Mushrooms

We went walking in Torachilty Forest in August and came across these wonderful chanterelle mushrooms. We went back a couple of times and picked more and have now bought a mushroom book so we can go foraging. These mushrooms were turned into a yummy mushroom risotto.

Front Garden - Summer 2010

I love the colour of the shrub at the front door - I've had to trim it back a couple of times but its really healthy. This patch of garden is outside the sitting room window and I can watch the birds on the bird feeder. We had a woodpecker on it a couple of times early on in the summer - amazing!

Basement Garden - July 2010

The hosta's are looking great. The flower buds are coming through.

Kitchen garden 3 - July 2010

Another view of the trellis.

Kitchen garden 2 - July 2010

The trellis leading from the basement garden to the kitchen garden. It's had lovely blue clematis and now lonicera (honeysuckle). The birds like the trellis as it gives good shelter.

Kitchen garden - July 2010

I've spent the last few hours clipping hedges and cutting back. The garden patch in the foreground needs a lot of work and I'll need to remember to tie things back early next year.

Burn-side Garden - July 2010

It's a jungle! This is the view of the burn-side garden as taken from the top of the garden on the old road. The burn is dry at the moment but the water plants have flourished.

The Mound

The grassy mound opposite the house runs below the train line. This piece of land does not belong to the house but is pretty much maintained by us (if you can call it that). We've planted some carrots in barrels and there are wildflowers and garden loosestrife. There is a cherry blossom where I hang seed feeders and fat balls for the birds and the nut feeder attracts siskin which are shown here. This view is taken from the sitting room window.

Slow Worm

We have 2 wormeries at the top of the burn-side garden. We were planning to build a wood store here and when Blair was out measuring the space he spotted the elusive slow worm (previously commented that one was at the front door!). Now that we know it houses slow worms we've had to change our plans as they are protected so its best not to disturb them. Later on in the afternoon I was weeding the road-side garden and there was another slow worm. I feel quite affectionate towards them, particularly as they eat slugs! I actually picked one up as I was clearing away rubbish when one fell out of an old black bag. It went rigid and I thought it was dead until I heard it hissing! I picked it up and put it back in the wormery where it slithered away.