Flower Vacation: Edinburgh

Okay, so technically Edinburgh wasn't a vacation. I lived there for 7 years. But I still think Edinburgh is an amazing vacation for the flower lover in all of us. A wet and cool climate combined with a stunning backdrop of Medieval and Victorian granite buildings creates a gray palette in which color really pops. Hence the abundant usage of Non-stop Begonias as bedding plants. Here in upstate NY, Non-Stops are only used in containers or hanging baskets but I'm itching to try out a bed. Maybe this year.

The Brits really take their flowers seriously and Scotland is no exception. The major cities really make an effort to beautify their gardens and once outside the cities, Mother Nature takes over and a more wild, natural look presides. It really is the best of both worlds. You can see more of my photos from Edinburgh on Flickr.

Stupid snow

So over the last 2 days, it's snowed almost 18 inches here at Sunnyside. I now hate snow. The snow is now my enemy. It's starting to make me want to cry. I am sick of shoveling out the greenhouses and then going home to shovel out my driveway. I am tired of constantly slipping off the ladder when we're trying to keep the greenhouse garage from collapsing.

I am fed up with Carlos, Sunnyside's "Mouser". So far, he has yet to catch a mouse and instead spends his day sleeping on a bench and then pooping underneath the benches. Greenhouse 2 now smells like poop. We are seriously considering changing his name to certain bad words. 

Sir Stinks-a-lot, aka Carlos: Silent but Deadly

The snow needs to go.

So in rebellion against this "Snowpacalypse" and looking forward to Spring, I am starting 2 new categories of posts. In the first we'll be looking at our favorite plants from last year (Faves of 2010), to let you know which worked well for us. And in the second, we'll share with you some great vacation spots (Flower Vacations) we've been where the flowers have caught our eye. (It's one of the hazards of working at Sunnyside-whenever you go on vacation, you drive around looking for flowers, garden centers, pretty yards, etc.) If you have your own plant or vacation suggestions, let us know and we'll try to feature a post on these too.