Sunsets in late October

We have been having lovely weather this last week of October and this has resulted in beautiful sunsets. There have also been beautiful skies in the morning but I have not been out with my camera soon enough to take them!

These are taken from Breakish Moss Cottage.

Protective hedges

We've just been cutting the hedges that protect our vegetable beds. We planted field maple which was slow growing but has now, after 20 years, made a very good protective barrier against the winds we get here in winter.

You can see how well it has grown from the photos. It also does not need cutting more than once a year which is good.

We have a lot of hedges here including cherry plum and beech so there is a lot of work to do with the hedge trimmers at this time of year.

Today I noticed how lovely the rowan I recently bought at Clan Donald Fair is looking in all its glory with the bright red leaves.  It is Sorbus Joseph Rock and I had always wanted one as they have such amazing red leaves in autumn and yellow berries which is quite unusual. 

The tree is too young to have berries this year but hopefully next year we will see them.  I planted it at the gateway to our Breakish Moss Cottage, as every home should have a rowan, and we can all enjoy it.

Herb spiral

When we were doing up our kitchen a few years ago we bought in some pieces of slate and when the job was finished there were lots of small pieces left over. Alasdair decided to make a herb spiral and it was very successful both aesthetically and as a useful addition to the garden.

We have sage, two kinds of thyme, rosemary, chives, parsley and marjoram and, as it is just outside our door it is very handy.

Just brought in a few hydrangeas and the lily in the bottom left hand corner of this photo.

I find the hydrangeas dry very well if the vase is left to drain of water as that way the flowers keep their colour throughout the winter for a good colourful display indoors.

The lily was beautiful for the last few days filling the house with a lovely scent. I only ever seem to get one head though and when I planted more lilies last year the rabbits ate them which was very disappointing.

Rainbow seen from Breakish Moss Cottage

The weather has been lovely the last few days and lots of really clear light on the hills.
This was a lovely rainbow and I rushed out to get the photo before it disappeared. It is landing directly on the the island of Pabbay.  I wonder if there is gold there!

Blueberry mulch

Just picked the last of our blueberries for this year. We have been picking them for 2 months now - so this was the best year for production since we planted them about 15 years ago. Some of the bushes are quite tall now - about 5 ft  - and the most productive bush we have is called Bluecrop.

We have now mulched them with sawdust about 4 inches thick as that is what they like. Acid soils suit them best and one mustn't feed them anything but sawdust!

Last fling with the window boxes

Now starting to tidy away the window boxes and the sort greenhouse ready for an early start next year.

Here is a photo from the beginning of September and I enclose it because it looks so nice compared to the bedraggled plants now. Nasturtiums are such a good display and the clematis has flowered all summer and is still flowering now.

Weeding the vegetables for winter use

I have spent the last week trying to get out between showers to weed the last of the vegetables to keep them in good order for the winter. We have lots of large leeks and I am particularly pleased with the red cabbages this year as these have not been so good for a few years.