas (Pansies by another name) are quite interesting. I am not generally attracted by yellow and orange, but when I decided to go for the hot and bright coloured front garden, I went for it. And they are very bright. Jamie has always said he likes the idea of bright colour leading to the door, which I have always politely ignored, but these are definitely bright.

Part of the problem of moving to a different coloured planting scheme is living with what it already there. These lovely blue flowers come from nowhere every year and have verdant foliage as well as electric blue thistle like flowers to recommend them. I have no idea what they are called as I have never seen them anywhere - perhaps Stachys? Even if I did physically relocate them to the back would they be happy? So I think I'll leave them. My colours are meant to be jewel (copying Monty there) so these could be the sapphires. But the lavender next to them is no jewel in a million years and yet the most precious of plants to me. So sod the colour scheme, I'm having the scent of lavender leading me to the door. With a small garden, if you want to have a rich variety of plants without an over-arching theme I think it becomes incoherent. So to give the front life I went for a jewel scheme and to give the back a peaceful monastic air I went for a white planting scheme with spots of blue and purple and generally plants with small leaves. I have a pinky clematis and a pink Compassion rose that pre-date this but in generally they do not ruin it. So what the hell are these?

A few weeks ago I was allowed to go to Dobbies and picked these beautiful plants, Aquilegia on the left and Anenome in the middle. The Anenome frankly stunned me and was exhibiting only white flowers with a lilac centre. The Aquilegia gave me the impression it would be creamy white with pinky tinge. So, I currently have 2 lovely plants slap bang in the middle of a coloured planting scheme they do not fit with. Oh, and the Anenome has started to develop bright red flowers. Answers on a post-card? What I think I'll do is leave these jarring but beautiful individuals where they are for this year and when the Aquilegia stops flowering I will move it to the front, where it doesn't really fit either but at least it's pink. The Anenome I think is a deal-breaker - like the Compassion rose, I don't care if it it breaks my colour scheme but it's the only one allowed to.

How do you solve a problem like this Acer? Not the first time I have wittered on about my general dissatisfaction with this poor specimen. I saw an amazing Acer in a Tollcross garden on Friday that have foliage like waves of washing up foam gently overflowing from the sink. Mine unfortunately was a bargain one from the Dying plants section of B&Q and is the only one we could afford. In reality at least we got one and it comes back each year because they are very expensive when in good nick. This year you can see 2 of the 12 bluebells I planted have come up, so that was a bonus (giving up on bluebells this time definitely).

And here comes the moment Amos identified one of the plants brought back from Dobbies on Sunday was crack cocaine, or Catmint. I now insist on calling it Nepeta, partly because it's a lovely word but also not to alert him. The plant is still alive amazingly and is subject to frequent re-visits from the young skinny gentleman who shows it a certain brand of attention. Cats love Catmint. Or Nepeta. Fact.