Up and Down

After a chilly day making baskets in a yurt in Girvan (the yurt was warm) on Sunday and a day teaching living willow at Twecher it was time to head north to Inverness and then onto Inverewe.

I had tried to do a site visit at Inverewe just before Christmas but a series of storms led me to cancel. A little nervous as I set off after a recent fall of snow but as it turned out it was a great trip. I spent Monday night in Inverness which was a good choice as I had a stunning drive through great Highland scenery with snow capped mountains and brown/grey mottled glens.

The image in my mind of the National Trust for Scotland garden at Inverewe was no match for the actual experience. It is right on the coast with doorways from the walled garden actually opening onto the shore, this is backed by wooded hills consisting of collections of exotic trees. It took a while to find someone but meanwhile it was a good excuse to poke around without any distractions.

The purpose of my visit was two fold, one to look at an area of revetment work where a bank is to be supported by a low willow border, secondly a sculptured back drop for some new planting. Head Gardener Kevin Ball showed me around while other enthusiastic staff shared their ideas and observations. The two beds for the sculptures are about 35 metres long and need to attract the visitors to take a closer look. With such great weather it was a real joy to sit and sketch or wander around photographing the site.

I returned home greatly inspired, and set off the next day to continue work at Netherthird Primary, cheerfully unloading the van on a clear crisp morning. Just needed to loosen the soil to put down the ground cover, swung the pickaxe which bounced off the soil like it had just hit concrete. No planting today.