Summer Color

From my flower bed this morning. :)

Celtophile Monday: Celtic Gardens

As I write this it is Imbolc, Feb. 2. The Cailleach was awakened by the sun this morning, which means she will be out collecting wood all day. Why? She'll need it as she holes up for six more weeks of winter. *sigh*

So I got to thinking about gardens, anything to lift the depression! LOL Here are some links I came across in my search for a little virtual warmth.

Celtic Gardens Hey! This place is right up the road in Michigan! Their philosophy: "God makes; man shapes." Check out the photo gallery.


Celtic Dream Garden This place looks like it's worth a road trip...


Walled garden at Castle of Mey, Scotland. Rescued from abandonment by the Queen Mother in 1952.


Cawdor Castle, Scotland, is not far from Culloden. I've actually been here in high summer and it is gorgeous. I find something appealing about the controlled chaos of a UK/Irish/Scottish garden. :)


Rowallane Garden, Northern Ireland


If you are ever in northern Wales, do NOT pass up the chance to see Bodnant Gardens. It's magical. Their collection of azaleas and rhododendrons is unmatched.


Beautiful walled garden in Strathgary, Scotland.


Warmed up? I am! Come on, spring!

The Greening Time

Today I nipped out of the house for a couple hours to go shopping for herbs at the annual Toledo Herb Society plant sale at the Toledo Botanical Garden.

When we moved last year, I left behind established herb beds, developed over 13 years of hard work. A veritable mini-Provence of purple, pink and white lavender plants; three different kinds of thyme; oregano; St. John's Wort and more. Now I'm starting all over again, but it's not so bad because I have a lot more room to work with, and the soil around here is soft, sandy, and easy to dig. Not like the hardpan clay soil of Medina County!

Not sure they'd have boxes there, I took one of my big, flat Longaberger baskets and I must say I was quite the fashion hit of the sale! Everyone commented on my basket overflowing with herb plants. I came home with:

Lavender (I brought one with me from Medina, but it's not doing well)
Creeping wooly thyme (3) to plant in my stone circle
Sweet woodruff
Orange mint (yay!!)
Spearmint
Columnar basil
Lemon savory
English thyme
Prostrate rosemary
Lemon balm

Most everything except the woodruff and the lemon balm are going in two huge galvanized tubs filled with potting soil on the back patio. These were left by the last owner of our house, and they are very handy and hold water better than the sandy soil around the house.

I'll corral the mints in one of the pots - they don't play well with others and need to be contained or they'll run wild.

I took a stroll around the herb garden (pictured above) at the Toledo Botanical Garden and just drooled the entire time... it is beautifully landscaped and though it is early, it promises to be spectacular later on this summer.

Well, those are my garden notes for today. Time for me to go find my garden gloves and get to work!