Hupor's Hardy Horticultural Blog

[Yorkshire Kris]

I can only echo what others have said about you garden. Fantastic space but a hell of a lot of work to keep on top of the lawns. The gunneras are fantastic and your trees are top notch. Love Eucalyptus and yours are great examples.

Keep the pictures coming.

[huporhaha]

Thanks Kris - it is hard work but worth it when plants do well. I lost 11 out of 12 cordies above ground last winter but some are reshooting. The phormiums are a real mess too but my new Dicksonia antarctica is happily producing fresh fronds. A few more pics and then I think I'll call it a night as I have to help the boss with his new raised bed project in the morning. Concrete block covered with hypertufa if all goes to plan!

[huporhaha]

A few more pics of southern hemisphere trees taken yesterday evening. This completes the interesting trees in the lower left front bit of the garden. I probably won't bore everyone with pics of my other eucs in other areas as I know that not everyone is a passionate about them as I am. In fact, some gardeners positively hate them because they take up so much moisture - that's not a problem here as it is so wet!

[Yorkshire Kris]

Wow your climate must be a fair bit cooler than down here in Yorkshire. You Buddleja globosa is in full flower whereas mine finish a couple of weeks ago and I have now cut it right back.

You have such great potential for seeing all your trees reaching maturity as you have enough space to let this happen. You lucky thing.

[Trainer John]

Now that's a nice bit of space. I think a lot of us would kill for that amount of garden! Once you've got your shelter well established you should be able to grow a lot of stuff that's too tender for many parts of inland UK.

[huporhaha]

Thanks Trainer John - that's the plan anyway - we're not really filthy rich - when we moved up from Cornwall from a 4 bedroom semi - admittedly 3 storeys as it was build into a Cornish hillside - we bought this for 55 grand less with 7 bedrooms, 4 loos, 2 bathrooms and loads of land. It works both ways though - if we moved back, we'd probably get a flat for what this is worth now - miles too remote for most people!

We've been building a raised bed today out of concrete blocks. We'd put the foundations in a couple of months ago. Today we got the first course laid and three quarters of the second course. I've also hopefully mouse-proofed one of our cold frames, last winter little "meeeces" got in and stripped the bark off some young trees I'd grown from seed. Now they'll have to gnaw their way through bricks and mortar if they want to get in.

When I was weeding I found a young Cordy that I'd forgotten about. I thought it had deceased 2 years winters ago, but it is throwing up some new shoots - goodness knows why I planted it so close to some bamboo - on second thoughts, the bamboo has clumped up no end since the Cordy was planted. As the cordy had been trodden on and otherwise maltreated, I dug it up and potted it up with plenty of osmocote and water. It deserves some TLC now as I'd forgotten that it existed until I started forking over the bed.

[cordyman]

Love it HH so much space, and feels like a show garden with so many different areas.

How close is your nearest shop?

[huporhaha]

Love it HH so much space, and feels like a show garden with so many different areas.

How close is your nearest shop?

The village shop is within walking distance
The bank van comes twice a week
The nearest pharmacy is in Ullapool - 45 miles by road - about 10 if you're a good swimmer
Tesco in Inverness is 80 miles away as are B &Q, Homebase, and other similar stores
Its a bit of a l-------o--------n-------g way if you forget to buy your compost!

[huporhaha]

Glad most of you have it warm and sunny - reached 15c here this afternoon - I'll be grateful for small mercies - it was 22c in Inverness

Not much wind so plenty of midges hovering about ready to bite any tiny bit of exposed skin - I need an acres of sarracenias to get rid of the blighters!

I think the cat has the right idea about Sunday afternoon gardening....................

The greenhouse is packed with seedlings - they should really come on now......... .

[huporhaha]

I've taken a few more pics today as we've just finished putting the stucco on the new raised bed - I'm not sure if it will be my bed for exotics or his bed for vegetables - we'll just have to wait and see

[huporhaha]

Not having much success with cannas this year and my musas are the same size as they were 3 months ago

[Adam D]

Love it HH so much space, and feels like a show garden with so many different areas.

How close is your nearest shop?

The village shop is within walking distance
The bank van comes twice a week
The nearest pharmacy is in Ullapool - 45 miles by road - about 10 if you're a good swimmer
Tesco in Inverness is 80 miles away as are B &Q, Homebase, and other similar stores
Its a bit of a l-------o--------n-------g way if you forget to buy your compost!

I take it that Tesco will not do home delivery to your pad then

[huporhaha]

No way Adam - I've asked Tesco if they would consider coming out this way once a fortnight and everyone place an order for say every other Monday but they won't bite. I get fed up 'cos they keep sending me money off vouchers for buying groceries online. I've sent the vouchers back 3 times telling them they are no use here but they have not replied even once!

[Cathy]

Fantastic place you have there Hup'! love it all but wouldn't want to have it! I need shops nearby and plenty of 'em!
Seeing your lovely Gunnera growing, I would like to Guerrilla garden some into my mums garden to create a similar scene.

I must share a funny story which could have been not funny at all.

...My mum has a drainage ditch, just like yours, at the end of her garden which she refers to as "the ditch". She has a bridge over it, just like yours, and also a single scaffold board over it at another place.
My mum is 79 years old and last January, at around day break, she decided to throw some scraps over the fence into the field for "the poor birds and creatures" Does she use the bridge with the hand rail? does she heck! wearing only her nightie, dressing gown and slippers, in the freezing icy cold, she tip-toes across the scaffold board only to fall off mid-way, into the murky, lurky, icy, leafy, twiggy water below! (I will say now that she escaped with only minor scrapes and bruising) Mum said her first thought was Jim (he's my bro') will go mad! She scrambled up the bank and got herself back into the kitchen, leaves in her hair and clothes and face muddy like some sort of luny commando!
To my shame, I could not help but laugh out loud when she gave me her detailed account but I did scold her for her reckless behaviour. Mum said the warm water in her shower was heavenly that morning! - and my brother Jim has added extra boards and a stout hand rail to the 'gangplank'!

[huporhaha]

Wow Cathy - you have some Mum - give her my regards. Our bridges can be pretty lethal if wet or icy. One of mine is now just about buried under a clump of gunnera - the other battling against encroaching cortaderias, giant hostas and some sort of rampant spirea planted by a previous owner.

Can hardly wait till tomorrow - off to Inverness to look at Garden Centres and plants and want to pop into B & Q to see if they have any bargains.