From all the fellow gardeners I’ve been speaking to recently, we all seem to be in agreement that this years spring display is pretty spectacular.
There’s one area in the grounds of Scone Palace, where I’m the head gardener, that’s always been called the ‘Flower Garden’ .
The plants in here just now seem to be unusually all out in flower at the same time, creating the most wonderful display.
The fragrance of spring
The focal point is an avenue of Scotch Laburnum trees lining the centre of a path that cuts through the middle of this garden, currently decorated with golden-yellow flowers hanging loosely from the branches.
There are a selection of evergreen Rhododendrons covered in shades of pink, purple and white blooms, whilst the scent from the flowers of their deciduous relative Rhododendrom luteum just fills the air.
Though not possessing the same scent there is also a warm, peach coloured variety which combines well with one of my favourite Euphorbias, the orange coloured ‘Fireglow’ which grows happily beneath it.
This plant can be a bit of thug, I’ve even noticed it starting to grow through the grass but soon gets mowed down and kept in check.
For me it’s worth the extra effort to keep it under control as each spring I get to see these two plants in flower together with the magnificent Laburnum avenue in the background.
Enjoying the moment
Lilac, Clematis, Deutzia, Iris, Nepeta with Geranium as a ground cover are all slowly adding to the painting, making this one part of the garden I must make a point of walking through and enjoying every day.
I think this is an good point to make. I’ve a bad habit of getting too engrossed in all the spring jobs needing done at the time that I forget about the garden in the here and now.
It’s important to stop now and again, make yourself a brew or maybe pour yourself something a little stronger and just sit back and actually enjoy your garden.
May is such a busy time in the garden that it always seems to fly by. Each year I start off the month by celebrating my 28th birthday (I’ve been this age for 19 years now).
But with all the seed sowing to be done, potting on, planting out, grass cutting plus all the other spring jobs to be getting on with, before I realise it, Chelsea Flower Show is on our screens and we’ve reached the peak of season.
Chelsea Flower Show
I must admit I don’t know what to make of the flagship Royal Horticultural Society show sometimes.
I can’t deny it has to be THE most amazing horticultural spectacle.
The highlight is such fantastic show gardens from the country’s top designers showcasing magnificent, quality plants delivered by our own talented growers.
If you haven’t been or seen the television coverage, these are not your average back gardens.
Over the years they have contained large water features, paths and walls, buildings made from wood, and stone and steel requiring substantial machinery to move them and other large boulders and trees into position.
All this costs many thousands of pounds to build before a plant has even been put into place.
Don’t get me wrong they are absolutely stunning to see.
Is it the right message to send?
However, this is a time when the majority of us understand the world’s resources aren’t infinite, that the way we live is having an effect on the world’s climate.
We realise we need to return to gardening in a way that protects the resources we have.
I’m struggling to see how using vast resources to build gardens that wow us for just a single week, which the vast majority will never be able to have in our gardens at home, fits into the message being delivered from the same RHS on gardening sustainably.
Ach, maybe I should be listening to my own advice and should get out into the garden to chill out for a bit!
And as for clothing choices…
It’s hard to decide what to wear at the moment, with the weather being so changeable.
One minute it’s roasting and I’m down to my T-shirt, the next I’m darting off to shelter in the polytunnel to avoid getting battered by showers.
At work we were planting out lettuce plants the other day as we return the kitchen garden from a spring tulip display back to it’s primary function of growing veg.
Just as we were getting the last of the young plants into the ground we were greeted with the latest downpour that this time brought us hail stones. Not ideal for the tender foliage of these and other plants.
Hail’s lasting mark
It may not be instantly noticeable so don’t be alarmed if, in a few day’s time, you see some markings on the leaves or fruits on some of your plants as a result.
Don’t worry, you’re not being attacked by some new pest or disease this is the hail damage starting to come through and should just be cosmetic.
Now that we are at the end of month the weather should be settled enough to put out our summer hanging baskets and container displays.
Always be on your guard though, we are gardening in Scotland after all.