Hi ya from Sunny Scotland

[ladykathryn]

Snowing in Chicago! Sucks to be them, it's lovely and warm here just now and my tomatoes, peppers, marrow, lettuce and PURPLE carrots are going utterly mad with all the sunshine. My kitchen looks like a gardeners green house and my back garden is now finally looking like a proper garden! This is my FIRST garden in Scotland where I will be growing veg, fruits, herbs. I did really well with my herb garden this past year so I am going APE and growing more stuff this year. I SIMPLY LOVE IT. I love it so much I have invited the local school 5 and 6 year olds to grow and help in the garden this year. They are coming for their first visit in two weeks so I am busy adding all kinds of fun stuff to make it brilliant for them. Their project is Garden in a Bucket..they will choose a plant they like and grow it themselves. They are really excited and so are their teachers. I am so happy to share this with them. They will learn about composting, recycling, growing things to eat and maybe a few will learn to like veg and fruits. It's good stuff. I have been living in Scotland for 7 years now moved here from Seattle with family. Finally now it's beginning to feel like home, and it's BRILLIANT! Now if I can just keep the slugs away eh??

[Andy Hamilton]

The slugs seem to be easier to control this year (fingers crossed). I have put in a pond, cleaned up most of the hiding places around my allotment and it has not been as wet as last year.

Anyway, welcome to the forum.

[red]

welcome

[ohareward]

Hi Ladykathryn, welcome to the forum. Are you a Dame of the Scottish realm? You sound really enthusiastic about gardening. Good on ya!

Robin

[revdode]

Welcome.

I've also noticed a slow start with slugs this year although there seem to be plenty of snails in my garden. A couple of wet days and I'm sure they will be back to full strength :)

[Shirley]

Hi LK

Whereabouts in Scotland are you? I'm in sunny Aberdeenshire. I saw my first slug today - it was hiding under a bit of bark on a fence post that I was scraping.

Aphids are going to be a huge problem for us this year... didn't have any last year but the apple trees are covered in them.

I love the Garden in a Bucket idea. I was thinking of doing something similar with the school here. Anything that gets the kids outside into the garden is a good thing and if it gets them to enjoy eating fruit and veg then all the better still.

[ladykathryn]

I reside in Aberdeenshire, Ellon (near Auchterellon Primary school) to be precise. It has been lovely and I haven't see too many slugs just a few wee ones, for me that means the MARCH OF THE SNAILS will commence soon, they seem to come from the neighbours where there are heaps of old trees and a poorly maintained garden where there is simply loads of rotten stuff to eat.

I LOVE gardens, and growing things. I have done this since I was little when I was living in Seattle. Admittedly, I was very spoiled in that when you went to the shops the best and cheapest foods were fruits and veg. There were many things there that simply aren't in existence in NE Scotland. It's a shame. I miss the variety from local shops. Yet I love Scotland, my garden is fairly big in the back and I was really sick of looking at just grass. So being the lass that I am I decided to do something about it. My youngest son is now in the US with the 101st Airborne following the path he felt was good for him. So my garden is becoming my path.

I have made so many changes to it in the past month. I have added about 200 bulbs, two apple trees, blueberry bushes, strawberries, black berries, raspberries, tayberries, and am starting my first ever Scottish vegetable garden.

I am SO excited about this, and I really hope the children enjoy it as well. I remember one summer sitting on my mother's front steps eating a very large tomato from her garden, the juice running down my chin. It was the best one I ever tasted, sweet and strong, and deep red inside. She asked me why I was eating tomatoes I said I was hungry and she wasn't home to make me something. That tomato started me off on an veggie and fruit adventure. I was the cook for our family of six so every meal without exception from that point on had fresh veg and fruit no matter the season. I make the best apple pie you ever tasted. My blackberry pie isn't bad either. I loved the garden, the butterflies, bugs, and taking care of them. They liked me and I liked them it was very cool!

I tend to them as if they were my family. Every plant gets special attention and spoken to as if they missed me. Totally and delightfully mad I am!!

To answer the "Lady" question. Yes I have title but don't usually speak about it too much. I'm just Kathryn nothing fancy just me. Kin what I mean? I'm just a country girl at heart. I have a bit of land near Balmoral with fishing rights it's conservation land so I feel good about protecting it from big fat over paid, and greedy developers! HA! I love the land and we are only visitors and as guests I feel that we should tread lightly on our gift we have been given.

I have a lovely Glasgow boy who lives with me and he's into "eating" the fruits of my labour. He says "I don't do gardens" Yet I have seen him watching me in my dungarees from the kitchen doorway, then eventually not being able to resist he wanders out to see what I'm up to. He does help now and then because he's just too nosy to leave it alone for long!

The garden is full of blue tits, and bumble bees. I have wild blue pansies growing in the grass and wee daisies. I really hate to mow the grass because they all go away for a while. I have an endangered flower list that I am trying to grow. One is the Scottish Primrose, they haven't grown yet but I will keep trying. I am determined to save our little flowered friends. They are important to Scottish heritage. The pansies seem to be growing more this year and earlier as well! Most likely because they like my digging, watering and fertilizing everything in sight!

I love this web site, it's simply brilliant! I know there are more mad people like me out there and it's nice to have a chat about problems and challenges as well as triumphs we have. So a big thank you to everyone, it's great. I will learn a lot by coming in here. I will keep you posted on the children in the garden, I know there will be some funny moments and I can't wait!

[Shirley]

To answer the "Lady" question. Yes I have title but don't usually speak about it too much. I'm just Kathryn nothing fancy just me. Kin what I mean? I'm just a country girl at heart. I have a bit of land near Balmoral with fishing rights it's conservation land so I feel good about protecting it from big fat over paid, and greedy developers! HA! I love the land and we are only visitors and as guests I feel that we should tread lightly on our gift we have been given.

What a wonderful thing to do, and how true that we are visitors to the land - treading lightly should be compulsory for everyone.

[Millymollymandy]

Hi and welcome to the site! Plenty of mad people here, that's for sure!

[mithril]

Hi. Look forward to 'seeing' you around.
mithril