The early mornings have been beautiful lately.
We’ve had clear blue skies which has meant it’s been cold with a touch of frost on the ground but absolutely lovely and certainly makes getting up the back of 6am so I can walk the dog before heading to work, all that more easier.
Opening the living room curtains is also a joy just now.
Drawn to scented flowers
To be fair when you live in the heart of such lovely grounds as those at Scone Palace are, then it always is, but the sight I first see at the moment are two of my favourite shrubs in flower.
Daphne is a genius of plants best known for their scented flowers.
I first got to know these plants when working in alpine gardens which should tell you there are some dainty ones out there, but there also plenty suited for the garden in general too.
The Daphne I have growing below my window is the species tangutica, the whole plant is lovely, growing in a near perfect mound shape getting close to 1m in height and spread.
I’ve tried growing Daphnes in various other parts of my garden but does seem best in this drier spot in the shadow of the stone wall of my house.
The foliage is a glossy, dark-green colour and with it being an evergreen means I have interest in my garden during the winter too.
Great plant in spring
You can’t beat this plant in spring though which just now is completely covered in flowers that are pinky-purple on the outside but open more to a white.
Examining more closely, this green-white-purple-pink combination chosen by Mother Nature is near perfection for me.
Seeing a plant at its best when it has been well pruned and trained, is in full and glorious colourful bloom or by enjoying its architectural foliage, can be stimulating enough.
However, I don’t think you can beat when turning a corner in the garden for your nostrils to latch on to a delicious perfume.
It’s even more exciting when it’s a garden you don’t as your eyes then flash around to find the source of this amazing scent.
Captured by floral scent
Despite being a mainstay of my garden for 11 years now, this plant still grabs me.
I remember walking past my front door where it grows only for my head to turned sharply as I captured its scent for the first time this year, happily realising an old friend was back again.
To create a semi-formal entrance to my front garden, on the other side of the narrow grass path that leads there I have another evergreen in Osmanthus delavayi.
This is mostly seen as a shrub that grows 3m tall but came up as a suitable substitute when looking for an alternative for struggling Boxus, which for years we have used as a low growing hedge until pest and disease issues make using this plant more of a gamble.
I was fascinated to see that this too can be trimmed and grown in the same way, there is a large difference in cost per plant between the two making this option a much more expensive one and so is why I just grow the one and trim it to match the shape of the Daphne opposite.
I can’t believe how much it has worked and this is the first year that it has flowered for me too though to be honest, I can’t smell the scent of its white flowers as it’s currently being overpowered by it’s neighbour. A nice problem to have.
Scent is one of the tools a plant will use to attract pollinators.
Enjoying an early morning walk around the Palace grounds the other morning, I was attracted to the yellow flowering Oregon Grape, Mahonia aquifolium.
With the sun out, the David Douglas pavilion in the background along with the dark green foliage of the conifer that bears the same name, it was too good a photo opportunity to miss.
Gently hum of a busy bee
As I moved my camera phone into position to find the perfect shot, I could hear the gentle hum of a bee busy at work.
As I followed the bee move from cluster of flowers to cluster of flowers, I initially thought to myself that it would have been the bright flowers that had attracted it but after taking an urge, I bent down to smell the subtly, fragrant flowers that this plant had too.
During the busiest of times in the garden, this moment made me realise that I shouldn’t be taking anything for granted in the garden, that I need to stop, take a look and appreciate every detail of what every plant in the garden has to offer.
Mahonias are tough plants for the garden, not sure they are ever given the credit they deserve to be chosen as the statement plant of a border though in my opinion they should be.
This one is compact only reaching to 1m, has holly like leaves that go a tinge of purple as the temperature drops during winter.
Black berries suitable for making jelly follow the flowers and extend its interest.
Lesson learned this week, follow my nose more.
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