The sunlight came across the Loch and lit up all the golden yellow and glistening dark green of evergreens. It rained overnight and drops of water were glistening along branches and giving a zest to the air.
It has been cold this past week and grey, so to see so many shrubs with flower is a real lift for the sprit.
The early Witch Hazel, Hamamelis x intermedia Pallida is wonderful. It is close by the house, looking magnificent against a blue winter sky.
Walking through the garden yesterday, it is always a surprise how good the moss looks on the stone walls. When the leaves are off the trees, the moss seems to take centre arena and is a perfect foil for winter blooms and early bulbs.
I walked up through the steps and into the woodland, elated to see the upright stems and flowers of Mahonia x media Charity. These branches pull the arch of the sky down within reach.
The Sarcococca confusa; sweet box; behind the Font Stone wall brought a gasp of pleasure as I have never seen it looking so well and with lots of the small dizzily, fragrant flowers amongst the leaves.
The final surprise yesterday was Ilex…..a wonderful variegated holly…..dripping with berries and outlined against the sky.
It’s good to be home and how great is it that our garden greets us with such splendour.
Looks like it was a glorious day indeed, with lovely plants and blue skies beyond!
ReplyDeleteWe have been lucky enough to have some smashing blue days lately, interspersed with the lashing rain :)
DeleteYou had much better weather than we had down here in Edinburgh - it's been grey and dull down here!
ReplyDeleteThat sky is so blue!
That witch hazel is gorgeous - there is one on my wish list, I really need to get one!
You really must get one Angie, there are so many beautiful varieties & hybrids, but we find Hamamelis x intermedia Pallida to be one of the best with its strong delicious scent and reliable hardiness.
DeleteI hope the weather has cleared up a little for you :)
Ah well, back to the cold, never mind at least the sky was blue and plenty of interest going on in the garden. Charity I think is the best of the Mahonias.
ReplyDeleteHi Alistair :) It definately took the body a while to adjust after the 30+ temperatures in NZ, Though as Nancy Mitford said through the wonderful character of Uncle Matthew:
Delete"The worst thing in the world for the body is to settle down and lead a quiet little life of regular habits; if you do that it soon resigns itself to old age and death. Shock your glands, force them to react, startle them back into youth, keep them on tiptoe so that they never know what to expect next, and they have to keep young and healthy to deal with all the surprises."
Welcome back - how do the two places, so far-flung, compare? And BTW where exactly are you in that we feel a Scottish trip coming upon us for the mid summer?
ReplyDeleteHi Catharine, how lovely to hear you are thinking of a jaunt North of the border, we are located smack bang between Inverness and the well photographed Urquhart Castle. There are some directions and a map on our website page
ReplyDeleteIt would be great to meet you, do drop into the shed and say hi and we can show you around the garden if you like :)
I'm sure you already have it, but the 'Scotland's Garden Yellow Book' is a great resource for finding all the wee hidden gardens you may not otherwise fall across.
Gorgeous photos!
ReplyDeleteLove sarraccoca, the smells gorgeous yet to see one up here but maybe I'm not trying hard enough.
Have a great 2013 and you never know I may wander 'sooth' and call by!