Devon Odyssey - Trip to Marwood

 Jamie and I have just returned from a trip to Devon to see my parents. While we were there the 4 of us took an afternoon walk in Marwood Gardens near Arlington.

  

  Marwood is one of my favourite places on the planet so I was ecstatic to fit in a visit this time. You can see my entourage in some of these pictures.

 

 

 Here is the National Collection of Astilbes, technically not at their best at the moment but have a certain rusty splendour.

 I wonder if my stubby bamboo will:
a) Survive the winter
b) Ever have 1/20th of the majesty of this clump of bamboo.

The sound of the wind whispering and the stems bending was wonderful.

 Viburnum Grandiflorum, doesn't look inspiring until you appreciate the spiky structure, lichen and red leaves.

  Magnolia buds.

And bang, the mist is gone.

Yesterday it felt like the city has fast-forwarded to winter as we were plunged into a thick cloud of fog all day. At work, we couldn't see the other side of the road. Walking home I did wonder if a cheeky photo for the blog might be a good idea but then my inner scrooge rose up as I almost tripped over 50 million amateur photographers on my way home.
Later that night, my lovely husband was talking to me last night about data farms and quoting horrific stats about the number of photos a day posted on Facebook and asked me "Where do you think there are all stored?" Of course, I knew not but now I know they are massive sites and could rival landfill sites in the future. At this point my inner snob rose up and I thought about our modern obsession with recording everything (Yes I know where I am writing this) and how when you are at a gig nowadays half the audience spend the time taking photos and filming to evidence their attendance perhaps?
I think that there is a tenet of Zen philosophy we can all take on board - whatever you are doing, focus on that for the time you are doing it and do it as well as you can. If you are at a gig, enjoy each second. Washing up - focus on it and get it done. Of course having never worked on a factory line this might not be appropriate for all circumstances but it's a nice idea.
What I originally meant to write about today was bulbs, and damn it I'm going to. I've been brave this year, Galanthus planted a couple of weeks ago at the back and purple Alliums this weekend, also at the back. Next month I'm going to plant orange Ballerina Tulips at the front. All this should match up with the fritillaries and crocuses that are already there.
Bulbs are like hope. On a dreary autumn day surrounded by dying plants, you plant a dry-ish beige lump in the flower bed. You fervently hope that it will look as beautiful as the picture on the packaging but your experience tells you the results will be mixed. For a moment you remind yourself that there is still a long way to go and most of your plants still have to die back and many of them won't make it to spring. But a little voice says: "But it could happen, and wouldn't it look stunning?". Gardening for me is hope tempered with disappointment.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

 I don't remember the Gillenia Trifolata looking quite so good this time last year, but maybe seeing it in its prime across summer cleansed me of the memory. Autumn has a tipping point between decadence and decay and my garden is demonstrating that at the moment.

On another note here are my new black-stemmed bamboos which arrived by mail order last week and which I have potted on today in larger pots. If they survive the winter I am planning to plant them up in glamorous new pots (yet to be purchased) and use them to screen the decking to make it more private. Planting them in pots means they won't take over the beds - hopefully they will last the winter as I've not had much luck with bamboo in the past

While autumn may mean the slide towards decay for most plants, others are just coming into their own. The jasmine has freshened up and is going even more crazy by twining and reaching. And the pinky buds above are the precursor of the scented white studs we will see soon.

Normally I wouldn't be able to bear the drooping and decaying rose blooms, but decay suits Compassion because it mimics the old gold edging of the petals in late summer.

But some garden stalwarts look good in all seasons and lights - my love affair with the Eucalyptus continues.

Day Trip to Buchlyvie and the Scottish Home Counties

Made a lovely trip today from Edinburgh Waverley to Milngavie by train (drinking coffee and reading magazines in the sunshine of the train compartment was bliss. The wonderful Su picked me up from the train station and drove me through Killean and the Duke's Pass to a lovely pub for lunch. Then we visited her cottage near Buchlyvie for a lovely pot of tea and finally she dropped me back the the station.
Much chatting and catching up was had and in the process I feel like I've had a mini-break.

Sweet Pea, I Love Thee

Photography purists beware! Here come some very poor quality shots of my sweet pea hanging basket. I'm just happy they flowered and am not worrying about the fact that the flowers didn't come on the plants I grew patiently from seed.

So the moral of the story is that whatever you want them to do, plants often do something else but there is always the potential for surprise. Oh, and while I may have given up on bluebells I will never give up on sweet peas and will try again next year.