A clump forming Herbaceous plant which has rich scarlet flowers from late July through till early autumn.  The foliage has a wonderful aromatic fragrance.  Grow the plants in moist but well draining soil in full sun.  If you do try it in a partially  shaded spot, like ours, which is in an East facing position, it will still flower, perhaps not Quite so well, and you may well find that it is a little later in coming in to bloom.

Some of the other Monardas which we grew in the past suffered from mildew, Cambridge Scarlet seems to be less susceptible to this problem.

Hardiness – Fully hardy

Position – Full sun/partial shade

Height – 3ft/90cm in our shady spot

—Mail Order this plant—

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Last Summer I didn’t half go on and on about the very cool weather conditions, In spite of this the Clematis in the garden performed rather well.

This one, Blue Angel has been a treat, even from indoors the back of the flowers look pretty good. Expand one of the pictures and it will take you to my post with some information about this Clematis.

Our nine year old grandson Owen, since the age of five has been nominated by his school, East Wemyss Primary, to  represent them for (The Robert Burns Poetry recital Competition.) This competition is open to all the primary schools in the area.  He has won each year in spite of feeling a little nervous.  The poem has to be Scottish but not necessarily by the bard, the one this year by Bill Keys is both excellent,touching and hilarious.  Will you understand it? well you can have good fun trying.

Dug—Dog

wid—would

flerr—floor

sterr—stair

skite oan fhe lug—slap around your ear  (no longer allowed)

A Dug A Dug

by Bill Keys

Hey, Daddy, wid
you get us a dug?
A big broon  alsation Ur a wee white pug
Ur a skinny wee terrier, ur a big fat
bull
Aw, Daddy, get us a dug. Wull
yi?

Whit! An’ whose dug’ll it be when it durties the flerr
An’ pees a oer
the carpet an’ messes the sterr?
It’s me ur yer mammy’ll be tane furra
mug.
Away oot’n play. Yer no gettin’ a dug.

But, Daddy, thur gien them
away
Doon therr at the rspca.
Yeu’ll get wan fur nothin’ so yi wull.

Aw, Daddy, get us a dug. Wull yi?

Doon therr at the rspca!
di ye think ave goat nithen else tae dae
Bit git you a dug thit ah’ll huv tae
mind?
Yur no needin a dug: yi urny blind.

Aye, but, Daddy,
therr rerr fur guardin the hoose,
An thur better thin cats fur catchin a
moose,
An see wee Danny, his dug kin gie his barra a pull.
Aw, hey, Daddy,
get us a dug. Wull yi?

Dji hear um? Oan
aboot dugs again?
Ah think that yin’s goat dugs oan the brain.
Ah know
whit ye’ll get: a skite oan the lug
If ah hear any merr aboot this bliddy dug.

Aw, Daddy, it widnae be dear tae keep
An’ ah’d make it a
basket fur it tae sleep.
An’ ah’d take it fur runs away ower the hull.
Aw,
Daddy, get us a dug, Wull ye?

Ah doan’t think thur’s ever been emdy like
you:
Yi could wheedle the twist oot a flamin’ corkscrew.
Noo! Get doon
aff ma neck. Gie’s nane o yur hug.
Aw right. That’s anuff. Ah’ll get ye a
dug.

Aw, Daddy! A dug! A dug!

© 2012, Alistair. All rights reserved.

This one is a true gem, (Cimicifuga Racemosa Atropurpurea,) Now known as (Actaea) Here in Aberdeen, Cimisifuga is a late summer/ autumn flowering Perennial.

Stunning deep red/black foliage, with white flower spikes towering six to eight feet tall. The butterflies just love this fully hardy plant which is also scented.

In our garden it grows in excess of seven feet, In spite of its height,don’t think that you have to place this beauty at the back of the border. The beautiful foliage only grows to about seventy centimetres tall with the airy flower spikes towering above, allowing you to see through the stems.

Our Cimicifuga had a good spot right at the front of the main border, where it looked outstanding, the major re jigging of the back garden ended up with the Cimisifuga being relocated to the round garden, where it is now looking very pleased with itself.

Hardiness – Fully hardy

Common name – Bugbane

Height – 6/7ft

Position – Partial shade

–Mail Order–

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Most gardeners enjoy reading books on the subject, I can understand why.  Remembering back when I first got interested on what was to become a lifetime hobby and passion, I couldn’t get enough information on the topic.  Nowadays I am more than content with keeping up to date with what’s going on with my fellow garden bloggers.

I still read a lot of books, no high falutin stuff, just novels which I totally lose myself in. Well when I say books, I actually read them on the kindle now. My eyesight isn’t quite so good these days and the ability to change the font size on the kindle is a godsend, thanks for the gift, Audra, Martin and my grandson Curtis.  What do I like, well, plenty Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Stephen King, I know! very other worldly stuff, but hey I have never had pretences of being an intelectual.  My latest author which I cant get enough of at the moment is Peter James, absolutely spellbinding.   For the past six or seven years he has been writing a series of books revolving around the detective work of Roy Grace, a fictitious character of course.  His first novel in this series (Dead Simple) was published in 2005.   (click here for review).    So far there has been seven books published in this series, with another two ready in the pipeline for publishing this year. The books actually hold their own as stand alone reads, however a better understanding of the characters is much more satisfying if you work your way through them in order from book one.  Detective superintendent Roy Grace based in Brighton is a likeable character  who was left all but destroyed when his wife disappeared eight years ago, is she still alive, is she all that she seemed?  Look out for this fantastic novels being turned into a television series.  For the running sequence and much more, click on this link. 

© 2012, Alistair. All rights reserved.

This semi double eye catcher with red, white and pink stripes looks as good in the ground as she does photographed. Rosa Mundi an old Gallica Rose also carries the name Versicolor.

Its very strange but even gardeners who would normally find this raspberry ripple effect rather garish in other plants, do in fact sing the praises of Rosa Mundi, has it all to do with the history?

Rosa mundi has been in our round garden for many years and doesn’t show any sign of deterioration. First blooms of this lightly scented Gallica Rose starts to open at the end of June and will usually continue to bloom until early August.  It is a strong growing shrub ideal for the North East of Scotland where it grows to a height of four feet. Rosa Mundi is also said to look really good grown as a hedge.

The history of this Rose goes back earlier than the 16th century, in fact some historians place it as early as the 12th century with connections to Henry 2nd and his mistress.  I think you should read  what The Country Garden Rose Specialist has to say about this.

—Mail Order—  

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The Rose (Angele Pernet) which I planted in a friends garden last year flowered beautifully. I snapped this picture of it at the end of June last year.

It really is the most beautiful shade of orange with hints of yellow.  Angele Pernet is a heavily scented HT Rose with a bushy habit and is rather short at approximately two feet in height, bred by Pernet-Ducher in 1924.  It is a rare Rose and in the UK is only available from Peter Beales.  It performed rather well in its first season in Aberdeen.  Will it continue to do so well in future, is it happier in warmer climes,  I have no way of knowing for the time being.

—Mail Order—

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Some time ago I was talking of the saga of Aberdeens Union Terrace gardens, (it may have been on my Aberdeen Gallery page.) The sunken gardens were opened to the public in 1879. Surrounded at the moment with controversy. Sir Ian Wood, local tycoon has pledged 50 million pounds to raise the gardens and create a civic square. The total cost of the project is estimated to cost 140 million. The council is keen to proceed, feelings of the people are far from being entirely in favour.

Something like six different plans were under consideration. The winning futuristic (Granite Web design) above by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Kepple of New York has emerged triumphant chosen by a panel of businessmen and politicians.  However the people of Aberdeen have until March 1st to vote and decide whether it should go ahead.   (Information Link.) Objections of course are all to do with the current financial crisis which most of us are having to deal with and what with public service cut backs which has created a lot of unemployment it comes as no surprise that people feel miffed.

The current gardens (the sunken gardens of Aberdeen) in the very heart of the town were once very popular, the area is  surrounded with granite balustrades and a backdrop of the magnificent His Majesty’s Theatre does give a little grandness to it all. Problem is in spite of my pictures below which may make them look all right, the truth of the matter is the gardens are now hardly used, looking run down and a Mecca for ne’er-do-wells, and the sunken aspect makes them cold even in some days when the temperatures above are acceptable.  The jury is still out as to whether or not I back this project, my problem being, is the timing right.  We are all good at complaining how the city centre is not what it used to be, so many of the grand stores which once were in our nationally famous Union street have all found themselves locked away in the shopping malls.  I know its a worldwide problem, however many of these complainers are the very ones who don’t want to see the gardens changed in spite of the fact that they never visit them anyway.

Do the Americans want to take over Aberdeen, Donald Trumps Billion pound Balmedie Beach golf course is well on its way to completion, the main course to be finished by July this year.  A round of golf is apparently going to cost in excess of £200 pounds.     Donald tells us this world class development will be his flagship and we would expect visitors like Jack Nicholson, Bill Clinton, and oh I cant remember the list.  However Donald is in a bit of a tizzy at the moment, plans to erect rows of wind turbines offshore which will be seen from this wonderful golf course have really got up his goat, cant blame him really.  At the moment he is saying he will walk away from the Balmedie project if the turbines go ahead, how many million have you spent on it so far Donald?

Pictures below are how Union terrace gardens looked in the Summer.

© 2012, Alistair. All rights reserved.