2020 Vision

We might only be in the first few days of the new year but already the garden is stirring. Suddenly the snowdrops are making an appearance and the daffodils are through the ground. The recent mild weather has even encouraged a few buds to open early. There are new rosettes of leaves on the aqueligia and sedum and in reality spring is a mere 8 weeks away, although as we know at this time of year the worst of the winter weather could be yet to come and spring is never guaranteed to be on time. But there is plenty of planning to be done and some seeds to be planted now such as slow growing chillies.

Last year, I attempted unsuccessfully to germinate Musa hookeri (now M. sikkimensis) from seed. So this year, with new seeds I am trying again although after over a month in the propagator, there's no sign of them just yet. Sitting in a bag of damp vermiculite on the windowsill there are Trachycarpus fortunii seeds. The aim this year is to create a little more of a jungle vibe in the courtyard which gets all of the sun, but a fraction less wind! Its not a big space but I hope a few large leaved plants will add some much needed height and interest, how they will cope with the Scottish climate will be another learning curve.

Less tropical but just as interesting are some of the other prospects for this year. Digitalis Ambigua and Obscura will join the ranks as well as a gorgeous yellow Polemonium pauciflorum. Yellow does seem to be a bit of a theme for this year, from Asphodeline lutea to Verbascum nigrum and I am sure there will be a plethora of calendula and mecanopsis cambrica leading the way. Sitting in the greenhouse there are the Echium russicum which were started back in the summer of 2019 and will hopefully add a dash of vibrant red by the wildlife pond and also Knautia macedonica for a more intense jewel colour range. The Himalayan blue poppies that were grown from fresh seed the year before have now made good size plants and I'm hopeful that they might flower this year. The bed nearest the front path, also known as the cotinus bed seems to be morphing into a bit of a purple and peach kind of theme and had its first full year last year. So as with most of my new planting areas it was without much plan and is an evolving space, which is no bad thing in my book! For this year, there are new bulbs planted including a couple of Eremurus pinokkio 'Foxtail Lily'. To plant this weird, almost octopus like bulb I was sitting in the garden back in the autumn watching a planting-guide video on You Tube. I kid you not! Whether they come to anything or not remains to be seen, but I am very hopeful that the Iris 'Lion King' will be a success with both peach and purple petals it will set the theme. In the hot border the big addition is a couple of imperial crown fritillaries, fingers crossed they come up to.

In the bottom of the fridge in a very special growing medium for carnivorous plants are sarracenia 'Loch Ness' seeds. I'm a little worried that I didn't sow the seeds fast enough...they have spent much of the year sitting in a drawer in the living room, so hope they are still viable. So lots of new seeds to sow and new bulbs in. Loads to get ready for the garden open day on the 28th June.