Thursday 24th August 2023

School is back. The first full week of 6 o’clock alarms is almost done. It’s a more intense year for the boy this time. Important exams, decision to make, that sort of thing. How did we get here already?

We’re in that time of in-between seasons. Chillier mornings giving way to warmer days and muggy nights. Summer still holding on, but its grasp is loosening. I was working in the big polycrub this morning, and the bees were very busy - definitely a sign of the seasonal shift.

I haven’t really been inspired by the garden much this year. I’ve felt quite overwhelmed by it all, to be honest. Mind you, I have been very involved in a sizeable community project, which took up a lot of time in May and June. Then my visitors arrived and the holidays began, so I’m not being too hard on myself about it. Now that things have quietened down, I have felt a bit more motivated to get out there.

It’s not been a total loss - there are tomatoes and chillies ripening, vegetables and fruit are being harvested, flowers have bloomed and vases have been filled. I’m already planning for next season, as far as anyone can. Winter crops and biennials have been sown, bulbs have been ordered, and I have a to-do list I want to tackle over the autumn.

That’s about it right now. Life returning to its term-time rhythm. I’ve been reading a lot over the summer, and I’m planning a bookish post soon.

Today, in the potting shed, I finished listening to The Great Gatsby, perfectly narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal on Audible. It was a masterpiece.

I was sowing a tray of lupin seeds as the words of that closing passage drew the novel to an end, and I wept.

Friday 11th August 2023

Almost mid-August, and the sunflowers are blooming. I don’t normally grow them, but this year I have about a dozen dotted about the croft and garden in different stages of their rising and setting. My mother once grew a sunflower at my childhood home, and it grew right up to the second floor window. I recently posted a picture of it on a local Facebook page and it engendered quite a reaction. I was surprised, and touched at the number of people who remembered it, almost fifty years later.

It’s been a decent few months here in the Hebrides. The weather has been more summery than not. The holidaymakers have arrived in their tour buses, campervans, bicycles, and cars, and the island is busy. I have had my own visitors too. From midsummer onwards, I have enjoyed the company of a series of family and friends. Our days have been full with visits to the beach, leisurely wandering around galleries, a trip down to Harris, even a wedding at the standing stones. Much of the time, however, has been spent drinking endless cups of tea around the kitchen table, chatting, laughing, reminiscing - re-filling our cups in more ways than one.

Thursday 15th September 2022

Well it's definitely Autumn now. The evenings are darker and it's much colder. I've been wearing wool socks and the heating is timed to come on for an hour before we get up - just to take the chill off.

I've been busy in the garden and polycrubs, getting my winter crops in, and harvesting the end of summer crops. Mostly beans, it has to be said. Runner beans and climbers. I'm freezing half as demi-sec beans and leaving the rest to dry completely. I have a great bed of carrots and onions, which I am just picking as I need them, for now, and some cabbage and broccoli in the other bed, as well as undercover.

I've planted out the polycrub up at the house with all sorts of stuff - mostly leafy greens, salads and brassicas, but there are carrots, beets and Christmas potatoes in there too.

I've still a couple of jobs to finish off, but I am very happy with all I've achieved. I'm glad I concentrated on the winter veg this year - it feels very satisfying.

The Queen died last week. I don't think I've written a blog post since then. I'm not a great fan of the royals - but it did make me think about my Mother's last days, so I was sad for the family. It will be interesting to see if and how attitudes change now she has gone.

Bake- off is back. Another lovely group of people in the tent, and the new series of All Creatures Great and Small started tonight. I recorded it to watch later in the week.

I'm almost finished the top I am knitting- just one sleeve to go. It's been a bit of a slog - now into the third month, but I'm excited to finish it now. I tried it on tonight, when I cast off the first sleeve and I am so pleased with how it looks.

That's really it for now. Usual housework and runs into town. Food shopping, gym, boxing and pizza tomorrow. I do like a Friday.

Daffodil Days

We are knee deep in daffodils here. As the rest of the Northern Hemisphere moves on to the pink and lilac hues of the later season, we are still firmly ensconced in the bright yellow mantle of early Spring.

Daffodils are a symbol of hope and renewal - one of the first splashes of colour to appear in the garden, reminding us that life is reawakening after the Winter rest.

They were my husband’s favourite flower. He always claimed that the most important times of his life seemed to happen when the daffodils were in bloom. Career changes, passing his driving test, falling in love, getting married, moving home - all these life events were played out against a golden backdrop

When he was diagnosed with cancer, we thought he would have maybe two or three years left with us. That first autumn, I planted bulbs all over the garden, in places he would see from the window, and he talked about how many more daffodil seasons he would see. It became almost a touchstone for him.

In the end, he only saw one more daffodill time. As the little clumps of yellow, planted in hope, just a few short months earlier, began to punctuate the flower beds, I supplemented them with supermarket bunches for the house.

I found a pretty crystal vase in the charity shop, and I remember his delight when I first placed it, filled with those shop blooms, on the table by his chair. Just a simple thing, but it brought a moment of joy and light into those dark times.

Six daffodil seasons have rolled around since then, and many more bulbs have been planted around the garden and on the verge outside the gate. I even have a cutting bed, specifically for the house, although there are many wind casualties that find their way inside too. I think it’s fair to say I am now self-sufficient in daffodils.

And as I go around, gathering extravagant armfuls to fill vases around the house, I feel privileged to enjoy such an abundance of beauty. If, as Wordsworth wrote:

One daffodil is worth a thousand pleasures…

then I am rich indeed.

The Romans apparently planted daffodils in remembrance of loved ones, and it’s easy to see why. Their cheerful resilience is the epitome of hope emerging from the dark. A signal that life continues and expands. But still, that first bouquet of the year is always placed in that crystal vase; I see the beauty and simplicity - and I remember John.

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Croft Notes

The township stands on a high headland, bordered on three sides by the long curving fingers of the sea loch. The croft itself is just under four and a half acres. It comprises of two narrow fields running West/East - the top field being fairly level, and the second sloping down towards the big communal drain that runs along the bottom fence.The ground is decent, although there is a boggy area near the bottom. There are the remains of the original blackhouse in the second field, and evidence of runrigs can be seen running down the slope from the dwelling.The top field is quite exposed, with the prevailing wind coming over from the South West, - almost directly from the Atlantic, while the bottom field has slightly more protection due to it’s sloping nature.

The land has not been cultivated for many years, but has been used for grazing livestock. Readers of my old blog may remember our sheep and cattle adventures, and the previous crofter ran sheep here for decades.

Since I took over the land, I planted a shelter belt of about 400 native trees down the south boundary fence of the top field. Eighteen months on, they have taken well, with very few losses, More recently I planted a much larger area of woodland at the bottom of the croft, in the marshy area - mostly alder, birch and willow. I also had a large pond dug, to help with the drainage issues there. It’s still early days, but most of the trees are looking good. I’ve lost maybe about a dozen to what I think is wind damage, exacerbated by the hard plastic of the vole guards that were placed over the saplings. Some of them seem to be growing back from the bottom, but others have not. I’t’s definitely a work in progress.

In the top field, up near the road, I’ve had a large 12 x 4 metre polycrub built. This is an amazing space and will make a huge impact on what I can grow here.My plan is to grow mainly fruit and tomatoes here, with room for a few extras. I already have a 6 mtr one at the side of the house, so I know how invaluable such a structure is in this climate. This smaller crub will be mainly for year round greens, salads and herbs, and sweetcorn in the summer. I’m also planning to have some raised beds put in at the side of the new crub, and take advantage of the shelter by planting fruit trees in the lee side. A potting shed is also in the works, so all in all that should give me a really good productive area. I’m not discounting a wee croft gate stand for the excess.

The grass has not been grazed for a couple of seasons, but will be cut, hopefully at the end of August. I was reluctant to have it done earlier, because I know there are nesting birds, as well as at least one corncrake. Once this is done, I am hoping to manage part of the land as a wildflower meadow, and another part as habitat for ground nesting birds. And more trees - oh and maybe another pond - and… well who knows what else? it seems every time I go out there the ideas flow.

Its taken me five years to work out what I want to do with this land - or maybe (and more likely) for this land to work out what it wants to do with me. I hope I’m worthy. Watch this space.

Anyway....

What’s been happening with you? Such a weird time. I’ve been ok, mostly - my normal life turned out to be pretty similar to lockdown life, so there hasn’t been much of a difference. School at home was more challenging, but we managed to get into a rhythm which worked for both of us.

So - here we are. Not really had much to say, to be honest. Just the usual things happening - working in the garden, knitting, reading, pottering around. I’ve been doing more work on the croft. I planted lots of trees down at the bottom field. I’m hopeful most of them will take, although it is a bit wet down there - I had a pond dug to try and help with the drainage, so we’ll see how that works. A pond is never a bad idea though.

I’m taking a break from social media right now, but I felt I wanted to dip a toe back in here - see how it is - whether my voice is still there or not. I do have things I want to say, but I’m not sure where I want to say them. I have a feeling that this might be the place. I’m a bit out of practice and it all feels a bit stilted, but - we’ll see…

Anyway -I’ve got lots of ideas and plans, and there will be some busy times ahead. Hopefully I’ll manage to share some of them here.

Potterings

We’ve had a couple of those crisp, mellow autumn days this week. Today was perfect - one of those days when I stepped out with a coffee and began just pootling about, pulling a couple of weeds here and there, deadheading the odd dahlia, and before I knew it, the washing was dry, light was fading and hours had passed.

I just love days like that

July Garden

I thought I would take you on a tour of the garden this morning. The sun is just coming out after a light shower so everything looks lush and green, and the newly mown grass smells amazing.

I’ve made a couple of improvements this year, one of which was to have the stone wall rebuilt. Part of it was bowing out alarmingly, and other parts were very tumble down. I’m so pleased with the work, and the care with which the builder placed each stone.

After the wall was finished, I cleared this bed, which had become a bit of a dumping ground and was full of weeds. It’s a tricky space to plant, being in dappled shade most of the day, and quite dry because of the trees. I envisage it as a spring garden - there are already daffodils planted, so I’ll add a lot more bulbs for next year. I’ve planted a few things - lupins ,roses,bergenia, hostas, moved a holly bush from the front and chucked a few packets of annual seeds around to give some colour while things assert themselves. I also put in lots of dahlias, but they’ve been a bit slow to get going. There’s still loads of couch grass, constantly poking up, so I’m pulling out handfuls every day. I guess it’s going to be trial and error for a few years with this bed - but gardening is a process and I’m looking forward to seeing what emerges.

Round the corner, though, the beds I made where the chickens used to live are becoming what I hoped they would be - a wild tangle of pinks, lilacs and purples. My main focus here is scented plants - roses, lavender, carnations and geraniums which now find themselvesjostling for space with verbena, grasses and lupins. I am definitely not a minimalist gardener.

i love this space - every morning I go out to see the roses, which are fabulous this year, but right now, these daisies are jumping out like eager puppies as I pass.

As you can see, my gardening style is quite - well, let’s just say “relaxed”. I have a bit of a clear out in early spring which is when I do my main weeding, and before I plant anything new. Otherwise, its at the stage where i just leave it to do it’s thing. I pull out anything obvious that I don’t want to seed, and I deadhead the roses, but that’s about it. It seems to work.

I’ve adored fuschia since ever I can remember - those incredible flowers, like ballerinas en-pointe. I never cease to marvel at them.

I’ve got a few things growing in pots too. Herbs, more lavender (you can never have too much) and scented lilies, which have yet to flower. The original photo I was going to use here was quite blurry, so I’m using this one instead, which shows pots of rose scented geranium and sweet peas, and the glow of a patch of yellow loosestrife behind the trees.

Did I mention lavender?

The polycrub is producing well and we’ve been harvesting every day. There was a fantastic crop of broad beans and early peas; we’ve just finished the broccoli and are impatiently waiting on the next sowing to be ready. Still, there’s kale, beetroot and courgettes to tide us over until then. And tomatoes, of course. I’m delighted with these because they are grown from seed I saved from last year’s crop - and they taste delicious.

Sweet Marie de Bois strawberries - the taste of summer, and they do so well undercover. We get a small crop in mid June and a second flush later. I’ve tucked some salad leaves in the back here too.

And, hopefully, a taste of things to come - carrot seedlings poking through, chard, beets and Brussels sprouts growing nicely.

So, we’ve come to the end of my garden tour for July 2019. I hope you enjoyed it. Always a work in progress, as a gardening should be. Continuity and change, that’s the way it goes xx

November Garden

I live on an island off the North West coast of Scotland. It is often wet and windy with temperatures on average a couple of degrees cooler than the rest of the country. Because of our maritime climate, we don’t see much in the way of heavy snow or frost; instead we get gales - a lot of those! But there can be the most glorious sunshine and clearest blue skies - enough to keep me happy, anyway.

There’s no doubt about it, though, growing anything here can be a challenge. A couple of years ago, I renovated the garden to make it easier to manage. One of the things I invested in was a polycrub, for growing fruit and vegetables. I’ve mentioned it a lot on my Instagram feed, but I don’t think I ever explained what it is - basically a rigid poly tunnel, made from polycarbonate and recycled feeding tubes from the fish farming industry. They were developed in Shetland (ask them about winter gales!) and are built to withstand very high wind speeds.

It is, quite simply, the best investment I have made. I can grow anything in there - its definitely the way to go here. It feels so sturdy and secure, the space is amazing and it just makes growing our own food so much easier and satisfying, while being undercover means that there is always something to harvest.

Right now, the fruiting vegetables are coming to and end, and the salads and leafy greens are coming into their own. There are still carrots, beets, turnips and leeks too. The tomatoes have been magnificent this year - so juicy and sweet. We’re still picking the odd one or two, but they are really over for this year. We’ll miss them. I grow a lot of greens and its great to nip out and pull a few leaves fresh for dinner. I often find I am craving for green stuff as the winter wears on. There wont be much new growth now until after the New Year, when the days begin to lengthen again, but there’s enough to keep us going.

I’ve planted garlic in one of the raised beds outside. The variety I’m trying this year is Vallelado, which I bought from a seller on ebay. It’s actually a really good place to get plants and seeds from. Many small growers and nurseries sell from there, and I’ve always been really happy with the quality.

The flower beds, which were ablaze with blooms in the summer, are shrinking back down to bare branches and blackened foliage, but there are still pops of colour to enjoy. Sedum Autumn Joy is so well named, and this one has been absolutely stunning this year. I moved it from another part of the garden, where it was being completely overshadowed by another plant, and it is certainly repaying me for the favour

Well, that’s my November 2018 garden tour - I hope you enjoyed it. Its my aim to do this on a monthly basis, and chart my progress as I go through the year. It’s where I started when I first had a blog, and so now I’ve come full circle! xx