Sunny Sunday in the Garden

It is thee most beautiful day here today, the sun is shining and my garden is looking lovely, the tulips have finally emerged and they are a gorgeous purple colour..

I have quite a few dandelions kicking around too.. but have left them growing on purpose as they will provide the rabbits and chickens with some greenage 🙂

There is a mound of chives at the top end of the garden and they are just about to burst into flower..

and finally the welcome sign on the outside of my craft workshop 🙂

I’m heading back into the garden now to cut the grass and sow a few herbs, chillies and flower seeds in the greenhouse 🙂

Another Baby comes to visit

I’ve had to keep the dogs in all day today because Mrs Blackbird brought her baby round to show me and it stayed all day, she tucked it away in a purple bush-thing at the woodland corner of my garden..

I watched Mrs Blackie travel back and forward all day feeding her baby, so when she left her baby to find more worms and insects I grabbed by camera and sneaked in for a photograph 🙂

Nasturtium – Maharajah Mixed (Tropaeolum Majus)

When I was in my local Garden Centre yesterday, I picked up some Nasturtium seeds, and chose the variety “Maharajah Mixed”

They were sown direct into the garden, the spot I chose for them was along the boundary fence, right next door to this is my eglu, so I think the chickens will appreciate a lovely splash of colour this summer 🙂

Nastrurtiums do best in poor soils and without feesing.   Flowers and foliage are edible and good in salads… so we can add a splash of colour in our summer salads too 🙂

• Flowering Time : June/September
• Cost £1.49 per packet
• Planted : Saturday 25th April 2009

Food from the Garden

For tea this evening we are having a ham salad… but first we had to pop out into the garden to gather a few ingredients….

First we emptied a container of Fir Pink Apple Potatoes… and gave them a good wash

Then we popped into the greenhouse and picked some yummy ripe tomatoes….

I absolutely love growing my own veggies 🙂

A Trip Down Memory Lane….

I took the kids to Pittencrieff Park in Dunfermline today, and it truely was a trip down memory lane for me, I used to live in Dunfermline for 24 years until I got married and moved away to the village where I now live..

Many a time my friends and I would spend time down the glen, long summer holidays spent there.   Some of it still remains the same as I remember it, the only real big change is the animal enlosure, now boarded up and closed down, which is a great shame.

At the bottom of the glen, which lies at the foot of the Old Dunfermline Palace, there are lots of caves and hiding places, some with historical interest… like Wallace’s Well

 

Just along the path from Wallace’s Well is this lovely bridge….

Pittencrieff Park or “The Glen” as it is known affectionately by the local populace extends to 76 acres and was given in trust by Andrew Carnegie to the people of his birthplace, Dunfermline.

Before it was purchased in 1902, by Andrew Carnegie, Pittencrieff Park formed the estate and grounds of the house, owned by the lairds of Pittencrieff. 

Pittencrieff House Museum

Pittencrieff House Museum is a historic house with a difference. The 17th century shell has a 20th century interior. Although there is no furniture, there are 3 display galleries with beautifully plastered ceilings. Here you can begin to discover, among other things, the history of “Dunfermline Toon”, who was Dunfermline’s giant and what clothes were worn in those days. The story of the house reveals a number of owners, the last of whom was Andrew Carnegie. He never lived in the house however, and eventually gave it to the citizens of Dunfermline.

Formal Gardens

  

Laid out, colourfully in front of the Glass Hall conservatory is a Formal Garden. In days gone by this area was used by Pittencrieff House as a kitchen garden and orchard. Now developed round the laird’s walk with its own breathtaking vistas of the Abbey and Palace ruins, the garden is a kaleidoscope of colour throughout the spring and summer. It is a peaceful, relaxing setting in which to idle away the afternoon in the warmth of a summer sun.

Greenhouses

Completing the formal gardens is the 200ft Glass Hall conservatory. Built in 1973 on the site of the old conservatories the present structure is divided into three sections. The main area with its wooden bridge over the running stream and its regal display of flowers creates for the visitor an entire new world, the exotic plant world. Distributed throughout the three areas the visitor can see on exhibit plants from many countries. Look out too for the exhibit which features the fossilised trees.

We took a wander around the formal gardens which were full of beautiful flowers….

     

  

  

  

From the formal garden you can look over towards Dunfermline Abbey..

  

I enjoyed my trip down Menory Lane 🙂