Donald on Beechgrove

Donald was lured away from the nursery (Where he has been flat out like a lizard drinking, in the usual May madness) last night to be a panel member on Beechgrove Garden's - Potting Shed radio show at Aigas Field Centre.
Mark Stephen was the presenter and the panel consisted of: Carol Baxter, Donald Macbean and our very own Donald Davidson
The programme was broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland on Sunday 20th May at 12.05pm
Hereis the i-player link- usually available for 7 days:

Remember, you can come in to the nursery any day to quiz Donald in your own personal question time :)

Photograph copyright BBC

Donald is also available to come and do talks or lectures for your garden groups/societies, do give him a call on 01463 861 232 to see when he has space in his diary (All he asks is that transport and accommodation (If required due to distance from Loch Ness) is provided) 
As well as covering all manner of horicultural topics, Donald often lectures on his time living in the Falkland Islands, with many fabulous slides of the wildlife, the flora and the people.

Auricula Favourites

Has anyone written poetry about Auriculas….I have not seen it, hence I felt inspired to write a verse.

Catch your breath colour

Can it be real?

Tiny perfect picture

Can it be real?

Audacious, subtle, side by side.

Elusive scent, forms the memory first.

I’ll keep on with the day job.

It is like a birthday tea in the poly tunnel just now and you don’t know here to look first, a dizzying array, the dazzle of the alpine varieties and the solid globs of the doubles .
And then beyond the colour you begin to see the symmetry and the subtle beauty of the farina and the paler washed colours.

Do I have a favourites, of course I do, and they change from year to year.
That is partly because different varieties perform well each year…and surprisingly unpredictable.
So this year’s favourites:

Soft Blues: Wedgewood, Walton and Bradmore Bluebells

Bradmore Bluebell

Bold and Red: Favourite and Trudy and Rene…….All border auriculas, strong and beautiful.

Trudy

Fragrant beauties: The nicest are Queen Alexander and Old Clove Red.

Old Clove Red

Breath-taking Greens: Great Parrot. and the fancy Salad

Salad



Beautiful doubles: Golden Chatreuse, Nymph and the new Shaun

Golden Chatreuse

The show stealers: Sirius, Rodeo and Gee Cross

Gee Cross

And best of all …when you have left several auriculas in the room overnight, the scent…cloves, rose, capture it and remember.

Margaret

HUGE PRIMULA AURICULA SALE - ONE WEEK ONLY

 

April/May 2012

 

* * This offer is from 2012, we still get a lot of traffic to this post, so if you end up here looking for great prices on beautiful Auricula, do have a look at our online catalogue which has a great selection and offers throughout the year. 

CLICK FOR OUR CURRENT WIDE SELECTION OF AURICULA AT GREAT PRICES

For the greatest selection, come into the nursery and have a chat.

Old Fashioned Primroses

It is cold. After a wonderful sunny March as is often said “We have paid for it!!”
Cold nights, freezing dawns, cold days, five degrees….rain….lots of it…and snow on the tops, and sometimes even at our lower level.
You wake to a skim of snow that thaws over the morning.

It is the young birds that worry me. Birds nested early and enthusiastically in March. I hope they can keep those babies warm.

Plants just slow down. After a fast start, many spring plants seem almost to be suspended slowly opening their flowers and holding them close to retain a little warmth.

This year there has been markedly increased interest in the old fashioned primroses, one of our specialist groups of plants.

Primula Wanda

Primula Amy Smith

What are old fashioned primroses? Well they are cultivated primroses, often of some antiquity, all good garden plants and hardy.
Most are singles, some are wonderful old doubles and some are polyanthus form. 

This month, April, I am canvassing the villages around Loch Ness in my bid to be re-elected as the Local Highland Councillor, I am often looking over walls into gardens as I am going around.  I see lots of old primroses; they are the ones that have survived for generations, passed from mother to daughter, neighbour to neighbour.
I see Wanda, that great old magenta primroses, an old yellow polyanthus and recently a lovely pale mauve pink primrose, whose name no one seems to know.

Primula Lilacina Plena

Look across the range of primroses we sell, and you see some wonderful old varieties.
These plants do not have the zazzle colours, red, orange, yellow & pink that you can buy in supermarkets and garden centres, but they do have quiet subtle charm.


I have more than one favourite and the plants do look different from year to year.
This year, the pretty Amy Smith with soft pink flowers on dark bronze foliage and Lady Greer, which has dainty Polyanthus heads of biscuit yellow.

And of course then there are the doubles, how could I garden without the old alba plena and the glorious Quakers Bonnet, lilacina plena, but they really are another story and a wonderful one at that.
 Margaret

Plant of the month - Primula Auricula

Plant of the month - April
Primula Auricula

We have a wide collection of these extraordinary little plants.
Intense colours and subtle dustings of farina make them unique and exquisite.
Hardy, easy to grow and guaranteed to delight.
£4 - £6 each

If you too love Auricula and have some photographs squirreled away on your computer, consider adding them to our 'Auricula Addiction' group on Flickr.