Helga's Garden at Oakbank

Helga - Mouse Whisperer.MPG

2011-09-27T10:34:00.001+01:00

It took me a long time to discover how to do this!

Closing Day

2011-08-31T15:36:00.006+01:00

I'll be closing the garden later today until 2012. Things have been quite quiet for the last two weeks since the children returned to school. I was very flattered, though, to have a return visit from Kirsty who wrote the lovely note in my visitor's book in June (see below). I showed her a video I made of a wood mouse who lives on the steps to the bird and squirrel feeders. She liked it very much, which decided me I should add it to You Tube. I'll add it to this blog as well. One of the joys of this garden is the wildlife and we have many voles, shrews and wood mice, as well as all the birds, regular red squirrels and occasional visiting hedgehogs. This particular mouse, quickly christened "Minnie", took to coming to see me whenever I filled the squirrel and bird feeders and soon became a "regular". The whole video is 9½ minutes long but I don't suppose anyone will want to watch it all the way through.

Totem Pole

2011-06-04T19:59:00.004+01:00

The girls have repainted the totem pole, formerly in the Secret Garden, and it has been repositioned nearer the Art Gallery at the South end of the garden.

Flaming June?

2011-06-04T15:22:00.019+01:00

In these parts we expect our best weather in May and early June. This year, May was a desperate disappointment - cold and persistently wet but, despite this indifferent weather, I had the greatest number of May visitors ever. Let's hope the climate improves now that June is here.

I have many lovely comments from garden guests in my Visitor's Book but I thought these, from two young Edinburgh people - Kirsty & Gordon - who called in May, particularly special.

Kirsty - "All you need is time and pacience, and the life will come to you. In my case, a shrew bumped into my boot this is a trully magical place."
Gordon - "It is so good I don't have anything else to say."

and we know it's Spring when the hawthorns flower ....

2011-05-21T10:32:00.001+01:00

Azalias

2011-05-21T10:25:00.006+01:00

This has turned out to be one of the oddest starts to the Summer I have seen in over 35 years here. Late April was very dry and by the time I opened the garden on 1st May I was desperate for rain and fearful of losing plants on the steeper slopes. The rain started on 5th May and has barely stopped since! We expect May and early June to provide us with the best weather of each year: well, not this year! It really could stop raining now!! Nevertheless, the azalias on the driveway were a picture for a short while until the wind took its toll.

Sparkle Cafe has had something of a makeover for the new season:

2011-05-02T20:57:00.012+01:00

.... and the wise old owl still overlooks and supervises everthing

2011-05-02T20:38:00.008+01:00

The bunnies are still hopping about the place ....

2011-05-02T20:34:00.006+01:00

The woodruff is in full flower

2011-05-02T17:07:00.002+01:00

Murphy has moved to the High Road

2011-05-02T16:33:00.004+01:00

The rhododendrons are at their best

2011-05-02T16:18:00.003+01:00

Another Spring

2011-05-02T15:43:00.013+01:00

Last year turned out to be awful for the garden. After the harshest Winter I have ever experienced here, I rather gave up on the blog as I watched my plants die. In the end I lost all the Dicksonia as well as many other plants, many years old.

This Winter was cold for a period, too, but not nearly as bad as 2010-11 and I lost only a few plants.

Anyway, I've put all that behind me. I opened the garden yesterday and I've already had 4 visitors. I have a group booked for Wednesday. The garden looks an absolute picture at present so I'll add some photographs I took today. I'm looking forward to a bumper Summer. Come and visit!

Spring at last!!

2010-05-24T17:50:00.006+01:00

Well, at last Spring has arrived! What a Winter - it seems to have lasted for ever and I've lost quite a number of plants as a result, not so much of the cold, but from a spell of a few days of easterly wind during the long cold period. This burned even quite hardy plants like the bay trees and even killed rhodedendrons, as well as destrying at least one of my Dicksonia antartica - which rather belies the name.

The garden opened late this year because of weather, family health and several family celebrations. We opened on 16 May and have already had three visitors. Normally I don't see more than an odd visitor until the Scottish school holidays start in June.

There was an article about the garden in Gardens Monthly in April. I'll attach it after this post. I had several calls after its publication from people planning to visit later in the year so I'm looking forward to lots of new gardener interaction as the Summer progresses.

Berries

2009-09-24T16:57:00.007+01:00

I know I said I'd be posting nothing more until next Spring but the Autumn berries (Rowan, Cotoneaster etc.) this year are amazing so I thought I'd add a picture taken yesterday. Usually by now the fieldfares have visited and stripped the rowans of every berry but they are either late this year or they've passed me by.

Another summer ends

2009-09-06T09:53:00.011+01:00

Well, here we are at the end of another Summer. I closed the garden last Monday (SGS insurance expires on 31st August) and have already started cutting back ready for the Spring. It's been a good year with many more visitors than last and a greater variety, too - young and older, experienced gardeners and casual passers by and from at least four continents. A generally rather good Summer ended with several weeks of heavy rain but all we can do now is look forward to the Spring. I have great hopes for next year. I will not be adding to this blog now until April 2010 (unless something really exciting happens) so here's one last picture of how things will be again when Spring returns in 2010.

Rain, rain and more rain ..............

2009-08-19T20:29:00.002+01:00

When I wrote on 25 July that our weather had been rather good this Summer, I think I may have spoken too soon. Since August started it seems to have become wetter and wetter to the point where we have now reverted to swamp conditions - very dismal and not a little depressing. Despite this I've still had an odd visitor culminating in a family who came today and seemed to have a wonderful time despite teeming rain and the knowledge that it was the hottest day of the year at home in England! I believe we've had over 15 inches of rain already this month. Some people would be very glad of it but one can have too much of even a good thing ......... at least it does keep everything green!

Entry conditions

2009-08-16T10:51:00.011+01:00

I've had an odd visitor who I've encountered wandering around the garden without my knowing they were here. The SGS sign mentions an entry fee only in tiny letters and some people think "open for charity" implies they are the charity so my husband has helped me by making a sign that clearly says "ENTRY £3" and I've put this in the 'Millenium Ruin', where I keep my Visitor's Book, garden guides and where visitors can sit and read or shelter from the rain or even eat their picnics, if they wish. He's also made me two small hand-outs that explain why I charge and where any money collected goes. Here they are:

Loch Fyne from the viewpoint

2009-07-25T19:13:00.000+01:00

Although it was rather swampy at times in the Winter, so far this Summer we've enjoyed quite good weather and I've been able to wander the garden with a glass of wine most evenings.

Often I sit on the bench at the viewpoint and look down Loch Fyne towards Tarbert and the Isle of Arran. This week has been particularly clear. Here is the view just half an hour ago from the viewpoint. Goat Fell is the highest point visible on Arran (905m.).

Visitor's comments

2009-07-20T11:27:00.000+01:00

I am certainly welcoming more visitors to Oakbank's garden this year than last, and from a wider geography too. Already this year there have been Australian, American and South African visitors as well as those from Scotland and England. Here are some of the recent comments from my comments book:

From a Scottish visitor: "Your garden is perfectly lovely - a joy to see."

From an English visitor: "A magic garden even in the rain. Thanks for a great visit."

and another English visitor: "Quite delightful. So natural but cared for so tenderly. Will be back soon!"

An Australian visitor wrote: "It is absolutely gorgeous. What an amazing effort - BEAUTIFUL!

and American visitors: "This garden is obviously filled with energy and love. A special place."

Photographs

2009-07-12T13:34:00.001+01:00

Ray Cox is Kenneth Cox's brother and he is a brilliant specialist in garden & plant photography, who also took the pictures in the 'Scotland on Sunday' article below. Looking at his photograph of the children's garden from the new book reminded me that I intended to put more of my photographs of the garden onto the blog to give a better idea of how it looks. Here are a few. I'll add more later. These are from last year - this year I've been pre-occupied by learning to use my new camcorder. Sooner or later I may put some film clips up too.

In case anyone is interested in being in touch with Ray, his website can be found at http://www.rcoxgardenphotos.co.uk/.

Oakbank driveway

The Millennium Ruin (restored in 1999)

Woodland (looking west)

More woodland (looking north)

The lower pond

Bluebells & wild garlic

More bluebells

Entrance to 'Fairyland'

The owl in Fairyland

........ and yet more bluebells!

New book - reference to Oakbank's garden

2009-07-12T08:56:00.003+01:00

Kenneth Cox owns Glendoick Garden Centre near Perth (see www.glendoick.com), the specialist rhododendron and azalea nursery. He has recently published a new book, his seventh, entitled "Scotland for Gardeners" which includes photographs by his brother, Ray. Ray took the pictures included in the Scotland on Sunday article below. You can read the entry for Oakbank above. You can see (or buy) the whole book on the Glendoick website at http://www.glendoick.com/content.phppage=gardenlovers.

Red Squirrels at Oakbank

2009-07-05T20:41:00.000+01:00

I have been feeding the red squirrels in the garden for years so we now have a large number who visit us daily. In the winter months they come mostly in the morning but at this time of year they feed constantly, especially the youngsters, often until 9pm or later. These photographs were taken at Oakbank in 2008 by Richard Shucksmith. He is an excellent photographer and took many more pictures of the Oakbank squirrels.

Scotland's Garden Scheme

2009-06-14T11:50:00.000+01:00

I am a member of Scotland's Garden Scheme (SGS - "the yellow book" - see http://www.gardensofscotland.org/garden.aspx?id=8509ada8-cb69-45b5-9ea2-9b2f00bce128 for my entry) and the garden is open to the public most days (when I'm here) from 10.00 until 5.00 from 1 May until 31 August. I'm hoping that, as a result of the article in Scotland on Sunday, I will have even more visitors to my garden this Summer. All proceeds from SGS go to charity. My chosen charity is Diabetes UK. You can see the extract from the Yellow Book here but the website has some photographs too:

Scotland on Sunday 7th June 2009

2009-06-14T11:43:00.029+01:00

One reason I decided to start this blog was an article published about Oakbank garden in Scotland on Sunday's "At Home" on 7th June. This contained some wonderful photographs of the garden and I was delighted that my grandchildren's garden artwork made the front page! I've attached a copy of the article below for anyone who wants to read it.
The photgraphs are by Ray Cox - www.rcoxgardenphotos.co.uk.

Helga's Garden at Oakbank

2009-06-14T10:59:00.000+01:00

This is my new blog that I am starting today, Sunday 14th June, 2009. On it I plan to tell you what's going on in my garden and who has visited. I'll also be adding lots of film clips and photographs to show how things are going with the plants and all the animals that live amongst them.