It's been a bit of a battle in the garden the last few weeks. The weather has been distinctly unfriendly and today although the sun has now come out the wind is very strong so the plants are suffering a bit if they are in full bloom. Midsummer weather it ain't, even in the Outer Hebrides.
The yellow pansies have been putting up a good show for many weeks from my kitchen window even though some of the plants were actually blown out of the ground in one gale and the heavy rain has given them a real battering. They are hardier than I could have imagined.
I have said before that one of the thing that has helped me to enjoy isolation has been the garden. It's not only working in it that is a pleasure though. Just looking out of my kitchen window as I type this I often just sit and gaze at the view and admire the plants, the birds and the sea and mountains of the Mainland in the distance - hidden by haze in the pictures on this post taken today during a sunny few hours in between the rain.
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One of the joys of a garden, though, is getting to know the individual plants.
My little wild strawberries would take over the garden given a chance, creeping around under all the taller plants and popping up wherever there is a chink of light.
It's always a good idea to look at both the whole plant and then marvel at the the flower heads. This Persicaria campanulata or Lesser Knotweed is not much to look at in the garden because it's straggly. However if you look at the individual flowers they are pure works of art.
I am hopeless at remembering names off the top of my head even if I know the names somewhere in my memory banks. So I have started keeping photographs of those in my garden with names on them in the hope that they will eventually be recalled more easily. Two tiny flowers of great great beauty are:
When we look closely there are all sorts of creatures living off and on the flowers. In this case these were all on the Leucanthemum:
The first is, I think, a Myrid bug of some sort, perhaps a Common Green Capsid.
And these two are a fly (and don't ask me what sort) and a bug (a Myrid Bug again perhaps):
Hopefully Adrian or CJ or someone else who knows about bugs and flies can identify them although I know from my brother (CJ) that flies can be extraordinarily hard to identify without a very powerful microscope to look at parts no self respecting reader of this blog would look at.
Thank you, thank you for the walk in your garden this morning. It truly is a lovely garden and brought a smile to my face as though I were there.
ReplyDeleteJill, I'm very pleased that you enjoyed it.
DeleteJust love your view, thank you for sharing some new pictures of it, as it is absolutely delightful. Your garden is looking really lovely, and those two named plants are really pretty. Flowers really are quite incredible aren't they?
ReplyDeleteSerenata, they are, as you say, quite incredible.
DeleteMy idea of heaven. You’re lucky😀
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming, Love Cuttings, as this is your first visit here, that you love flower cuttings rather than newspaper cuttings. I am the first to acknowledge how fortunate I am.
DeleteOh wow, how lovely to see the result of all the work you've been putting into your garden this strange summer! Thanks for sharing! And I agree, every kind of floweris worth studying in detail as well as for its contribution to "the whole picture". As you know I don't have a garden, only a few plants on my balcony - but I enjoy walking in our public parks taking photos. ... I'm fascinated by your pink strawberry flowers, I've only ever seen white ones.
ReplyDeleteMonica, I know that you love flowers and I always enjoy seeing them through the lens of your camera.
DeleteAn interesting and well-illustrated post. The garden is a small wonder unto itself, and I can see why you derive such satisfaction from it, but when you start to explore the creatures for whom it is home, their entire world in fact, the interest expands exponentially. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks, David. The garden in the picture is just part of my garden and I encourage as much wildlife as possible (except slugs, and snails which I discourage I'm sad to say because in themselves they are quite attractive). My plot is right in the middle of uncultivated croftland which isn't even grazed these days so it really is wilderness and home to corncrakes and many birds.
DeleteA Corncrake for me approaches the level of mystical!
DeleteDavid, it's pretty special for anyone because they are now rare even here.
DeleteConsidering the climate conditions, your garden plants seem to be thriving and looking beautiful. I recognise some of the same plants that we grow here, with similar weather constraints.
ReplyDeleteDoes that little path in your third photo lead down to the sea?
JayCee, this year we have had several sunny and relatively warm (ie in the early teens) weather which has, together with me being in isolation, done wonders for the garden this year.
DeleteThe gravel path in the first picture does lead down to the sea in that it goes to a stile over my fence and down the croft. Below me there is a small sandy bay and then there is the beach near the pier in the third photo in the post. However I can walk onto the croft and down to the sea or I can go by a 'proper' path. Sometimes I walk along the road and down to the pier and then up the croft home.
Great view, lovely garden, Graham. I enjoyed the walk.
ReplyDeleteAs to bugs and flies. There will be snakes in paradise. Or at least a squirrel to upset the cart, and a few slugs and snails to work your Hostas into a piece of lace.
U
Thank you Ursula. There are no squirrels on Lewis and I deal with the slugs and snails. I'm not anticipating going to Paradise and there are no snakes on Lewis so I'm feeling pretty okay.
DeleteThe knotweed really is a work of art, just stunning in its delicacy. Your garden is very pretty and relaxing to look at. Your garden chair is in very good condition, considering it sits in all weathers as well as sea winds, do you put it away for winter?
ReplyDeleteThank you Kylie. I've had that chair and its partner for 15 years and each couple of years they have been varnished. This year I stripped all four garden chairs of all their varnish and re-varnished them so they are looking better than they have for a while. When I lived in New Zealand they got stored for the 6 months I was away each year. Now they just go in for the worst months (usually).
DeleteThanks Graham for that lovely wander around your garden. What a great idea of having photos with names on them, it would certainly help jog the old memory along. I once kept a small photographic herbarium, using a collage of different photos of each plant, when I was wanting to identify medicinal herbs correctly - I wonder what happened to it? Hope you get some summer soon :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it Margaret. My memory for names has always been bad unfortunately. We have had some very pleasant spells but they seem to have been a long time ago.
DeleteGreat garden and view. The garden takes effort but the view is for free.
ReplyDeleteRed, that is absolutely true about the view and I shall remember it.
DeleteYour view of the sea is fabulous. I can picture me and Billy (dog) walking there, along that sandy beach; combing for treasure.
ReplyDeleteCro, the view is even better when I can see the Scottish Mainland. The Island has some fabulous beaches and precious few people on them as a rule.
DeleteYour garden is beautiful, and what a backdrop. I could gaze at that view for hours.
ReplyDeleteJules, unfortunately I spend far too much time just gazing at the view.
DeleteCommon Green Capsid as you say. Daft as it sounds I suspect the fly is a Bluebottle.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Adrian. It's so often the case that the obvious is the right choice. Sometimes I just complicate things in my mind.
DeleteDon't we all. I still pick Trevor's brains if I get stuck. He is amazing as he spent his life building fast cars for Mercedes and for relaxation watches creepy crawlies. Not many he doesn't identify. He's pretty good on fungi and birds. I think his blog is still up but he got fed up with the thickos. THREE COUNTIES HERALD.. I still converse via email as we engineers appreciate a multi-discipline approach to life. It stops one getting hung up by trivia.
DeletePS. I have a fall back position. Take an interesting shot and just call it fly, beetle, bug. There was a time that some smart arse would do the heavy lifting for one and ID it perfect and in minutes. Those days are gone. Blogger is mostly self opinionated idiots. I have cut my reading list down to you and a few others and am happier for it.
DeleteAdrian, I'd forgotten about Trevor and his identifications and comments on your blog. He seems to have abandoned his blog several years ago.
DeleteFor a 'battered' garden that is truly magnificent. We guess you have to design in all sorts of nooks to create shelter for plants and for yourself too, so that must really give the place some 'shape' and what a view to frame up.
ReplyDeleteTigger, I have been fortunate and although I've lost some plants the others have filled the gaps.
DeleteThanks for sharing these lovely pictures of your garden Graham. How fortunate you are to live with such an ever-changing marine view. Balm for the soul.
ReplyDeleteThank you YP. I am, indeed, fortunate and I try never to forget it. Mind you sometimes in the middle of a hurricane when the tiles are rattling and the conservatories are creaking I do have my moments.
DeleteYes, Yorkshire. Balm indeed. I am finding nature very consoling and helpful right now.
DeleteOh, your garden is looking absolutely glorious and yes, working in our outdoor spaces during lockdown was a sanity saver for many.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the current weather is both trashing much of what was done early on, and making it impossible to get out and try to enjoy what’s left!
I also use the blog to ‘remember’ plant names, it has come in terribly useful over the years :-)
Thank you, Jayne. It's unfortunate that we are all having bad weather even by our usual bad weather standards. I can never recall having gale force winds at this time of year before.
DeleteLovely sea views. I would go down to the beach and sit every day.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I have no idea why I don't. I used to go down far more than I do now. I have a feeling I have blogged the walk down and back but you have made me promise myself to go down again when the wind and rain stops.
DeleteAs an aside I was wondering why I missed your comment on my last post until much later. I went back to find your email and I couldn't. I didn't see the email for this comment either and I've checked and it's not in my inbox or my junk either. It's very weird.
Your view is stunning. I'd find it very difficult to drag my gaze away from it...it's captivating.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is beautiful, too...it's a credit to you and your hard work.
We had quite a bit of rain here over the weekend (not as much as some areas in NSW, though). And then, as predicted, almost right on cue, during Sunday night strong westerly winds arrived causing the temperatures to drop considerably. The past 36 hours or so have been quite chilly. My furry mates have been snuggling up close.
Keep taking good care, Graham. :)
Thank you, Lee. Wouldn't it be lovely if we could all have the weather we want? In reality it would be great if we could all have seasonal weather and then we would know what to expect. This morning I put on a winter jacket just to go and feed the birds. We have gale force North Westerly winds.
DeleteStay safe.
You are the perfect gardening package, Graham. Knowledge, hard work and perseverance. There is so much of each in your garden. How you achieve such results in your location is inspiring. Both your garden and view are beyond compare.
ReplyDeletePauline, you are making me blush. It was all a reaction to being in self-isolation and I have been very happy as a result. I've always enjoyed gardening but never had (which, of course, means made) enough time to keep the garden up to scratch every spring.
DeleteLate to join the party, but better late than never, right?
ReplyDeleteWith the view you have from your kitchen window, it is little wonder you sometimes just sit and look. The view from my kitchen window is far less spectacular, and yet I find myself looking out every time I am in the kitchen, even just to fetch a glass of water. Right now is an exception - it is rather hot there (32 Celsius yesterday, and similar today), and so I have the blinds down until after lunch time, when the sun has moved on to the other side of the house.
You are right, even seemingly modest-looking plants are works of art close up.
It's always good to see you, Meike, late or not. You do have skies out of your window though too. I say skies because they can vary so much as your photos have shown.
DeleteBeautiful garden with a beautiful view. The daisies are spectacular!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Maywyn.
DeleteIt is so hard to imagine anything in your calm and sunny looking garden being battered by gales, even though of course I know it must be. That view would keep me happy too. I adore your flower pictures. I have been noticing lately how gorgeous even rather ordinary looking wild flowers are once I look closely. The clumps of little blossoms on the Lesser Knotweed are quite enchanting. Thank you for a really super post.
ReplyDeleteJenny, as I look out of my window at the taller plants and some of the less stalwart plants leaning over at between 10 and 30 degrees in a Force 5 wind (with greater speeds on their way) in the middle of summer I sometimes wish that I was in a less exposed site. But I am conscious that I can't have everything. I have my views.
DeleteOh, and I also love the insect posts. I've recently joined Buglife and have started to feel rather protective of insects - wonderful little creatures and quite essential to our lives, even though personally annoying at times!
ReplyDeleteI've just had a look at Buglife (I'd not heard of it) and it's very interesting. I shall return to it. I have always had an interest in insects but my brother is very much involved with any and all flora and fauna.
DeleteLovely photos of plant and fun life. You live in a very beautiful place, the sort of coastal spot that many of us dream about. I imagine it will hold its beauty whatever the weather.
ReplyDelete