Research

Started doing the reading on the garden archive. I must admit I'm enjoying it. Came across some great pictures of the garden when it was first laid out in the style of a 17th century Scots Garden back in 1973, the allee of hornbeam is amazing. The trees are just wee whips, these days they are 35 feet tall, sorry can't do "new money" and all squared off to make one long block of growth. Also interesting to look at the prices of things back then, particularly skilled labour.

I hope to start writing something later in the week. The guidance I've been given from the grants' people really relates to reviving a Victorian public park, but there are some aspects I can draw one, and my task should be easier given I'm only going back 30 years, but I do want to say a little about the use of the ground from 17th century to 1973, which was largely as an orchard.

This is a picture of one of the corner features of another old garden in Haddington, Amisfield. It is a ruin now, it was ploughed up in WWII to grow potatoes, and then bacame a failed tree nursery. I took some shots there on Saturday, which was a wild showery day. Colin Will is involved with it and he got me in with some of the volunteers who are clearing the ground. I got some good shots, but I may submit a few so I won't post them here. My favourite was one of a line of trees shadows down the full length of one of the walls.

Better get moving, need to walk the dog before darkness descends again. Winds last night were awful, tearing at the back of the house from the West. I fear for the chimney stacks in weather like that. There's tree down over the road, but fortunately it has fallen the other way. There are some beech there, and that concerns me as they are shallow rooted trees. At least the leaves are off, otherwise they'd have acted like ships in full sail and branches would have come off.