ROCK ROSES - The Helianthemums

The Sun loving Rock Roses
The rock roses have always been favourites of our and a look at our catalogue will show a whole range of varieties to choose from.

We love them because they thrive in our sandy, sunny beds and look just wonderful when the sun comes out through June and July. The yellow form is one of our native plants and that would explain a lot.

They grow fast and have a great mat-forming habit that excludes weeds.  What more can you ask?  Well to top it all they really put on a great show.
A couple of years ago we; well Donald really; decided we needed a new wall in the car park area and once neatly finished, we discussed what to grow there. Of course we could plant a new rockery, but knowing all too well how difficult it can be to keep up with weeding we came around to a Helianthemum wall.  It is a great success as you see.

My favourites are the vivid orange colours such as Henfield Brilliant and the rich yellows, like  Sterntaler, but there are days when the clear pink of Rhodanthe Carneum,. Or the modest double pink flowers of Annabel attract the eye.

There was a range of Helianthemum named for some of Scotland’s highest mountains, the Bens. Hence we have Ben Macdhui and Ben Mhor and Ben Ledi etc. You can collect them after you climb them 
Two other Scots specials are Broughty Beacon and Broughty Sunrise, both named for an area of Dundee and they really do have the bright flickering colours of the ends of the day as they would be seen along the Firth of Tay. 

Maybe the manufacturers of Iron Brew should sponsor a new variety as that particular orange would look very well as a rock rose colour.

Making a beautiful christmas wreath

Things you will need:

• A wreath base - pre-padded is easiest and best, I find it is easiest if you work with it dry and soak it if you want to once you are finished. I use 12" diameter.
  
• Florist wire - thin enough to twist easily. I cut mine into easy to use pieces about 30cm long. Also some thicker wire for hanging and adding accessories.


• Foliage (Pine, Spruce, Cedar, Fir, Holly, (plain and variegated) Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Bay, Lavender, Tree Heather are all great, but just work with what you have around) think about your colour scheme before you start, silvers, golds, greens, try to stick to it as you go and the finished result is so much nicer
• Ribbon, berries, pine cones ( sprayed gold or silver if you fancy it), cinnamon sticks, dried orange slices, flowers etc..


• Secateurs


• Gloves to protect your fingers - thin enough to give you flexibility, but thick enough to stop the worst of the prickles, I use gloves that they use on the oil rigs and they are awesome.


• A large cup of tea and a radio ( Although the tea will soon be full of pine needles)

Start by building up a small bunch of foliage in your hand, As you can see in the photos below, I lay down the pine or spruce first, this gives a lovely spray that will cover the base. On top lay down some holly, lining up the spine of the holly with the spine of the underlying spruce, then build up from there with more colour, texture and bulk until you are holding a lovely little bunch in your hand.

If you are adding berries, do so last as they will be hidden by leaves.

Hold off on adding cones or flowers or ribbon until the end.

Take your small bunch and lay it along the curve of the wreath, don't worry if the excess stems lay off one side, they are easily cut off once you have tied the bunch on, but what you don't want is too much of the foliage hanging over, try and keep the majority of the bunch along the line of the wreath base.

Take a piece of wire and lay it over a point where it will tightly hold all the stems together, bend it round both sides of the wreath, trying to tuck it behind leaves so it is as invisible as possible. Turn the wreath over and twist the wire tightly together on the back. Cut off the ends or just bend them in out off the way.

Trim off the excess stems and then start on your second bunch.

In this example, I have continued the same foliage all the way round, but sometimes I alternate what i put in the first and second bunches, IE : berries on one, juniper on the next, Or eucalyptus on one, pytsphorum on the next. Yet I suggest you keep your base and your holly selection similar all the way round for a nice overall effect. Once you have you second bunch ready, place it carefully down so it covers the stems and the wire of the first bunch and continues round the curve of the wreath.

Continue the same process all the way round the wreath, it takes me 8-10 little bunch to cover the whole circle. You can do it in less if you are going for a more loose and sprayed out wreath, but i like mine tight and neat.

When you are adding the final bunch, trim the ends before you slot it in, then lift up the flap of foliage from the first bunch you laid down and carefully slide in the last bunch so the whole wreath is complete and there is no distinguishable gaps, stems or wire.

Observe your wreath from a critical arms length, trim any little bits that need tidied, then decide if you want to add more accessories.

To add pine cones, I use a thicker piece of wire, wind it around under the spines of the cone and then spike the remaining wire through the base to pull the cone tight into the spot you have chosen.

Remember that any extras you add will look more pleasing to the eye in 3's or 5's.

If you have plastic berries that you want to add, it is simple to make a 'pick' - lay a few berries out on their wires, twist the wires together and then attach the whole with a piece of thicker wire and spike it through the base. Plastic flowers and ribbons are simple to add in the same manner.

Be inventive, use tiny Xmas decorations, wrap thin ribbon all the way around the wreath, hang a star in the centre, spray the whole thing with sparkles ..........

To make a simple hook to hang your wreath up, choose where you want the top to be, and at this point on the back, thread a piece of the thicker wire through the wreath to make a loop, twist the ends tightly and it should be ready for you to show off and hang on your door.

You could try a few other shapes made with chicken wire filled with moss, such as the hearts above and the crescent bough below, made on the frame of a coathanger which makes a great alternative decoration for your door over christmas.

Good Luck - Merry Christmas :o)

Making an easy wreath bow

For years and years I have been shredding my fingers on holly and making wreaths for the Christmas farmers' markets. During this time I have picked up a bunch of knowledge on what foliage works best and lasts longest, which colours look great together and how not to get wire under your fingernails.

So now that my speed and technique have improved, I thought I would pass on a wee bit of experience to anyone else venturing into the spiky but rewarding world of making your own wreaths. It is especially nice when you use all the greenery from your own garden.

I am running a workshop at the Nursery on Sunday, so I will post up the final 'How to..' when I take some photos that night, but till then I though I would put down a few tips on making the accessories, firstly the bows.

Now there are people out there, who can do a wee bit of dexterous origami with a piece of ribbon and wham bam hey presto, they have a tight neat bow, but i am not one of them, and find my attempts come out rather lopsided and loose. Therefore I have made my own method which is quick and neat and holds up to the tough Scottish weather.

So here we go - step by step, with three different colours so you can easily see what's what, though of course you use whatever you like. My ribbon is not cloth, but some florist plasticy style malarky that is very easy to tear to size length ways.

The longest piece(Red) is twice as long as you want your finished bow to be, ie: cut a big long piece for a big bow, or a wee piece for a wee bow, though there is a limit to how small you can get without it becoming ridiculously fiddly.

The second longest (Green) is going to be the tails of the bow, so again judge accordingly, but i find about 2/3 the size of the main piece is about right.

The wee piece (Gold) is to cover over the centre of the bow at the end, so as long as there is sufficient to tie, it doesn't need to be much.

And a wee piece of wire, thin and pliable is best, again I have some florist stuff, but e-bay is a great resource for cheap crafty stuff.

*
Fold the longest piece in half so the ends over lap and the holding the overlap in the centre of the bow, concertina the ribbon together till it is gathered tightly in the centre, but flaring out at the ends, it may take a wee bit of practise to get it the way you want, but i find the more folds the better for the end result.

(note my dirty gardeners fingernails - very attractive)

When you have it folded tight, use the piece of wire to wrap around the central point to bind it together, leave a tail of a few cm of wire sticking out the bottom.

Take your medium sized piece of ribbon and cut out a triangle off each end to make the points on the end of the tails, then pinch the ribbon together at the half way point and tie it in with piece of wire so it fits nicely under the bow, again jiggle it about until it lies the way you want and the wire is all wrapped round making the whole thing secure. You could stop at this stage and have a nice wee bow to use for decoration, wreaths etc, but to cover the wire and make the whole think even nicer, i use the smallest piece to cover over the join, tying it round the back and snipping off the ends. And you are done - Tah Dahhh!!!

Another wee piece of wire on the back to attach it to whatever you like, or string to hang it, or glue to stick it - go crazy!

Autumn arrives at Loch Ness

Standing at the entrance to the garden and looking up into the lush foliage and native woodland, the changing colours of autumn simply make you smile.

There is the the Barbie pink of the Nerine set off by a backdrop of smoldering orange Acer leaves.

The Tulip Tree (Liriodendron) shows off its lemon yellow leaves, contrasting beautifully with the brilliant red berries of the rowan. And above the flashes of harvest yellow Rudbeckia, the shimmering mountain of white Eucryphia covered in dancing Red Admiral butterflies. It is just lovely.

We have had a run of mild sunny days, but with November starting to peek over the horizon it will not be long before the first frosts creep in.

At this time of the year Dad (better known as Don) has been propagating perennials, placing the most tender into the polytunnels for a little added protection.

With the help of our fabulous staff Jo, Shelia and Rebecca, He has also been doing the long and rather tedious annual stocktake, cleaning out some of the summer borders and doing what he calls 'General maintance and reflection'.

It seems to be a wonderfully abundant Autumn, the trees are all hanging heavy with berries, Rowan, Crabapple, the Cotoneaster, Pyrocantha, Hawthorn, Rosehips, Holly, Sloes and Elder have all got great clusters of fruit, still on the bough due to the late arrival of all the migratory birds who have normally stripped the trees bare by this time of the year. Although Daddy said he saw the blackbirds feasting today, so maybe by the end of the week there will be lots of fat birds and light branches.

Hamish has been attending farmers markets all year from Dingwall to Dundee. Next Saturday (the 24th Oct) we will be at a Highland Produce Market in Inverness Falcon Square as part of the Homecoming Scotland celebrations. We will be selling herbs to tie in with the theme of food and drink, and I have been painting terracotta pots with wee herb pictures that I will sell for people to plant their herbs in and keep them in the kitchens.