Confusing for Onions
This Summer has delivered us the strangest weather that I can remember in some time. Whilst most of the country has been basking in sunshine and typical high temperatures, the Highlands - Ardtornish no [...]
9
08, 2024
11
03, 2024
A Senior Gardener’s Tale at Ardtornish
As this is my first Blog, I feel I should introduce myself. My name is John and I am the Senior Gardener at Ardtornish. I was promoted last Autumn, previously having held the post of [...]
14
07, 2021
Hot, cold, wet, dry… we’ve had it all and not quite in the right order!
Formal gardens Grass cutting is now well underway and some of the larger lower lawns are being converted to native wildflower meadows where appropriate. This will increase biodiversity of the gardens encouraging wildlife and [...]
29
10, 2018
Lichens on the apple tree in Ardtornish Kitchen Garden
Written by Sandy & Brian Coppins, Sandy is an internationally recognised lichen expert and recent visitor to the estate. Reference: Atlantic Hazel – Scotland’s special woodlands Lichens are amazingly varied in shape, form and [...]
5
05, 2017
Kitchen Garden Spring Update 28th April 2017
It has been sometime since my last blog on the developments in the Kitchen Garden. It has been a really busy but rewarding winter and even with the brief snow showers at the back end [...]
21
11, 2016
Fruit Tree Planting & Maintenance
One of the key jobs this month is rescuing and replacing some of the soft fruit that I inherited in the garden. The raspberries, which are currently sitting in an impossibly weedy and mold ridden [...]
16
09, 2016
Summer Pruning
Summers ending and my attention has been focused on taming the fruit trees including apples, pears, plums and cherries that grow within one of our many poly tunnels. Growing fruit trees in this environment presents [...]
3
08, 2016
From ground to plate…
Since the last garden blog things have been progressing well. Even with the strange Spring and Summer weather, with snow in April, a mini heat wave in May and then rain throughout June and July, [...]
10
06, 2016
Weeds, Weeds and more Weeds……….
We must have excavated down about 2-2.5ft all over the main front of the garden and significantly more in the channels and brought in around 500 tonnes of gravel and hard-core in replacement. This gravel [...]
1
03, 2016
Waterlogged Winter Woes!!
The record levels of rain fall has proved to be a very unwelcomed guest this winter. It soon became apparent that the original, Victorian clay drainage in the garden was not up to the job. [...]
