My Himalayan love affair - Meconopsis

Blue poppies are things of dreams. They startle and spell bind each time you see them in flower.

The first blooms for this year, were there today. They are early; I usually expecting them late in May and into early June. The mild, sunny, dry spring has hastened their appearance.

I saw my first Meconopsis back in 1980’s at Jack Drake’s Nursery. John Lawson who ran the nursery then was a friend and mentor and a great plantsman. He knew how to grow plants to perfection, and a day discovering his trilliums and meconopsis was a rare and lasting treat.

Why are they so entrancing, it is the quality of the petals. They are large and satin textured. In a spring of white, yellow and then the pinks and reds of our early rhododendrons, suddenly they are there, a heart stopping blue.

There are various varieties and species of course, and it is always a surprise to remember our own common welsh poppy is a meconopsis, but these Himalayan beauties are sublime.

Over the years we have tried many meconopsis from seed. Some wonderful, many unsatisfactory

It is because of this latter state that I have just gone from this page, to the Meconopsis group web site and renewed our subscription. The Meconopsis group was founded in Scotland has undertaken the heroic task of sorting out the confusion of varieties and strains of Meconopsis that were throughout Scotland and UK gardens.

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Now we grow Meconopsis sheldonii types, which settle and become perennial for us. We have some clumps of Slieve Donard that have grown well for years and a very old plant of Rogers’s nursery, which has thrived on benign neglect.

I always tell people to feed, feed, and feed them. They are gross feeders, loving animal manures if you can get it, or that wonderful smell of spring, dehydrated chicken manure; nothing like it.

Over the bank holiday weekend, I have spent the 2 sunniest days of the year so far in the dappled shade of the woodland area of the garden. This is where the blue poppies are happiest, shade but sunshine too. They like a place where they do not get too dry, and most summers we can provide that alright. Think of them amongst Bowles golden grass, Millium effusum, or amidst a stand of variegated Solomon’s seal Polygonatum oderatum variegatum

Definitely time to get back to seed exchange and visiting other gardens to continue this love affair.

Taming the Sneaky Weed - Ground Elder

So it is now routine.
I rise around 7am and make my way to the kitchen to prepare coffee. I dress, still layers and wool, the early mornings are cool, and taking the hot coffee, go out to greet the day.

The days have been wonderful this spring. Dry, not freezing and bright, though often with a linger of mist on the Loch. The birds are of course so busy that they scarcely notice my passing. The dog is much slower getting up nowadays so they do not have to avoid his untargeted bounds and his nose poking through into bushes.

Most mornings I weed, I weed and weed and weed.

Ground elder is the target of my attention and there is something very satisfying, freeing a patch of ground from its encroaching spread. But is it is triumph of hope over experience. I know it will be back and I know I will miss some, but it still gives a glow of satisfaction as I drag another bag of weeds back towards the compost area. Yes we do compost it, but it needs to be in the centre of a heap and it needs to get Hot, so careful composting is the order of the day.

The other alterative is to leaves it to rot down in the bag. We turn all compost bags inside out so they are black side out, that means they not only look better they warm up better and so help composting start faster.

Of course you must be sure there are no holes in the bag…or it escapes. This is my secret fear, that ground elder will take over the entire woodland and strangle out all the bluebells and lady’s smock …this is the stuff of nightmares.

Hence I walk through the garden with my eyes downcast. I need to remind myself to breath and take in the fresh foliage and view, and I do, but I can’t afford to let the ground elder (or dandelions) slip.

Time for breakfast and as it is a bank holiday I will have some time to do some of that other most pleasurable part of gardening, planting.

Managing an Auricula Addiction!

Auricula Bradmore Bluebell

The Auriculas this year have gone all out, dazzling us with their vibrant colours, their fabulous stripes and their delicate farina.  I truly think they are looking the best I have ever seen them.  Varieties we have that only seem to flower once every ten years have burst into bloom, ones I had given up hope of ever flowering, have exploded into show stopping rubies and yellows and silvers.

I wonder at the cause of this magnificent show, was it our cold winter? are they enjoying the warm spring? did they like the fact we kept them outdoors all last summer?  Or was it our tiny wee earthquake last month that scared them all into flowering.
Whatever the cause, I am delighted to see them and have proudly assembled an Auricula theatre of our best looking stock plants at the nursery.  I cant believe that anyone could view them and not desire one of their own.  I can really see why they become so precious and are cherished in many old gardens.

Some of my personal favourites this year:
Janie Hill  - Gold centred, red shading brown. Just show stopping this year.

Auricula Janie Hill

Sirius - Maroon and pale yellow with a gold centre. So unique.  This year there have been some unusual brown colour breaks in the Sirius, so we shall propagate and fingers crossed may have some beautiful new colours to sell next year.

Auricula Sirius

CJ Hayson - Green with a good white edge. Lovely mealed leaves. An old variety, often painted for its classic looks.



Auricula C J Hayson

Blush Baby - Pink and tan stripes

Old Pink Dusty Miller - Lovely, fragrant washed pink blooms

So do grow some and see for yourself, they are very easy to grow just don’t starve them, put plenty grit in their compost and don’t keep them too hot or too wet.

We grow most of them in pots as they are easier to display and admire that way.

Keep them dry in winter and not too hot in summer. But, they are all hardy and some have done well in the open ground here with us in the Highlands for many years.

Apart from the Auriculas, this warm spring has also encouraged the not-so-delightful ground elder and a profusion of dandelions.  I always remember the old adage, "One year seeding, is seven years weeding" and from a glance around the garden, feel that we must have let a patch of dandelions seed their merry way all over woodland.  Early each morning I do my best to whisk them all out, but maybe I should try to promote dandelions as a fashionable border plant and stop fighting.

My walks now include a stick with which to beat the bracket into submission - I stride around thwacking the fresh curled shoots as they spring through the ground.  It may be an impossible mission, but I feel I have to try.

(A full list of all the Auricula we are selling this year - http://www.lochnessgarden.com/catalogue/htmcatalogue/Auricula.htm - be quick to get the rarer varieties )

I have also just started up a flickr group for everyone with an interest in Auriculas to add their photographs, would be great to see what everyone has growing

http://www.flickr.com/groups/auriculas/