Monthly Archives: July 2018

It’s all fairly quiet here…

28/07/2018birds, squirrel, wildlifeJackie Elwin

just waiting for some rain that was promised. I thought we were going to get thunder storms and lots of rain so I brought in all the small pots of cuttings for the next charity sale, hid some others under the bench where they wouldn’t get water-logged, and put a large trug under the garden table (under the hole where the parasol should go) to collect lots of rain water to help top up the pond. Sadly, we only had a short shower so just collected a dribble of water. The back area of the garden under the golf course trees is still like sand! Back to blue skies and that horrid muggy feeling. Just sitting, watching the world go by just now and planning what needs to be tackled next in the garden. Doing a bit of dead-heading, cutting back, and getting a few weeds out today. There are some young squirrels about who are making little holes everywhere, and young crows making a heck of a racket waiting to be fed by mum. This photo shows a young squirrel in amongst a pot plant, a crow collecting seed on the small tray feeder, and a young pigeon waiting for it’s turn on the feeder.

Squirrel, crow and pigeon.

I need more of…

17/07/2018plantsJackie Elwin

these Verbascums. I was promised (years ago now) that the the plants I bought would flower at the same time: Cirsium rivulare Atropurpureum, Papaverorientale ‘Patty’s plum’ and Verbascum chaxii album. But in fact, in my garden, the Cirsium come up first and flower for a good while, then the poppies and now the Verbascum. The poppies are over and have been chopped back as they were straggly and the Cirsium are going over and have only a few flowers left. The Verbascum is now looking a bit lonely. This year I will take root cuttings and hopefully get a few more and make a good clump. The Verbascum ‘Raspberry ripple’ is flowering a bit strangely this year. In previous years, the flowers at the base opened first the the gradually the others would open from base to the top. This year some are open at the base, some open half way up and some at the top. I do have a space to fill beside them so I would like to take root cuttings of these ones too.
We have had a couple of visitors at the base of the red rose Erotica under the bird feeder: brown rats. At first I saw a large rat on the tray feeder but now I have seen two young ones, bold as brass, getting the fallen seed and running behind the pond. I don’t need more of them!

Verbascum chaxii album

Verbascum Raspberry ripple 2010

Verbascum Raspberry ripple close-up

Verbascum Raspberry ripple 2018

young rat

The new bread bath…

12/07/2018birdbathJackie Elwin

apparently it isn’t a bird bath any more! I haven’t seen any birds bathing in it these day as the pond has a nice shelf for them to use instead. They do still drink at it, but nowadays the crows bring along their food and dump it in the water to soften it. I have to clean it out 2 or 3 times a day and more if the pigeons poop in it! Normally they bring sliced bread or rolls but I have also seen noodles, left over chicken drumsticks, unidentifiable things with traces of blood. And once the birdbath was black because they had dumped a whole slice of burnt toast in it! I only ever put seeds and peanuts out for the birds, because leftover food attracts vermin, so they are getting it from neighbours or further afield. Yesterday a parent crow took lots of seed from the bird table then took a drink from the water bowl with his beak full, then fed a youngster with it. Once, a crow brought down a large roll and dropped it in the birdbath, saw me watching and got a fright so flew onto the garage roof. By the time he turned around a magpie had swooped in and stolen his soggy roll. He looked down in disbelief that it had vanished in a mater of seconds. The roll was so soggy that half of it fell all over a plant on the patio. The big birds, such as the crows, magpies and jackdaws, like to bathe in the dog’s water bowl instead of the birdbath as it is deeper. The pigeons now bathe in the pond and leave grey scum on the surface.

Birdbath with a sliced bread in it.

Birdbath with a roll in it.

Splashes of white…

07/07/2018flowers, plantsJackie Elwin

to add highlights in the garden. At the moment there are a few white plants in flower just now like the Astrantia that I was given by a friend but I don’t know the variety. (it might be major) I love the subtle pink centers that go really well with the backdrop of the purple Cotinus foliage. The Camassia leithtlinii white has just gone over so I have tidied away their messy leaves. The Serastium tomentosum (snow in summer) has beautiful silver foliage along with very pretty white flowers and the rose Munsteadwood looks great above it. The only trouble with that combo is that the dark purple petals fall over the silver folliage and look very messy. The Philadelphus is looking ok but the image here was taken a few years ago when I let it grow however it wanted to, but nowadays I keep it cut back a little. The perfume is fabulous. The delicate Campanula rotundifolia (harebells) come up usually in blue , but now and again a white one pops up. I just leave them there as they look quite natural. I can’t believe that my pale blue Aquilegia is still in flower. I might buy a few more white plants to brighten the very green garden up and maybe a few pale yellows too. Actually, the Primula sikkimensis (Himalayan cowslip) is looking great just now so I can divide them later on in the year. I did get out during week to buy a few Gillenia trifoliata (bowmans root) plants which have nice, delicate white starry flowers on reddish stems, which will go well with the red Astilbe , and the red rose (whenever it decides to flower). We still have very hot and dry weather with no sign of rain in the next week or so. We are not used to this in Scotland – normally we have a couple of nice days followed by a few days of wind and rain. On the plus side two months of no rain mains we have enjoyed the roses without the petals turning to mush or drying out like paper mache so that they can’t open. Also the slugs don’t like it dry. On the down side I have had an awful lot of watering to do and the dreaded mildew has appeared on many plants. I can’t sit outside and enjoy the garden as it is just too hot for me so I wait until the shade comes. My dog loves to lie in the sunshine but I have to keep him inside mostly as he would overheat very quickly. This heat also makes sleeping quite a trial. Doing a wee rain dance and wishing for slightly cooler weather.