Woodside

When I was at the Gardening Scotland exhibition earlier this year, I saw a garden layout by the people at Woodside Walled Garden, near Ancrum.    Thinking I had never been there I suggested to Linda that we might pay it a visit sometime.  I showed her the leaflet I had picked up at G.S. and immediately she recognised it as a place we had been to  - several times.  I don’t remember that pond, I said, and that building isn’t the same…. but when I got my glasses on and looked at the wee map of “How to find us”, I realised she was right.  I still didn’t remember the pond, but never mind.  We decided to pay another visit last week and  have lunch in the cafe before taking a look around again. 

The cafe is small - situated in a large wooden building, top left in the photo here -  but very homely-looking inside with its wooden tables and chairs and bookcase of gardening books and magazines., and the windows on one side looking out on to an array of bird feeders where a mixture of birds came periodically to feed.  We have seen it busier at the feeders though!   Our lunch – soup and a cup of tea with a scone - was lovely, and then we went to investigate the pond I had definitely not seen before.  It was constructed with the help of the RSPB – Royal Society for the Protection of Birds – and the planting arranged so as to provide food and shelter for the birds that frequent our gardens – the blackbirds, finches, sparrows, tits, robin………

 

There were nesting boxes on the high wall, two with cameras in them so the nesting birds could be seen on a couple of TV screens in the pretty verandah-ed hut  where the RSPB had set up a small exhibition. 

I’d swear that hut was the garden shop when I first went to Woodside. Anyway,no birds left in the boxes now.  All had fledged,  and I was lucky enough to get a fabulous photo of a young chaffinch sitting quite close to me in a hedgerow.  She really was that close to me, and not at all bothered about me taking her picture , it seemed! 

The pond is quite large, with a little waterfall cascading down from an upper pond and bog garden, and water-loving mimulus growing around it. I want a waterfall in my garden, I’ve decided! 

I could have a bird bath like this one in my garden too! Love those bronze leaves.

There’s just so much to look at at Woodside, from the pond to the composting experimental corner, the polytunnel, the grass maze, and of course the flowers.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The roses were gorgeous – and scented!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before we came home again, we stopped off at Milestone, another Garden Centre on the A68 near St.Boswells, ostensibly for a cup of tea, but of course for a wander round too!  it was here that I saw the baby robin hopping around  So cute!  No red feathers yet!

A white iris against the sky looked pretty stunning as did the fuchsias.

 

and how about this for a water feature!

 

 

or this for a garden ornament?

 

Loved the hydrangea flowers.  We can’t seem to grow these in Peebles!

Anyway, got ideas for my garden that day!  Just have to incorporate them into Samantha’s design for it! 

Talk again soon.