Of all the problems on the Chayne, drainage is probably the most serious. Moorland managers discuss burning and reseeding in great depth, but neither of these important regeneration techniques are worth a thing unless they have their foundations in correctly drained soil. Conducting the grouse count took me to areas of the farm that I Continue reading

As well as planting  a juniper stand along the boundary of the forestry block, it is probably a good idea to stretch out the woodland margins as much as possible. To this end, I came up with a plan to plant a scattering of scots pine trees and silver birches a hundred yards out from Continue reading

Calluna vulgaris is a name applied to dozens of varieties of ling. The plant grows in its natural form on the Chayne, and it can also be found in garden centres across the world, hybridised into extraordinary shapes and colours for the requirements of the horticultural industry. Seeing a selection of unusual looking ornamental heathers Continue reading

The Chayne was once part of a large shooting estate. Run together with the five neighbouring farms, the local estate had access to some cracking sport across almost ten thousand acres of Galloway upland. Shooting people often enshrine their memories in gamebooks and diaries, and fascinatingly detailed documents still survive up and down the country Continue reading

There is a fine line between being a wild shoot keeper and a gardener. If I had known that my decision to build the Chayne into a natural haven for wild birds and mammals would result in my house being filled with seed trays and plant hormones, I would maybe have thought twice. My day Continue reading

Auctions are wonderful things. The slightest nod or twitch can make the difference between buying and not, and the excitement of fighting off your fellow bidders brings out the competitive child in me. There was a plant auction at Wallet’s Marts in Castle Douglas yesterday, and I was in the front row, even though most Continue reading

At last it is finished! Three days work culminated this morning after the installation of one final strand of barbed wire. In theory, I now have a little under a quarter acre of stock proofed heather, defended from the marauding sheep and cows by an impenetrable grid of rylock sheep netting and heavy gauge barb. Continue reading

Juniper is a word that seems to apply to many different kinds of evergreen conifer. When I first decided that I wanted some juniper on the Chayne, I flicked through my “observer’s book of trees” for some more information on the subject. I found an illustration of a juniper tree, but I wasn’t at all Continue reading

Who would have thought that building a simple fence would be such a pain? The amount of fiddling and messing around that takes place is quite out of proportion to what a reasonable person might expect. Today, I have been digging strainers, cutting stells and lining up stobs for an area of heather around the Continue reading

Each year the Chayne becomes less and less able to support grouse. The number of sheep on the farm is fairly constant all year round, but these animals gradually chip away at the heather and the other valuable shoots of bilberry, myrtle and willow. Unless an area is specifically fenced off and protected, nothing but Continue reading