Helga - Mouse Whisperer.MPG

It took me a long time to discover how to do this!

Closing Day

I'll be closing the garden later today until 2012. Things have been quite quiet for the last two weeks since the children returned to school. I was very flattered, though, to have a return visit from Kirsty who wrote the lovely note in my visitor's book in June (see below). I showed her a video I made of a wood mouse who lives on the steps to the bird and squirrel feeders. She liked it very much, which decided me I should add it to You Tube. I'll add it to this blog as well. One of the joys of this garden is the wildlife and we have many voles, shrews and wood mice, as well as all the birds, regular red squirrels and occasional visiting hedgehogs. This particular mouse, quickly christened "Minnie", took to coming to see me whenever I filled the squirrel and bird feeders and soon became a "regular". The whole video is 9½ minutes long but I don't suppose anyone will want to watch it all the way through.

Totem Pole

The girls have repainted the totem pole, formerly in the Secret Garden, and it has been repositioned nearer the Art Gallery at the South end of the garden.

Flaming June?

In these parts we expect our best weather in May and early June. This year, May was a desperate disappointment - cold and persistently wet but, despite this indifferent weather, I had the greatest number of May visitors ever. Let's hope the climate improves now that June is here.

I have many lovely comments from garden guests in my Visitor's Book but I thought these, from two young Edinburgh people - Kirsty & Gordon - who called in May, particularly special.


Kirsty - "All you need is time and pacience, and the life will come to you. In my case, a shrew bumped into my boot this is a trully magical place."
Gordon - "It is so good I don't have anything else to say."

and we know it's Spring when the hawthorns flower ....

Azalias

This has turned out to be one of the oddest starts to the Summer I have seen in over 35 years here. Late April was very dry and by the time I opened the garden on 1st May I was desperate for rain and fearful of losing plants on the steeper slopes. The rain started on 5th May and has barely stopped since! We expect May and early June to provide us with the best weather of each year: well, not this year! It really could stop raining now!! Nevertheless, the azalias on the driveway were a picture for a short while until the wind took its toll.

Sparkle Cafe has had something of a makeover for the new season:

.... and the wise old owl still overlooks and supervises everthing

The bunnies are still hopping about the place ....

The woodruff is in full flower

Murphy has moved to the High Road

The rhododendrons are at their best

Another Spring

Last year turned out to be awful for the garden. After the harshest Winter I have ever experienced here, I rather gave up on the blog as I watched my plants die. In the end I lost all the Dicksonia as well as many other plants, many years old.

This Winter was cold for a period, too, but not nearly as bad as 2010-11 and I lost only a few plants.

Anyway, I've put all that behind me. I opened the garden yesterday and I've already had 4 visitors. I have a group booked for Wednesday. The garden looks an absolute picture at present so I'll add some photographs I took today. I'm looking forward to a bumper Summer. Come and visit!