Keltneyburn Wildflower Meadow

Every now and again a real perk of my job is that I get to go to nice places and meet nice people.

Monday evening was one of those occasions.

It had been a usual frantic Monday in the office, finalising tours, dealing with correspondence, preparing for our new reservations system – steam was coming out of most of our ears – poor Evelyn in Reservations was about frantic trying to finalise getting a summer special offers E-mailer out to our database before close of play. I had told her; whatever it takes it had to go before five-thirty as we were out of here at six, as we had a botanising date in rural Perthshire with Julia Corden of the Scottish Plant Hunter’s Garden http://www.explorersgarden.com/home.html

E-mailer gone, we were off on time – it had been a muggy grey day in Fife all day, the sun never quite breaking through, however as soon as we got over the hill out of Cupar heading north, the sun came through and it turned into the most glorious evening.

We  met up in Aberfeldy and then continued the short distance to Keltneyburn Wildlife Reserve – just beyond the wonderfully named village ‘Dull’ – which I noticed was twinned with ‘Boring’ in Oregon! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-18336146

Keltneyburn reserve is looked after by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and is home to an abundance of wildflowers. http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/reserve/keltneyburn/ Julia explained that mostly their job is the control of bracken that makes this such a good site for wild flowers.

The Balchroich Meadow has had more than 200 different species of plants recorded on the site, and is particularly well known for having eight species of orchid. We weren't to be disappointed. Julia and her bouncing Working Cocker Spaniel were the perfect guides pointing out as many wild flowers as possible.

The views over towards Kenmore and Aberfeldy were spectacular as a backdrop to the colourful flower meadows. A roe deer took off in front of us and the hawthorn and rowan blossom were in full flower.

While we saw loads of different plants Julia reckoned that the meadow was about two to three weeks late this summer, due to the cold spring. She expects the meadow to be at its best in a couple of weeks.

At the end of this month, Julia is leading a wildflower tour for us to Wengen, then is off to Costa Rica again for us early next year. For more details of these and other special interest tours do contact www.brightwaterholidays.com  - she is wonderful botanical guide.

The flowers that we saw (I am reliably informed) were :

Spotted Orchid – Dactylorhiza fuchsia
Birds nest Orchid – Neottia nidus-avis
Common Twayblade – Listera ovate
Small White Orchid – Pseudorchis albida
Early Purple Orchid – Orchis mascula
Fragrant Orchid – Gymnadenia conopsea
Butterfly Orchid – Platanthera , not sure if it was the greater or lesser (?)
Yellow globe flower – Trollius europaeus

Well worth a visit, and if you are in the vicinity I can recommend a nice little restaurant for lunch or supper run by the Gillespie family Ailean Chraggan – good food and friendly service. http://securebooking.eviivo.com/instantweb/default.aspx?shortname=aileanchragganph15

Gardening Scotland

Well done to our friends at the Scottish Rock Garden Club for winning a Gold Medal at this year's Gardening Scotland event held at the weekend. 

http://www.gardeningscotland.com/

We at Brightwater Holidays are were proud as punch for them and hope that our sponsorship of their stand helped in some small way.

It was a most beautiful display of alpines and other rock plants  - one of Scottish Rock's helpers told us

 "Yes, it is beautiful on top, but I know what's going on underneath!"

A bit like Tour Operating then? Like a graceful swan on the surface - but we are all paddling like crazy under the water! 

There was a constant stream of people over the three days of the show looking at the display garden, leafing through the Scottish Rock Garden Club's seed collection and advice was given freely about how to get the best from your rock garden. Do have a look at their excellent website here.

http://www.srgc.net/site/

I was quite taken by the world record display of potato varieties - that's potentially a lot of chips!

Some of the floral displays were simply stunning  like these chrysanthemums 

The bonsai section was fascinating

http://www.scottishbonsai.org

And Binny Plants' display of peonies were knockout.

http://www.binnyplants.com/

The floral displays by the Scottish Area of NAFAS - The National Association of Floral Arrangement Societies were absolutely amazing. In fact we had several group enquiries from Flower Arranging Clubs who are interested in visiting Dublin next June to see the World Floral Show. 

http://wafaireland.com/

We have several different options for those wanting to visit either as a group or as an individual.

A sample package is here

http://www.brightwaterholidays.co.uk/tour.aspx?TID=6215A922-5A69-4B8F-A1CE-1DE768847B38

If you would like a quote for your club or society do contact Ellen Walker our Group Travel Manager

ellen@brightwaterholidays.com 

Well done to the organisers of Gardening Scotland for an excellent show - but how did you arrange the sunny weather? My only disappointment was that I only caught a glimpse of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers for a couple of minutes - they're great! http://www.redhotchillipipers.co.uk/

Chelsea is over for another year

I didn't make it to the Chelsea Flower Show this year, too busy in the office, and the drinks do that the RHS invited me to clashed with my 20th wedding anniversary - so better judgement kicked in, and I gave it a miss this year.

A three weeks earlier I was out visiting some gardens and nurseries near Bath and I had the good fortune to call in for some delphiniums at Blackmore and Langdon's. I had just the spot in my herbaceous border for a few more delphiniums and I knew exactly where to go - Can you can never have too many delphiniums in your garden?.

Blackmore and Langdon's is a real treat to look round their polly tunnels - it is not fancy; a working nursery, but you can tell that this is a truely specialist grower. Rows and rows of young plants potted up.

I selected four nice big ones and got chatting to one of the chaps who was on watering duty. 

He told me that they were really worried about their Chelsea exhibit this year because of the really cold spring - he reckoned that they were at least three weeks behind, even with blasting their plants with heat and light to try and bring them on. 

As I was settling up at the till I happened to spy a Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal certificate sitting on top of their little coffee machine - well where else are you going to put it? especially when all the walls are covered in them. Blackmore and Langdon have been showing at Chelsea ever since the very first show in 1913 - they have never missed one (probably doesn't clash with their wedding anniversary?!).

The grandsons of the original Langdon family showed me piles and piles of Gold Medal certificates going back decades. They said that they used to get actual gold medals and old Mr Langdon used to just toss them into the bottom drawer of his desk each year and forget about them - until someone realised that they should be kept somewhere safer - so they invested in a safe.

After a few more years of gold medals sadly the nursery was burgled and the safe was nicked and found dumped and empty of their precious medals. They reckon all the medals were melted down for scrap - all bar a few that old Mr Langdon had again tossed into his bottom drawer because he couldn't be bothered to use the safe - so those are the only medals they have left.

I saw in the results from this year's Chelsea Flower Show and they did not win gold this year, just a silver -  (just a silver!?) perhaps the cold spring put pay to their gold medal this year after all.

But all was not lost - Blackmore and Langdon were presented with the RHS President's Award which sounds even more special than a Gold Medal.

Well done Blackmore and Langdon!

http://www.blackmore-langdon.com/category/Delphiniums

If you are in the Bath area do pay them a visit - it is well worth it - check their website for opening times.

North Wales - bloomin' marvelous

The spectacular views at Plas Tan Y Bwlch North Wales at its finest.

http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/study-centre/gardens

Many thanks to Tony Russell the horticultural Tour Manager on our recent tour to the gardens of North Wales - the weather may have been showery but the gardens were spectacular.

The rhododendron blooms at Bodnant being particularly colourful

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden/

The fallen petals from this rhododendron arboreum appearing like a red carpet

Well,  it is a Brightwater holiday - we always try and give our customers the 'red carpet' treatment!

A happy, if somewhat damp group at Portmeirion - our Canadian guests particularly enjoyed the mountain scenery as well as the gardens.

The Bulkeley Hotel in Beaumaris provided excellent service, with comfortable rooms, and tasty food.

http://www.bulkeleyhotel.co.uk/ - not forgetting Barry the coach driver from the London Mini Coaches

http://www.lmcoaches.co.uk/

Perhaps the favorite garden visit was to Plas Cadnant to see how far this restoration project has come on over the last few years. This is sure to become one of the great gardens of Britain - well worth a visit.

http://www.plascadnantgardens.co.uk/

Our thanks to Tony Russell for is good humour and limitless horticultural knowledge which really brings any garden holiday to life - do have a look at his interesting website it is full of interesting and useful information.

 http://www.gardenstovisit.net/