Friday, April 13, 2007

Really wild . . .


Sometimes I think that I give the wrong impression of our land. I concentrate in posts about the flat bit near the house, the bit that forms the cutting garden, the bit which takes up most of my time. I rarely mention the rest.

In reality we have about 4 acres here - around about 1 acre is flat - the house is built on this bit and we have put up a polytunnel and lots and lots of raised beds.

The rest of the land slopes behind this down across a small tussocky field then a swampy field and finally through a bluebell wood down to the Altquhir burn.

This whole area is completely untouched and has been for at least 20 years - it is where I go to be quiet and is why we bought the house. Today Zoe and her friend Jan went down to the woods to play on the tree swing - sitting on the river bank they watched 2 herons fishing in the river. It is a very special place.

It is at this time of year that the fields begin to come alive with flowers - dog violets under the hawthorn trees, cowslips in the grass banking between the deer fences, kingcups in the swamp. Soon there will be cow parsley and scabious, meadowsweet and elderflowers and bluebells, bluebells everywhere. Nothing I grow really matches up to these.

My favourite thing at the moment is to lie in the grass under a hawthorn tree looking up through the old twisted branches with their new fresh green shoots.

This is my 300th post - doesn't time fly.


4 comments:

Angel Jem said...

Happy three hundreth!
The place sounds lovely & wildlife is ... lovely, Gosh, must find a new adjective (not nice or lovely)

It was a lovely day for just being, wasn't it?

Cape Cod Washashore said...

Wow! 300 posts! Congratulations!

Your yard sounds just divine! I can only imagine a sloping field blossoming with wildflowers - quite dreamy!

weirdbunny said...

Your land sounds very simialr too ours. The house, poly tunnels and amy cottage garden are on the flat. To the right of the house then is what we call the rain forest. The spring is there and it's all swampy, and has lots of gunera and trees. Behind is mountain land, ferns and blubells, and also to the left. Not forgetting animals here there and everywhere. Oh and lots of unsightly falling down agrigutural buildings !

Heather said...

Happy 300th Post day to you.

Cow Parsley is a nice enough plant in small patches - but we are AWASH with the stuff - its called 'kek' here - or 'goodfornowt' - and whilst it actually works really well as a structure piece in my amateurish flower arrangements - I can't disagree with the overall impression here - and cows incidently won't eat the stuff!

Heather