Readers’ gardens
Spring blossom abounds – crab apple and pear trees are smothered in clouds of delicate fragrance, while wild cherry ( Prunus avium) is sprinkled with frothy, double, white blooms. Magnolia stellata has been striking this year, as have the camellias with their huge, deep pink flowers. Tulips are abundant and my favourite is ‘Angélique’, which dazzles among emerging bluebells and forget-me-nots. Red anemones add to the riot of colour.
My long border has been a ray of sunshine, filled with daffodils, yellow tulips and honey-coloured primulas. The flowering almond ( Prunus triloba) adds some height and interest with pompom flowers opening along its branches. Clematis montana ‘Elizabeth’ is thriving after its hard autumn pruning and it continues to spread and weave itself into any host it can find. I’ll keep it contained by pruning it after it has finished flowering.
Birds are feasting and foraging, and yellow aconites and alpine strawberries, below the feeders, are robust enough to stand up to the daily trampling by heavy wood pigeons.
My greenhouse is packed full with cuttings, freshly-sown seed and seedlings. Dahlia and begonia tubers are shooting away, as are iris rhizomes and three new bare-root peonies, ‘Madame Emile Lemoine’, ‘Monsieur Jules Elie’ and ‘Bowl of Beauty’. Sweet peas, beans and cosmos are desperate to be rehoused into the garden, but the weather has been too cold to plant them out. Tomatoes are slow but steady, but courgettes and cucumbers romp away.
My handyman and I spent half a day coppicing willow at Talamh Life Centre, a biodiversity co-operative near Coalburn. We were rewarded with lunch and four large bundles of willow whips. All our rods have now been used to make structures and fences in my own garden or at our community garden. I was also given some comfrey, which will be useful for making ‘tea’, along with broken pieces of willow.
My community group has been harvesting mustard and cress for ‘wee tasters’ with cream cheese and crackers, and is now preparing to plant out beans and salad.