Countryside Yarns

November 3, 2017 sareenmclayLeave a comment

Autumn has swept in with all the colours of a warm, woolly scarf.

I went on holiday recently, full of enthusiasm to leave and have a change. Well, the holiday was a real treat but so was the return.

In the time I was away the countryside has been transformed. Summer has ended but a new season, a fresh start has begun.

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Last year I planted a rowan tree by our front door. As a child I remember being told a rowan tree was always planted in Scottish gardens by the front door to ward off evil. On the other hand, the wood is also used to make wands.

I don’t know if any of it is true but this rowan tree has certainly given us a magical display with it’s long fingers of reds, oranges and greens.

Now I just need to put on my own woolly scarf, go out, and start planting bulbs for the spring.

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Flowers · Garden · Inspiration

Sunflowers

October 20, 2017October 30, 2017 sareenmclayLeave a comment

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Okay, this sunflower photo had to have pride of place here, right at the top, hopefully bright and cheery!

I wondered if anything would come of the seeds since I planted them a bit late but my imperfect timing doesn’t seem to have really mattered.

Flowers have now appeared: majestic crowns on top of their giant bodies. (I’m thinking of Jack and the Beanstalk here!).

As far as I remember I’ve loved sunflowers since I first saw an exhibition of Van Gogh paintings at The Burrell Collection in Glasgow, I think it was in 1990. A while ago I was lucky enough to go to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, where I unashamedly enjoyed filling in the worksheet provided for the children!

On a practical note I think I can chop off the head (!) and leave it out for the birds in the winter for feed, surely a win-win all round?

Maybe next year I’ll plant the seeds late again or maybe early, who knows?

Garden · Inspiration · Nature · Poetry

Looking forward

September 15, 2017 sareenmclay1 Comment

I have planted apple trees in my garden. I am planting them for the future. I hope they will be here for many generations to come. I hope the apple trees grow to become old and gnarled with their boughs laden with fruit. I am hoping all ages pick them, bite into them and enjoy the crisp, crunch of an apple. Perhaps they will be made into my favourite, apple crumble? Maybe they will be used for chutneys to spice up plain sandwiches in the dead of winter?

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I hope they will cheer the future, welcoming every year with their spring dresses of blossom.

Recently I found myself sitting in silence on a bench in the wild garden at Woodend Barn in Banchory. The thin trunks of crab apple trees on my left caught my attention. How could their spindly branches hold so many apples? Despite their apparent frailty they must be so strong inside.

Writer in Residence, Elaine Reid encouraged us to write a haiku, so here we go –

Crab Apples

Laden boughs of apples

Hidden strength in your core.

Rosy cheeked glow

Flowers · Garden · Inspiration · Poetry

Sweet Peas

August 20, 2017August 20, 2017 sareenmclay2 Comments

Back in April I spent five minutes sewing a few sweet pea seeds. As the weeks passed I spent a minute or two watering the seedlings now and then. It didn’t take long to pot them on as they grew taller. Being a fair weather gardener I planted them outside on a dry day.

Now, today I am picking the flowers. It’s early morning and it looks like it’s going to be a warm, sunny day. What a great start to my day to smell the perfume of these delicate beauties, to admire the combination of colour, to feel the pride of achievement.