My desk at the bedroom window has a glass top which reflects the sky.

I have been fascinated by the shapes of the leaves, the shadows and the reflections of this little group

and have been drawing them for days...

in a meditative kind of way.

More on this idea soon.

I loved the Library at Innerpeffray, near Crieff, the first lending library in Scotland. This dramatic three minute video illustrates just how remarkable an achievement the library was..

I am having the map of Africa in this amazing atlas, published in 1238 repaired in memory of Barry, in the belief that as a great lover of old books he will then forgive me for parting with the hundreds (if not thousands) of volumes he had stashed in every corner of the house  :-)

We stayed in Comrie in Perthshire and visited The Earthquake House above. We were lucky to be there on the one day a year when it is open to the public (at other times you can look through doors and windows) and even luckier that there had been seismic activity recorded during the early hours of that morning which I thought was quite exciting.

I also felt very lucky to stay in a house designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh - a very modest commission taken on between the first and second phase of his famous Glasgow School of Art. It is looked after by the conservation charity The Landmark Trust.

Austere, but comfortable too.

The view from the window of Comrie, a comely or couthie wee place and a good centre for touring the area.

 
..with attractive shops, hotel and restaurants- not fancy...but I liked it.

Plain and simple.

I spent a lovely few days with friends in Perthshire..

Perhaps you will enjoy Hamish MacCunn's evocation of the Scottish landscape. (9 minutes).

More tomorrow about Comrie - The Shaky Toon, Mackintosh and the Landmark Trust, historic libraries and cathedrals - we packed a lot into one week-end.

Or not.

'Autumn we are ready for you' announced the advertising slogan (Hobbs) which shocked me into awareness of how unready I am.

So excuse me while I take a media break and search for and embrace the best things about autumn. I've already got the divine smell of quince and this photograph of the shore path, I'm making ratatouille and putting the  warmer linen on the beds for my guests....but I can't quite shake off that feeling of melancholy I always get in this season of wasps and mellow fruitfulness.

If it is your favourite season can you explain to me why?

..this exhibition in Edinburgh - only two weeks left..It was excellent and having recently read Zola's The Masterpiece I felt I could easily conjure up the atmosphere of the first showings in Paris of many of the works gathered here from all around the world.

A delicious starter with a side dish of roast potatoes made a satisfying lunch in the rather nice gallery restaurant.

Edinburgh in the sunshine, such a treat.

Don't miss Lotta's simple and beautiful designs here. I have one of her red trees and am buying them for everyone this year....oops, I've given away the surprise!

Have you considered each of the Six Honest Serving Men?

What, Why When, How Where and Who?

Here are some more questions in no particular order -

How long do you expect to stay in this house?
How much are you prepared to/able to spend?
Will you get professional help?
What will be your time scale for the design?
Will you phase it over a period?
What will be your order of priorities?
Which views will you focus on or screen?
If you have lost any plants over the last season or two do you know why?
Have you done a soil test? (Inexpensive kit is fine.)
Do you know where north is?
Will you draw a plan to scale? Even a rough sketch is helpful.
Do you have someone who will water while you are away?

Lots of practicalities and perhaps the illusion of control....but maybe what we are after in a garden is the daily and intimate contact with the miracle of nature....right on our doorstep, the newly opened flower, the bee, the butterfly, the scents and colour - a garden is a sensual experience, and should have an element of enchantment and joy.

Japanese quince. Smell, heavenly. With work in progress.

Your garden design that is..

If you've been following my Design Your Own Garden course (begun 3rd September under Simply Grow) you may appreciate a reality check!

Here are two important questions -

How much time would you be prepared or able to spend once any major work was done?

1 - 2 hours per week
2 - 4 hours per week
Some evenings and part of most weekends
Most of your spare time

Who would do any major work? You or a contractor?

In the light of your answers to this you may want to modify your plans. As an example - for one client who wanted a Romantic garden but worked full-time and could not afford help, I designed a Romantic Corner and kept the rest very simple; for another who wished he had a bigger garden I opened up the views to the surrounding countryside and managed the boundaries so that the 'borrowed view' appeared to be part of the garden, with no extra work required.

Thinking outside the box is good at this stage. For example you might swap skills with someone who can help you do the work which is physically too demanding for you.

Or perhaps have a beautifully shaped tree which is now blocking a path. You are thinking of pruning the tree, but you might be better moving the path....
Mull over all the possibilities, browse the web, visit or revisit with a more analytical eye gardens you love, ask everyone's opinion (if you are sure you won't be too easily swayed from your own preferences). Ask yourself why you like what you like as well as how can you achieve it.


Think things through. Take your time - a week, a month, a season.

I keep saying take your time, so I'll leave this post up for a few days!


Next post - keeping the dream and getting practical - you need both!

Now is your chance to start gathering favourite images online or from magazines for your own garden file - indulge your imagination as you answer the question..

How would you describe your ideal garden?

Romantic
Restful
Dramatic
Tidy
Private/secluded
Traditional
Attractive to wildlife
Muted in colour
Very colourful
Labour saving
Innovative/imaginative
Low maintenance
Other?

I am liking a little on the wild side..

Here are two nice, and important questions!

What do you like most about your garden?

What do you like least?

Take your time over this one....

The privacy, the view, the good soil, a special tree....

One of my favourite things is the view - it's known in design terms as 'borrowed landscape' and one of the lovely things about it is I don't have to look after it..

OK it's time to own up - here is my least favourite bit! The dumping ground at the back of the shed. But watch this space...

..to tie up.

I never did see these oystercatchers eggs hatch although I watched them every morning for 20 odd days. I had to be in the city one whole day and the next morning there was no sign of eggs, shells, adults or chicks. I can only hope....

I did find this book worth reading although the author who 'looks behind the quackery' considers some things, like homeopathy, quackery and is relentless in his outright condemnation....he does a thought-provoking Ted Talk too.

I reckon I lost 3 lbs on my self imposed 30 day challenge, and I did lose one and half inches from my waist and get into the new trousers - on the right trajectory and worth doing. I hope you all had some success too and thank you for all the encouraging comments which really did help!

Here is another challenge for those who are missing one.

l'll pass, thank you.

I have been posting questions I ask clients when I am commissioned to design a garden - so they will amount to an online Design Your Own Garden Course if you like to follow all the suggestions!

Here is the fourth question I ask. The answers of course are not just ticking the box - a lot of discussion goes on at this stage - perhaps you can discuss the questions with someone?

This one is another check list -

What kind of plants do you want?

Trees
Shrubs
Herbaceous perennials
Annuals/biennials
Scented flowers
Groundcover
Climbers
Evergreens
Topiary
Foliage interest
Alpines
Flowers for cutting
Flowers to attract wildlife/birds/butterflies
Containers with bedding
Bulbs
Exotics
Other?

Don't tick them all! Unless you have a lot of space and a gardener (or two.)

Flowers for picking are a priority for me - even if just tiny posies..

Waiting for the bus....

Waiting for the ferry....

I am posting a Design Your Own Garden course here I realise....

This is a checklist I devised to go through with clients who commission a garden design. (Previous posts under Simply Grow on sidebar)

Which of these features would you want or need?

Lawn
Vegetable plot
Patio
Pergola
Raised beds
Pool
Pond
Barbecue
Garden furniture
Ornament/sculpture
Bird bath
Flower borders
Cutting patch
Hedges/fences
Play area
Sand pit
Herb garden
Shed/storage
Greenhouse
Summerhouse
Compost heap
Deck
Washing line
Extra storage for bikes/canoes etc
Other?

You may like to make a garden file with your answers to the questions (there are more to come).

Photographs of your garden as it is now will be helpful...not 'arty' photographs just a warts-and-all record of every part of it.

After a whole day of dealing with paperwork yesterday (I am using Marie Kondo's two categories of save and needing to be dealt with) I went into the damp garden and picked this luminous little posy. Photographed under the light of the lamp it looks almost fluorescent.

Joy.

PS Posts may be somewhat erratic for a bit. Life tends to be erratic don't you find?! (like my weight..)

Yay! I wore the new trousers (comfortably!) yesterday to a preview of Cowal Open Studios

The trousers are quite lightweight so just in time to get a few wearings of them before I need warmer ones. And an incentive not to put that weight back on before next spring/summer as I do like them and feel nice in them.

The show at The Creggans Inn features a work or two from each of the artists who will be opening their studios at the end of September. If you will be in the area it is well worth a look especially if you think you won't have time to visit all the studios - this might help you choose which to go to. (I am not taking part this year.) The Creggans do good lunches too.

I still have two fast days (today and Wednesday) of the 30 day challenge...  How is your challenge going?

Don't stop yet!
:
I think I will continue with the 5:2 - eating lightly on two days of the week. It is said to have many health benefits and I feel good, and energetic on it.

When do you use the garden most?

All day, mornings, evenings, weekends, hardly ever....it's a good idea to think about when you make use of your outdoor space as well as what for (yesterday's question).

It can help with decisions about how much to spend - not much if you only sit out on a Sunday morning, more if you and/or your children spend most of your waking hours out there, where to position your sitting area - which areas get sun or shade and at what time of day, what kind of plants to grow eg plants with evening scent if you are out at work all day, whether to create more privacy in the eating or sunbathing area if your neighbours are home all day, where to put the children's play area if they mostly use it after school - is it visible from the window while you prepare the meal?

If you have a garden, and if you are planning or redesigning one, I thought I would share some of the questions I ask clients before I begin work...

Question one -  What would you like to use the garden for?

To sit in, look at, hide in, grow your own food, let the children run free, grow flowers to pick for the house, add to the value of the property, attract wildlife, eat and drink in, sunbathe nude.........  Make your list as long as you like.

Then prioritise, as it's probable that not all your dreams will be fulfilled in one garden!

I watched this (scroll down to Smiling Face) and gained a different perspective on everything.

I found it very moving, and it left me thinking you might as well be happy!

What do you think?

Thank you to my sister Doreen who put it on her Facebook page.