Extreme Gardening

Tag: hydrangea

  • An Indian Summer

    This second flowering of Geum has produced a dramatic background for a mature Green Shieldbug. I don’t imagine that this is the safest place to be if you need to be inconspicuous, but it makes a lovely picture. This has been a bumper year for Puffballs and Earthballs and they have expanded their territory to…

  • The Little Picture

    This Vapourer moth caterpillar has picked the perfect background to show off its dramatic coat – you could hardly call it a disguise! It always amazes me that I can find just one of these creatures a year when there must be many more around for the species to survive. This one was on a…

  • As Summer Ends

    I think that this has probably been the best year for butterflies since I first moved here over thirteen years ago. All the usual favourites such as the Red Admiral, Peacock Butterfly, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady and Speckled Wood are in abundance in the flower garden and copse, but there have also been many more…

  • All Creatures

    I have always kept some ragwort in the garden since I first found the caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth and realised that I had a treasure trove on my hands. A few winters ago, I used up the last of a stack of wood in my woodpile and inadvertently uncovered dozens of moths who I…

  • Summer Colour

    This pink Leptospermum scoparium ‘Martini’ was a new addition to the garden last year. It tends to be delicate and I had no hope that it would survive the cold winter. It is past its best in this photograph, but to my surprise it is thriving. If it is like its relatives in the garden…

  • Salt is Not Always Savoury

    I am usually very alert to any weather ‘events’ in the garden, but seem to have missed a recent dry wind from the south with its usual unwelcome gift of salt. The black leaves on the hydrangea are always a hint, but this time the Rosa Rugosa seem to have suffered as well. This is…

  • Birds and Other Creatures

    The pheasants have made their presence known again as they join the foxes in their noisy calls. Now all we need are for the crows to return and the raucous section of the winter orchestra will be complete. The long dry summer has distorted the foliage in the garden and some of the trees changed…

  • A Benign But Dry September

    The nights are drawing in, but it is the changes in the wildlife that to me are the signal that winter is on the way. The goldfinches have started to return to the garden and I do hope that I have as large a flock as last year. The slugs are less evident although by…

  • Summer’s End

    I have never really been able to replicate the pleasure that I got as a child from growing my own vegetables in my own plot in the garden. Years later, in the North East of Scotland, it seemed relatively easy to grow vegetables despite the long harsh winter and frozen ground. In the short window…

  • New Beginnings

    I have a love-hate relationship with the Inula Hookeri which dominates whatever part of the garden it inhabits. Its flower is interesting from the moment it appears, but it spreads rapidly and will quickly push out anything growing near it. Each winter I have the arduous task of containing it, muttering under my breath as…