No, I am not talking about the TV programme from the early 60s, starring Raymond Francis as DCS Tom Lockhart, but I can remember it, and the signature tune! I am once again on about slugs and slugs with shells. They must be decreasing in numbers by now, but I…

At the beginning of the year I decided to treat myself to a sculpture for the garden. The difficulty being that I didn’t know what I wanted! I knew what I didn’t want, so at least that was a start. The next stage was to make a list of ‘wants…

Guess what’s sitting on top of the filter pipe, in the middle of the pond? asked my husband, as he looked out of the kitchen window. A frog I replied, a toad, a bird, a newt -running out of ideas…. no, he said -a snail! How is that possible -the…

Over the years I have purchased dozens of Trilliums. As one of my ‘must have’plants, for quite some time now, I have purchased many different varieties. Trillium albidum I get them home, plant them in the garden, admire them for a while, and then they disappear without trace. Suddenly, one…

It doesn’t take much these days, with time on my hands, to come up with a brilliant new plan. At one of our indoor meetings, last autumn, a member brought to our ‘table of interest’, a dazzling selection of very fine auriculas. It reminded me just how much I liked…

Coming back from this year’s bus trip, I was asked how I managed to get Dieramas to flower. My response was that not only do they flower for me but that they were a nuisance in that they seed themselves everywhere and that I constantly had to weed them out.…

I have now had my hot bin for one year, after having just checked, it is full of useable compost -well that is a first for me! The compost is a bit wet (what isn’t at present?) but its ok as a mulch for some favoured plants. Is it still…

Once again I marvel at the difference between my two Lobelia Tupa. Lobelia tupa As mentioned last year, the original plant -now over 2 feet tall, is located under a Eucalyptus tree and it is shrinking as it ages -does this sound familiar? The other, a much younger plant, is…

An alternative grouping system for pruning your Clematis Putting aside the more widely known and used clematis pruning groups, over the years I have developed my own. Group 1 -Easy option Prune the clematis which are easiest to get at, i.e. next to a path, in a pot or on…

What better way to make new friends I wonder how many HPS members while visiting other parts of the country bother to contact members in that area to see if they could visit their gardens. Try it! You meet wonderful people, see lovely gardens, gain new ideas and often come…

I have a rather large Lobelia excelsa in my garden, grown from seed I purchased from Plant World seeds in Devon, several years ago. Although I only get a few flowers on this plant, I like it. It has stature and I would describe it as a useful architectural plant…..I…

Hostas and Slugs -How to know when you’re beaten! Having loved hostas for as long as I can remember, I had built up quite a collection, but my garden has also built up quite a collection of slugs, and as my mum calls then -slugs with shells! Mini Hostas in…

Many years ago in 1996, Scottish Rock Garden members were given the opportunity to purchase a very special Galanthus, which had been spotted by Dr Evelyn Stevens, in her garden in Dunblane. Dr Stevens named the snowdrop after her friends little girl, who had been one of the victims in…

Having admired hares, rabbits and chickens in other gardens for many years, I was delighted to stumble across this pair of hares in our local Wilkinson shop. Ones I have goggled, in the past, have been ceramic mostly and cost an arm and a leg. These are made from resin,…

Papaver Lateritium ‘Fireball’ Many of the plants in my garden are way past the stage of losing their white plastic name labels. I swear that there is a black hole full of white plant labels, as they seem to vanish without trace. I await watching Chris Packham, on Springwatch, introducing…

Branklyn Gardens in Perth, Scotland, is, in my opinion one of the nicest gardens I have ever visited. I could go every week and not tire of it as there would be something different and unusual to discover on every visit. It was at Branklyn when I first spotted a…

After reading Gill Regan’s article, entitled, ‘self-seeders, love them or hate them’, in the spring 2013 edition of the HPS Journal, I sat and nodded. ‘yes, they are a pain – spend minutes planting them and then years trying to get rid of them. Although I love the flowers of…

Coronilla glauca against a sunny south facing wall You know when you are asked, usually by non-gardeners, ‘what’s your favourite plant?’ How can you pick one? -it depends upon the time of year, what type of plants you like and what grows well for you. You could name something different…

Late last summer, while visiting Ron and Susan McBeaths garden (ex curator of Edinburgh Botanic Gardens) in Lamberton, Berwickshire, with a friend, I was chatting, as you do, to another visitor, who my friend knew very well, as he was the person responsible for Scottish Rock Gardening Club seed packing.…

12 Pot Theatre We’ve all been there! Having to collect all the plants of a certain genus, then growing tired of them, turfing out some but keeping your favourites. So far, for me it has been Geranium, Kniphofia, Crocosmia and Celmisia. Daphne, Scutellaria, Clematis, Anemone and Erodiums are still in…

Pyracantha For many years I have bought plants purely because I have liked them, seen them in other gardens, on photographs or in nurseries. Got them home and basically plonked them in the garden wherever I could find a space -in my book this is called haphazard cottage gardening. It…

My initial thoughts are that I love it!! Got it for Christmas and couldn’t wait to get it started, but it was impossible to place in the most suitable position in the garden, as this was already occupied by my last plastic ‘darlek’bin. So it fitted nicely, just outside the…

Do all gardeners go through plant phases? Is it a collecting bug, similar to collecting fine china or antiques? Over the years I have just had to have as many Kniphofias, Crocosmias, Celmisias, Daphnes, Geraniums. Clematis and Erodiums as I could lay my hands on. Have I got room for…