A walk in the garden May 2006



This is probably the best month so far for colour in the gardens. There are Rhododendrons of all colours, including Rh. falconeri (White), loderi Sir Joseph Hooker (pink), Leo (red), Colonel Rogers (purple) and Titness Beauty . There are also blue, orange and yellow ones.

Azaleas both deciduous and evergreen are flowering all through the gardens. On the main drive bright orange and yellow azaleas and elsewhere Japanese azaleas in pinks white, purple, and red.

Work on the drains on the main drive is well under way and though it looks messy now hopefully it will be less wet in the future. Work is also being carried out on rebuilding a dry stone dyke and some trees have been cut down.

Other plants flowering are Embothriums, Abutilon, Sophora tetraptera microphylla , Enkianthus and in the Malcolm Allan garden the Pieris formosa forrestii is sprouting its new red leaves!

The woods are full of bluebells and in many parts of the gardens there are candelabra Primulas.

New help has been enrolled to keep pests, (slugs and snails) under control! Hedgehogs have been seen in the walled garden and the theatre garden. And adding to the general colour in the walled garden the peacocks have been displaying their plumage.