Merryhatton and Broughton.

Merryhatton is another of the East Lothian garden centres, which was where Linda and I stopped for a cup of tea on the way home from Smeaton.It was still raining, but maybe not quite so heavily as we drank our cuppie, looking out onto the barley field next door.   I love the fuzzy effect of the barley heads!

Doesn’t this wisteria look good!  It’s artificial!  Very pretty though!

 

 

 

 

So is this crocosmia!  Pretty, I mean, and it’s real! Possibly “Lucifer” by name?  It’s certainly redder than others I’ve seen.       

Lavatera , right, is one of my favourite garden shrubs. I have one of these  just about blooming in my garden.  It goes on flowering for ages.  Weigela is another I love, though mine didn’t flower much this year.  I think I cut it back too far last year, and now I know it flowers on last year’s growth.  In that case it ought to look bloomin’ marvellous next year!!!

Not sure what this is (right).  No, it’s not for me!   I like the little erodium though . Nice for the edge of a border.  Mmm, I might get some of those!

So it was farewell to Merryhatton for the time being, with lots of “food for thought”.  I returned home with my hydrangea which Sam enthused about – thank goodness!  (Sam and her husband Paddy, with their assistant, Simon, are doing my garden, more of which soon!)

Now for the Broughton part!  Yesterday morning Jenny phoned to ask if I was interested in going in the afternoon to see a couple of gardens in the village of Broughton, not terribly far from Peebles, so, it being a nice day I thought it was a good idea. Jenny drove us over there in the early afternoon, and at first I thought we might be heading for what used to be Broughton Place Gallery, now a private house, that was designed in 1936 by Basil Spence in 17th century baronial style, with reliefs by Hew Lorimer (of Kellie Castle). However I was wrong.  We drove up the drive towards the big house but found a sign for the first open garden, a bit before it.

 

 

A very solid traditional  18th century Scottish house, it had a large garden in front and walled garden at the back, so must have been a well-to-do house in its day.  Sadly the owner of the house and creator of this beautiful garden died earlier this year, but his family opened the garden as he had wished.

The house is even more interesting from the back, and the colours in the walled garden are gorgeous – reds, greens, yellows, oranges, blues, pinks, purples, the whole spectrum is there! 

 

 

 

 

 Broughton is set in some beautiful scenery. 

Let me just show you a couple of my favourite individual flowers before I take you to Liz Hansen’s garden.

First there’s this lily,

and then a pretty peachy pink rose. 

 

 

 Oh, just another two…

I love this red geum and the delicate blue and white geranium

…… oh and what about these teasels!

 

 OK, up the hill and down the lane and we get to Liz’s house.  Liz is a photographer who produces cards from her beautiful pictures taken in and around our area.   She’s also brought out a couple of books of photos and her latest one is still warm from the press.  From a distance the house and its adjoining neighbours look quite plain, but once up close it’s really pretty. 

 

 

 Their garden is very wanderable,with little paths leading around and about, past driftwood and tree root “sculptures”,  a rock garden, pond,  flowerbeds…..

… and there are loads of birds in the plants growing near to the house.

 

They were all too quick to photograph, but I just managed to catch a little coaltit on one of the bird feeders.  It’s about the size of an American chickadee and looks remarkably like one too!  Pity that twig got in the way!

 

 

 

 

 

The big tree root,  bleached by many a year of sun, I’d say, was cleverly used as a kind of knot garden, and here’s the pond.

 

Another view of the pond, and interesting pieces of wood, below.

The one on the left is a tree stump wrapped round with a piece of old rope and left to weather!

And to finish off with, a couple of photos of flowers.  The one below is St John’s wort but I don’t know about the one on the left.

So there we are.  It was a lovely afternoon- and the rain stayed away!  Wonders will never cease!

Talk again soon.