Garden notes, end July - early August 2019

Over the past two or three weeks the garden has moved from being full of scents and colour, to a minimal palette of mauve, with a few pops of yellow as the rudbeckia starts to appear. The glorious Regale lilies have all gone now. They were quite spectacular this year, doubling in number from last. I think I will have to re-pot the bulbs, in the hope that they double again, in which case they will definitely need a bigger pot!

The weather has been hot and humid during July, and so far early August has brought thunderstorms and torrential downpours of rain. In July, I was doing my best to protect the Gentle Hermione roses from occasional heavy rain, but the blooms have all gone now so there hasn't been too much damage in the last few days. The sweet peas survived last night's onslaught from the skies, and they are flowering and smelling delicious this morning. The runner beans and climbing purple French bean, Cosse Violette, are beginning to fruit. Hooray!

We have been enjoying some of the Painted Lady butterflies which have arrived in the UK this summer, in their millions. They have been dancing around the lavenders in the outer garden, the fennel and Verbena bonariensis. Glorious!

The raised bed has been completely swamped by the nasturtiums! There are a few small yellow and green courgettes. The tomato plants are a law unto themselves this year! Not doing that well, but it's fine. Last year's haul is still sitting in margherita pizza sauce form in the freezer, so I am not too worried about those!

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In a vase on Monday - colour

The intense colours in my vase this week come from nasturtiums, sweetpeas and a single glorious zinnia! Their beauty and love of life speak for themselves and need no further words from me! Enjoy!

Colonsay postcards - on arrival

The first thing I do, once we have unpacked our car, which has been groaning with all the stuff we need for a week's stay in the holiday cottage, is head for the outer gardens of Colonsay House. It is a place of wonder for me! I particularly love the leaves of the giant rhododendrons. There are many different varieties, all planted in the early 1930s. The outer gardens are generally overgrown, having had little tending over the decades. That makes them even more magical! The old woodmill falls apart a little more every year, but that's fine by me because I love corrugated iron and especially if it's rusted! And of course the bees. Colonsay's beekeeper, Andrew Abrahams, has one of his apiaries on the edge of the pine wood. So lovely - the hum of busy bees and the heady smell of the pines. We are here - finally! Delayed by four months by the wretched virus, but now I am on holiday! Hooray!

Found items IAVOM

I am on holiday on the Inner Hebridean island of Colonsay. It is my happy place. Thoughts of Colonsay rattle around in my head each and every day I am not here! I haven't got a vase to share this week but some lovely things I have found over the past few days, which are just as beautiful as a vase of flowers! I hope you agree! Here are some leaves of giant rhododendrons, growing in the outer gardens of Colonsay House. Some skeleton leaves of magnolia. The dried stem of a kelp seaweed. A couple of conkers (can never resist those!), and a branch heavily populated by a number of lichens. The air on Colonsay is so clean that lichens flourish here!

the running wave

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