Windsor and cadmium lemon, bismuth, chrome and cadmium yellow, Naples and Indian deep and light yellow, jaune brilliant and yellow ochre have been splashed and dripped across Ardivachar headland as the sun has irradiated the islands for the past month. The machair is in its yellow period and the early summer flowers are glowing and radiating with the golden light of the sun. The palette begins with subtle hints of primrose but quickly gains energy and sparks with the acid citron of charlock; warming to gold as the buttercups, celandines, silverweed and kingcups occupy centre stage only to be eclipsed by the rich aureate tones of the bird’s-foot-trefoil.
As we move into mid-June this golden glory is softened as the grasses begin to flower and swathes of red fescue drift across the fields in a gentle maroon mist. The floral kaleidoscope has been twisted and the first blue spikes of the tufted vetch appear as the spectrum changes from yellow to blue and the tapestry of flowers becomes more complex.
Alas the cottage garden lacks nature’s refinement and is defiant in flaunting a riotous mix of colours, forms and textures. There is no restraint, kniphofias flaunt their brilliant orange and yellow spikes defiantly amidst a swathe of aquilegias which profligate and promiscuous create an amalgam of the palest and most delicate of pinks with deep violet and blue.
Purple pompoms of chives sit against the fronds of fennel feigning refinement before marching off down the path to parade their glory against the candy floss pink of the thrift and London’s pride. Pillows of blue geraniums spill over the path, smoothering the primroses, their dominance soon to be upstaged by the flaming scarlet of the opium poppies. In the strong light of a hot June afternoon, the garden hums with the sound of insects as the exuberant flowers offer a surfeit of delights.
There are no contrived vistas in this garden, no artful arrangement of rooms, as beyond the garden walls there is an unrivalled panorama of sea and shore, distant islands and natural grassland. The eye is always drawn to the horizon and the extrovert carousel of colours in the garden is a mere distraction. However, there are tiny oases of calm which sit quietly in shady corners and form miniature green refuges.
There is no gardener’s restraining hand strong enough the constrain the summer revelery in the cottage garden, nor a garden designer’s scheme to discipline the arrangement of plants. It is the same on both sides of garden wall, plants grow where it suits them. I am the servant of the garden, I nurture the plants that choose to grow and replace the casualties. I might suggest a planting plan, but it is generally ignored and I suspect that left to its own devices the garden knows best.
Love the colours, your pictures and your whole approach to gardening!
Thank you. Gardening here is a case of pure pragmatism and you just go with the flow. I can’t resist experimenting though and trying new plants, but for the price of a packet of seed you can get some wonderful surprises!
Absolutely right. An overly designed garden would look totally out of place there. In seeking to blend with the backdrop you are extending the garden’s reach. And how lovely it all looks.
Thank you. A garden is just a managed landscape, a little different but it should still be part of the whole.
Your views are breathtaking! What a feast for the eyes – flowers near and far, and then the sea.
I really can’t compete with what nature has provided and I’m fortunate that thsi is what I see every morning.
What a paintbox of a post Christine – as always you conjure up such graphic images with every word you write. Thank you so much
The colours are spectacular this year – you definitely need your shades and your new sunhat in this part of the world to go botanising on the machair.
We will be back (with hats and sunglasses) – but don’t know when…
Don’t leave it too long!
This is an absolute joy. Wild flowers are my favourite thing. I only wish I were there to see them.Thank you.
Absolutely unbeatable. It is so sad that we have lost so many of our hay meadows and unimproved grassland, they are such fragile environments and so easy to destroy. I’ll cherish my bit of machair and hope that the next custodian will do the same.
that looks lovely – love your dry stane walls! 😀
Thank you. In such an exposed garden the walls are my only vertical structures and in my opinion are probably the best feature of the garden – apart from the view.
Fabulous colours, words and photos Christine, and great to see the landscape bathed in such lovely sunshine. Thanks for sharing it with us,
best wishes
Julian
Thank you – kind words as ever.