Bloomin' marvellous!

Lovely golden-flowered wild rose at the top end.

Hi all
'Our' Graham has been hard at work in the garden, planting the most beautiful combination of flowers, herbs and even vegetables. Here's a taste for you. Enjoy – and come visit!
Really sorry, no dogs, no wheels, though.

Centre piece in gold and purple – Chives, Aquilegia (Granny's bonnet), tulips – golden-flowered rose in the background

Mysterious Mecanopsis – what a success story here!

Beans flowering in the vegetable patch

More photos from the Lynnside Community Garden

Dear All

The top end of the garden is taking shape beautifully, thanks to a lot of work, thanks mostly due to Graham's tireless efforts.

He has contributed the photos here, taken over the last few weeks. Lovely autumn colours, don't you think?

If you would like to contribute in terms of time and/or money, we will be happy to get back to you. Simply leave a comment at the end of this post with your contact details – your comment will not be published.

It is hoped that the garden can at long last be opened to the public next spring. Watch this space!

Even in autumn, a riot of colour

Hello again
Graham has done a sterling job in selecting robust flowers (bulbs, annuals, perennials) that even after a wet and chilly periods looks stunning on a grey autumn afternoon.
Would anyone like to sponsor a bench, or a fruit tree, or some more planting? Donations are always welcome!

A "wiggly"-shaped central eye-catcher alive with colour.
All photographs in this post: © by Margret Powell-Joss.

Interesting shapes, textures and colours as we look towards the retaining wall at the top of the "top end".

A striking feature is the circular motif of lovely cobblestones.

The "top end" seen from the footpath that connects it to the gate in Dalintart Lane.

Just magic! A riot of colours: yellow and orange calendula, blue cornflowers, pink rocks and gravel, green foliage.

View of the "woodland/wild area". Click on the photo to find the bright red rosehips.

Graham's Biochar® experiment: the raised bed on the left contains a mix of Biochar® and compost; the raised bed on the right contains compost only. Better photos to follow, hopefully.

The Top end of our Community Garden is taking shape

What a difference!
It's taken a while and may take a while yet until we can officially open. Still, there's no denying that a great deal of progress has been made:

Photograph by Margret Powell-Joss

Above: before (November 2008)
Below: after (June 2012)

© Photograph by Graham Scott

Amazing work!

© Photograph by Graham Scott.

Lorn Garden Club Flower Festival at Ardmaddy Castle Garden

Dear all

Lorn Garden Club had booked a fabulous day for their Flower Festival at Ardmaddy Garden. Here are a few visual impressions:

Some of the veggies on offer at our table: carrots, beetroot; French beans, runner beans, broad beans; radishes, green peppers, small green chilly peppers; followed by a colourful nosegay with sweet peas, spearmint, real marigolds, cornflowers and red clover:

Our informative posters attracted quite a lot of attention. We "recycled" them from the Oban Charities' Day in June.

More veg: fir apple potatoes, onions, zucchini with blossoms, kale and sugar-snap peas; the highlight is provided by a few nasturtium blossom.

The weather was simply perfect: warm, sunny, with just the faintest of breezes. This is nearly the end of the day, when the landlord of Ardmaddy Castle, Mr Charles Struthers, called out the winning numbers of the raffle.

Flower Festival – Lynnside Community Garden at Ardmaddy Castle on Sunday, 15th August 2010

Dear All

Just in the nick of time, here are a few flower photos from our garden to celebrate the ongoing Flower Festival. Tomorrow, Sunday, the Lynnside Community Garden will join many other flower-related activists for an afternoon at the stunningly beautiful Ardmaddy Castle gardens.

Stunning red-orange-purple Osteospermum daisies. Our gardener, Graham, has planted several varieties of them, ranging from pure white to deep red via pale yellow and bright orange.

Above, a kale flower with a honeybee; below, the flower of a pumpkin. We'll see how big it will get.

This photo of a deep red sunflower was taken "blind", the camera being held above the flower facing straight into the sky. The ladybird was an unexpected bonus.

The lovely veggie patch with real marigolds and a couple of bright red poppies glimpsed through a gap in the wooden fence along Dalintart Lane.

 Your blogger had this fabulous salad for a late lunch/early tea today. 

The recipe? With pleasure:

Take a good handful of tender cut-and-grow-again lettuce leaves. add a few rocket leaves, pluck the petals off a couple of marigold heads, chop in a few small carrots, a couple of organic tomatoes, perhaps half an avocado, and LOTS of fresh herbs – chives, sage, marjoram or oregano, parsley. Sprinkle on some crushed sea salt and about a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and add a generous squirt of extra virgin olive oil. Toss the lot gently but thoroughly and garnish with as many nasturtium blossoms as there are people to share this bounty with. Bon appétit!

No meal is quite complete without a pretty nosegay. This one consists of two sprigs of purple and one sprig of red sweet pea blossoms plus a sprig of flowering spearmint. Ah, the fragrance is exquisite!

Fruit and Flowers

Hello again
Your blogger is so glad to have made the most of an almost sunny window in today's weather pattern to snap a few photos of the gorgeous flowers and fruit that grace our garden. See for yourself.

Runner bean blossom -- perfect white

Greenish cream of sweet corn

Sweet peas bring a splash of crimson

Blackberries in various stages of ripeness

One of several sunflowers
This bashful one just wouldn't let me see her face
Graham must have planted at least four different variations of nasturtiums, all of which are doing very well

The fence along Dalintart Lane has almost exploded with flowers and colours

Happy bedfellows - tagetes keep pests away from leeks

Very soon now, the cherry tomatoes will be ready, too
Nasturtiums are excellent ground cover to keep weeds in check --
and their blossoms add a wonderful splash of colour and fire to any salad or exotic dish.