May in my Scottish Family Garden

May is here! I love this month! The garden is waking up! Things are growing, flowering, blooming. It is such a pretty time of year!

AND THERE IS SO MUCH PROMISE OF WHAT IS TO COME!

That might be my favourite part:

The promise of what is to come.

BECAUSE:

there is a lot of beauty but also, my garden. hasn’t really got going yet. It will soon, very soon, tantalisingly soon.

BUT NOT YET

What has been happening:

Desdemona Rose

The roses are starting to flower. This is only the beginning but my goodness they are so, so beautiful!

Roses and other LONG FLOWERING plants are the backbone of my garden. I ADORE plants like Bearded Irises (below) and Peonies that are MAGNIFICENT for a short while BUT most of my plants need to work harder than that and for longer.

That’s where Roses, Nepetas, Erysimums etc come in.

Bearded Iris

This is my FIRST EVER flowering Bearded Iris. They are absolutely stunning and almost ‘other wordly’. They are a real signifier of this time of year because their flowering season is SHORT.

I think you need some very seasonal plants in your garden to really make you appreciate this moment in time.

BUT I focus mostly on workhorses that flower for ages. Some seasonality is beautiful, too much and it is just WAY TOO MUCH work for me, as a busy mum, to try and have a beautiful garden.

I planted a pot

And I ADORE this pot! It worked. Do you know what I mean? So many times I try to plant up a pot and it just doesn’t quite work.

But this? I love it!

It has in it:

1️⃣ Rosa Elizabeth

2️⃣ Carex Everest

3️⃣ Erigeron Karvinsikanus

4️⃣ Stipa Tenuissima

5️⃣ Ivy

I love the mixture of evergreen (Carex, Ivy) with movement (Step, Carex) and the colour of the Erigeron that will echo the colour of Elizabeth when she starts flowering.

Nemesia Wisley Vanilla with Pittosporum Wrinkled Blue

This Nemesia is TOO ADORABLE for words. She’s soft and cute and small AND flowerings for ages and has the most incredible scent.

I love her! I have her in pots by the backdoor so I get to smell her scent whenever I step outside.

The Pittosporum might be my plant of the year. The colour is rich and gorgeous - it contrasts so well with the other evergreens in my garden. AND it moves beautifully in the wind.

Now I just need to see if it will get through my winter…

DIY of the Month

We made a terrace (last month) you can watch my YouTube video about it here.

Then last week we got pallets and covered them in these wooden slats. Now we have a great shaded place to sit!

The next step is too get some outdoor cushions to make this space really cozy.

We have a lot of projects lined up for the next few weeks, I can’t wait to share those with you!

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