Castle of Mey Garden

Had a very lazy start to my Saturday and then a rapid burst of activity in the garden followed by a lovely lazy afternoon visiting the Castle of Mey with a friend. The Castle was bought by the late Queen mother 6 months after her husband died and she spent many happy times there in her Highland retreat. It is in a beautiful location on the Caithness coast overlooking the Pentland firth and on a clear day there is a great view of Orkney - but not today as it was overcast.

The attraction for me is not the Castle building itself but the wonderful walled garden, the grounds (complete with animal farm) and the posh cafe. The garden was looking full of very healthy plants that had been well manured and promised to give lots of flowers in the summer. The veggie plots were immaculate with early potatoes showing already and a few newly planted lettuce. The cordon apple trees growing against the high stone walls were laden with blossom with lots of bees buzzing round them. It is always a very peaceful place to be.

The border illustrated above was the one that had the most blossom for early May and was planted with white daisies and potentillas flowering amongst white leaved artemesias. A lovely place to spend an afternoon out.

Edit: The turreted building you can see is the potting shed not the Castle!!