Date Range
Date Range
Date Range
May and I bought our house in Stirling in 1976. It was built in 1830 and the original garden was on three rather awkward levels. The person we bought it from had found it hard to sell the property and had hit on a wonderful idea. He bulldozed the old wash-house into the garden and levelled it with slag from nearby coal fired power stations. The idea was to make the house into an office and create a car park out of the garden.
Over the years May has grown many species of Asteraceae in her garden. We used to call these Compositae in the old days. Many such as the Dandelions and Thistles were of course self seeded and we both spent quite a few of our gardening hours trying to get rid of them.
Very early in the morning on a beautiful day in Autumn, the garden takes on an atmospheric glow.
Having disappeared from view during the cold Scottish winters, come June the tall foxgloves put in an appearance in various corners of the garden. May uses these flowers as structural columns. The photos include Purpurea, Snow thimble, Grandiflora and Lanata.
In fact May has always managed to get quite a few varieties to grow in abundance over the years.
From early Spring the hellebores begin to flower. Some of the evergreen species such as the Argutifolius seem to keep their shiny leaves in pristine condition throughout the year. Others reappear in Spring, sometimes even in Winter, as if by magic. Among the photos, Tutu, Foetidus Westerflisk, Blackthorn, Niger, Orientalis, Sternii, and Argutifolius.