Fay Young

Trees in full leaf, bright green under a blue sky reflected in the pond: The Pond picture by Fay Young

One thing always leads to another

I’m a journalist. I’ve always been curious about people and places.

I started writing about other people’s gardens a long time ago and somehow I’ve ended up having a wild garden that’s open to the public.

This site is a collection of my writing on gardens, culture, wildlife, the environment and even a little politics.

The garden is open through Scotland’s Garden Scheme supporting Children’s Hospices Across Scotland.

We are open now for spring walks. Please don’t hesitate to let us know when you’d like to come. Just fill in the Contact form. Give us a call. Find out more about Pond Cottage Garden

  • Broughton awaits Tesco Express

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    Welcome to Broughton Street, open for business despite the tramworks. It’s the place to come whether you want a leisurely meal or a quick coffee, whether you are looking for upmarket sausages or  good wines, second hand books or frilly knickers, organic  fruit, vegetables or ( ahem) erotica.  On a wet March morning there is …

  • Publish and be blessed

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    There was sparkling water for the MSPs and glasses of wine for the rest of us. A book launch in Edinburgh is a nice night out, especially when the book has been written by a friend. Even when that book is a  serious and sobering deconstruction of Glasgow.

  • Bloody February again

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    What a difference a year makes.  I’ve been wanting to post pictures of our Natural Progression to winter since, well,  since we progressed to winter.  Hard to believe it is a year to the day since Susie installed her bamboo sculpture on the edge of the pond.

  • Word of mouth: oral history you can eat

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    I have a shelf full of cookery books and I know some of the recipes off by heart but lately when I need inspiration I reach for the laptop, send some ingredients into cyberspace and back comes a list of recipes. Some of them are pretty good. Does this spell the end of the cookery…

  • Roses are red and dogwood is too

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    We’re planting in the Poetry Garden today so it’s not good to wake to a small blizzard swirling outside the window. But, would you believe it, by the time we carry our poems to St Andrew Square the sky is blue, the sun is shining and the snow is a perfect background for bright red…

  • Is beatblogging the future? If so what does it mean?

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    Stop press: The Guardian has just announced their Edinburgh beatblogger On a mild and misty morning your friendly neighbourhood beatblogger slips a mobile phone in her pocket and sets off hoping to catch sight of the local community policeman breaking into an old railway tunnel.

  • The yew’s revenge

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    [thanks to Dougal for the snow track picture] You don’t have to be able to read the tracks. When we get to Pond Cottage, the signs of deer and rabbit are all round the garden.  Deep snow protected the plants from frost but gave the animals a leg up above the tree guards.  Apples, hollies,…

  • Too cold for (igloo) snow

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    The pond taken by Dougal standing where he really shouldn’t ought to. The night we arrive we have to abandon the car by the gate and carry the cats through snow so deep it comes right over our wellies. It’s so cold the cottage feels like a scene from Dr Zhivago.

  • Christmas with the redwings

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    There is something magical about a visit from redwings. I saw them arrive at the bottom of our garden when I was clutching my first cup of tea of the day for warmth at the crack of dawn, around 8am. They had come such a long way I wished I could give them something to…

  • Northern light and heat

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    On the kitchen window ledge there are geraniums and cyclamen in bloom at the same time and it doesn’t feel quite right. After hearing Melanie Phillips denying the fact of climate change on Question Time it occurred to me that she cannot possibly be a gardener.  But then the Daily Mail is more green ink…

  • Welcome to Britain?

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    An environmental message in the Eurostar waiting room at Brussels We’re waiting for the eco-friendly Eurostar to take us home and I am looking forward to the ride.  It’s a nice cheery scene. The multicultural mix of folk ready to board the train has managed to get past the daft, defensive  UK Border.  Unfortunately the…

  • Because I can

    Because I can

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    If I can, anyone can. Admittedly it was with a little help from my sons Dougal and Tommy, but I have uploaded my first YouTube video, shot (in case you want to know) on my Nokia N95 when I peered through a hole in the wall enjoying the experience of seeing Scotland’s National Portrait gallery…