Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
SRGC Shows and Events => Events => Topic started by: shelagh on June 11, 2007, 01:15:11 PM
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Hi there one and all,
Just wanted you to know we had a wonderful weekend in this lovely corner of Scotland. Excellent company, Ann and Sandy, Liz and Maggie, Abby and Marion. The Cally Palace Hotel was rated very highly, daren't get on the scales just yet! Over the next couple of days I hope to give you a flavour of what we saw. If it had a label I'll name it, if not you'll have to guess. I'm starting with The Crichton garden in Dumfries a peaceful oasis in which to eat our picnic after racing up the M6.
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Glad you enjoyed the weekend, Shelagh, thanks for the chance for those of us who missed it to get a flavour.
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Hi Maggi,
Glad you like it, here is the next instalment Glenwhan garden. Not many I'm afraid I think my camera must have had a snooze.
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Shelagh,
Obviously beautiful gardens. Many thanks for sharing. The kalmia is particularly lovely.
Paddy
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Lovely pictures Shelagh, keep 'em coming. We are taking a break in Dumfries and Galloway in September so it is nice to see what it is like.
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Thanks David,
Here is instalment 3. Our friend Howard and Judy Humphreys moved to Leswalt near Stranraer 2 years ago. Most of their time has been spent redesigning their house but now they have nearly finished the garden, so you could call it a work in progress.
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Thanks for inviting us to join in Shelagh !
Beautiful pictures and I'm joining Paddy on that stunning Kalmia, it's gorgeous !
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Super pictures Shelagh and what a lovely trip you had. I envy you that lot :)
May I suggest a couple of names? Pic 1 is, I think, Lilium pyrenaicum. LOvely scent as you walk past it but if you bend down and take a good whiff, it is foul, really sick-making!
I think the second one could be Kalmia angustifolia or a hybrid of it. Lower than the others and very slim leaves.
And if Mark's looking in here, the iris in pic no. 4 is probably I. clarkei or perhaps a hybrid but certainly very close.
Does anyone have a name for that deliciously cool blue flower in pic no 8?
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Hi Lesley,
Thanks for the encouragement. The cool blue flower was new to us as well. Rather a scrambler with quite a spiny stem and leaf covering as well, I'd like to know what it was.
Anyway here is the next batch, these are from Logan Botanic and will probably have to come in 3 waves. I have to say it is one of my favourite gardens.
Shelagh
SRGCweekend2 034.jpg
SRGCweekend2 035.jpg
SRGCweekend2 053.jpg
Actinidia pilosa 041.jpg
Amsonia illustris 071.jpg
Arisaema consanguineum054.jpg
Blechnum tabulare 059.jpg
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Logan 2nd wave.
Callistemon viridiflorus 045.jpg
Cestrum fasciculatum 042.jpg
Clianthus 048.jpg
Corokia cheesemanii051.jpg
Dianella tasmanica 046.jpg
Don't know 038.jpg
Drymis wintera058.jpg
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Logan 3rd wave.
Echium 052.jpg
Lilium mackliniae039.jpg
Manulea tomentosa056.jpg
Meconopsis sheldonii Dawyk037.jpg
Meconopsis sheldonii Slieve Donard 040.jpg
Ozmanthus 069.jpg
Philesia megallanica rosea 036.jpg
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Late on Saturday afternoon we visited the Cally Garden Nursery this is based in the walled garden area which used to provide all the produce for the big house, now the Cally Palace Hotel where we stayed.
IT is mostly herbaceous perennials but it was a riot of colour and complete enjoyment for all plats-people.
Shelagh
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Sorry forgot the pictures
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2nd wave of Cally Gardens
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More wonderful plants, Shelagh.
Many very beautiful but it is the Dictamnus album which catches my eye. I have grown it many times and have always enjoyed it only briefly as it inevitably succumber to winter wet with me. Of course, why it should succeed in Scotland then is a puzzle - world climate change is my excuse. It is years since I tried it; time to try again, I think.
Paddy
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More lovely things, especially the white - or nearly white - Roscoea cautleoides. And I wish my Philesia would flower like that. I wish my Philesia would flower at all ???
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Lesley,
that cool blue flower is Borago laxiflora and can be a pernicious weed in our climate so be wary if you decide to try it in your garden!
cheers
fermi
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Thanks for the identification Fermi, I've not heard of that plant before but I agree that from what I saw it could become a bit of a thug.
Well here are the last pics from the weekend. On Sunday we visited Brian Davidson's (organiser) vertical garden in Gatehouse of Fleet. It is very steep and rocky but he has a small vegetable patch at the bottom where it's flat.
Then on to a garden at Barnhourie Mill at Sandyhills belonging to Dr. Mavis Paton which has some old established Rhodos.
You can tell how much we packed in to our time in Scotland, we only went for a weekend but it has taken a week to post the pics.
Shelagh
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And finally Barnhourie Mill.
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And finally finally, the entire company except for the photographer ofcourse.
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A small but very select band enjoying a wonderful weekend; it seems even the weather was good to you! What lovely gardens. I am ashamed to say that that corner of the country is pretty much a mystery to me, so I am pleased to have been afforded this chance of a cyber visit... thank you Shelagh!
By the way, I think that is the first time I have seen Brian (your one!) without a shirt and tie! Was the weather really hot or was he just feeling totally relaxed? ;)
PS you will see I have amended your post... the garden at Barnhourie is owned by Dr Paton.... she, like most Scottish Patons, is a Paton not a Peyton!
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Hi Maggi,
Thanks for the amendment.
Brian was horrified to see a picture of himself without a jacket and tie, he says the paparazzi get everywhere these days and he assures you that he will be 'properly dressed' the next time he sees you.
Shelagh
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Not quite sure where to post this as we visited on May 19th - not enough hours in the day to have done this earlier :)
We were welcomed with open arms at Glenwhan, apparently the site was bought over the phone without it having been seen!! The first picture below shows what lies beyond the end of the garden and is an indication of how the whole area looked before the planting started. Help was given by Hilliers nurseries and I am sure you agree it is beautifully designed and planted. Three general views to start with:
beyond the garden
general view
round the back
I even was taken by the hybrid rhodos Maggie ;D
rhododendron Logan Damaris
rhododendron Paprika Spice
rhododendron Percy Wiseman
rhododendron Pointe Defiance
rhododendron Saffron Queen
and a couple of other things
Embothryium lanceolatum
Schisandra rubriflora
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It looks a lovely place Brian.
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HI Brian,
Great pictures. The Schisandra is a new one on me but it looks absolutely beautiful, though it is probably too big for our pocket handkerchief.
Shelagh
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Yes Shelagh I think it would not be appropriate in a small garden :) It is a lovely chinese plant and I would quite like to have it ... but, like you, no room. Glenwhan is a definite garden to go back to, and so is Corsock House near Castle Douglas. A Scottish baronial affair with a very large garden charmingly created so that there are pockets of cultivated garden amidst the more natural areas. Water for the fountain below, and the house, came from a loch at a higher level and the filtration house was of woven twigs! I loved the statue of the bagpiper. Just a taster then,
entrance drive
bagpiper
gravity fed fountain
gazebo
rhododendron cinnabarinum
bluebell
bluebell wood
bridge
lakeside temple
reflections
I hope you like them.
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Whoops fingers slipped!
bluebell wood
bridge
lakeside temple
reflections
Sorry about that!
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These are all lovely Brian. Obviously a beautiful pair to add to one's list of places that must be seen. wish I could :'(
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Sorry Lesley I shall pile on the agony! We couldn't travel 400 miles without visiting Logan. Enjoyable as ever here are a few things that caught my eye. One of the first, near the entrance was a clianthus - it seems to be in flower at almost whatever time of year we have visited, in the garden we came across a large Peony rockii looking absolutely stunning. Nearby was Anemone trullifolia which I was quite taken with. A general view of the seat and pool near to which was a wonderful stand of Asphodelus ramosum and Camassia leichtlinii atrocaeruleus - this last a really good colour. Behind us was Beschorneria yuccoides which wouldn't win a prize in a beauty contest, it must have been a new planting as I saw one earlier in May in Norfolk which was an enormous clump. A real contrast to it was Bulbinella hookeri.
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One or two others - I was intrigued with Drimys andina, such an unusual flower. Echiums were in abundance, I am amazed at the variety there are, this one is Echium nervosum. I had never before come across Holboellia latifolia, I thought this one was absolutely beautiful and must go on my wish list :) Another unknown for me was Jovellana violacea, sadly by the time I got to the sales area the rest of the group had bought them all. Not to be outdone I found one at Cally Gardens! We all loved the meconopsis - not the easiest of things to grow in dry old Norfolk. I thought primula pulverulenta was a good one and found it near the gunnera area - I have hundreds of photos of gunnera - why they fascinate me I don't know. We have two in our small garden, the largest grows to about 4 cms! Lastly in the wall there were planted a number of a large grey leaved plant, can anyone identify it please?
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Threave, owned by the National Trust for Scotland, is host to a gardening school. It is one of the few National trust gardens that I have enjoyed ;D
The most impressive Davidia I have seen was in full flower (bract) and beside it were a group of trilliums. Also pictured here Gentiana lutea and some slate pots. walking round I came upon this unknown (to me) yellow flowered shrub. The rock garden was undergoing some replacements but nonetheless quite good.
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Our exhausting weekend drew to a close with a visit to Cally Gardens, I would love to show you some pictures, but I was like a child in a sweet shop and didn't have time to take any ;D
It was a wonderful walled garden and a most interesting nursery. The only picture I took was of Anemone faninnii standing at about 60 cms, of course it was not available in the nursery and I understand that you need very fresh seed :'(
The last visit was totally different, a most unusual garden, not my sort but it was most interesting to visit.
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...and here are the pictures, sorry!
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A terrific tour Brian I have thoroughly enjoyed it. It is interesting to see that very few of our pictures overlapped. Just goes to show that you could visit a garden every week and see something different. It always amazes me when people say 'Oh I've been there' as if it is always the same.
Shelagh
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Thank you Shelagh, sorry to have hijacked your thread ::) Yes I do agree with you it is amazing how quickly gardens change and you can go back again and again. Ours is being visited in a fortnight and it is difficult to see what will be in flower then, so much of what is out now will be over but there is always something coming. I'm glad you enjoyed it, we have had some wonderful breaks in this area and look forward to more.
Brian
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And many thanks again for all the above. The yellow unknown rings a bell but I'm not answering at present. Something will click at 3 in the morning.
The grey leaved plant Brian, is Senecio candicans. It may also be called S. magellanica but I think candicans is correct. In a talk to my local group once, I saw an amazing slide of it in full (yellow daisy) flower, in its native Falkland Islands. The plant was groundcovering a little rocky peninsula and the south Atlantic ocean was crashing onto the beach, all around the plant. It can be grown by seed or root cuttings as well as stem cuttings.
Be careful with your Jovellana. It's tender, even here, a bit. Nice though. And I like the Hollboellia too. Wonder what it's related to.
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Thanks Lesley, I thought it was probably a senecio of some sort. I am sure the wall (where a sequence of them was planted) will look stunning when they are in flower. I was warned about the Jovellana - he said it came easily from cuttings and to overwinter it in a cold greenhouse - let's hope he was correct. I've planted it against the south facing wall of the house and taken cuttings just in case ;)
Crug farm plants say Holboellia latifolia (Lardizabalaceae) it's potentially the hardiest form to be introduced into cultivation from near the Tibetan border at 3150m. A vigorous woody-stemmed evergreen, twining climber to 6m., with leaves composed of five or more leathery dark green glossy leaflets. Bearing in spring an abundance of separate male (flared pale pink) & female (plump, pale green), highly scented flowers, followed by purple sausage-shaped edible fruit. Best grown in a sheltered site out of freezing winds in a fertile well drained soil with some moisture retention.
So I'm thinking about where I could possibly put it in a small garden!!!