After Beechgrove Garden

We’ve had a busy few weeks with plenty of visitors, the Scottish Rhododendron Show, the SRGC Show and a visit from Beechgrove Garden. Glenarn has been looking good with an amazing array of rhododendrons in bloom- one of the best years we can remember and flowers holding for a long time because of the cool weather. It’s been sunny, dry and cold, then damp, misty and cool and finally warm, some sun and maybe even hot next week.

The Rhododendron lindleyis have been outstanding, still holding up at the bottom of the garden, together with a plant grown from a cutting with large acid yellow flowers, starting lime green in bud- we are trying to identify it.

Elsewhere, Magnolia wilsonii is looking good and M sieboldii coming into flower. There is also the remnant of M sieboldii ssp sinensis grandiflora that has even bigger flowers opening to flat plates rather than the cups of sieboldii.

In the rock garden the azaleas have formed a colourful border, just now fading to let other plants take over. The first meconopsis are blooming, both blue perennials and the tall, mainly yellow annuals. Paeonies fill the space in between in the many shades of orange and marmalade between the species yellow and red.

There’s still a lot of rhododendrons to flower as well as the newer magnolias ( that used to be michelias) this year performing well.