Keego's Journal

Where does the weekend go??

Hardy geranium but which one??

I can not believe the weekend is over already did not get much gardening in this weekend as we had communion in Kildare yesterday - however lucky for us the house was only 5 minutes away from the Orchard garden centre in Celbridge and that was way too tempting for the gardeners among us so we were able to slip away for a couple of hours. It is a really good garden centre in fact it is much more - lots of posh interiors as well. But all we were interested in was the plants but we were also just browsing as we were saving our money for next week!! - but who ever leaves a garden centre with nothing- I was very restrained i got a Rodgersia and a primula loverly pink to go with a deep purple ligularia that I planted in last year. So not too bad I did not blow all my Bloom budget!!.

 Today was spent planting in my new purchases. I also got my cosmos that I grew from seed out into the garden and all the sun flowers are now planted out. The dahlias from seed have been transplanted into pots as I Keep losing them when I Plant them in the ground. In the veg garden we planted out the sweetcorn and some more cabbages, cauliflower and broccli. I staked tomatoes which all seem to be doing well amazing how quickly they come on when they are finally planted into the ground. Cucumbers planted out of pots in the polytunnell, got the straw down under the strawberries. Gerry was working on pond Number 2 ( yes we have finally moved on from pond No 1 which is now filled with water - so exciting!!!) (Jacinta i will post pictures promise) 

I am likely to bore you all on this subject but I am a big fan of hardy geraniums - some of their characteristics  , reliable, hardy, lots of different varieties, loads of colours for all parts of the garden i am going to take pictures of the different ones I have and post them up as a separate album - unfortunately I do not know the names off all so all help appreciated when I get around to doing this

Does anyone know what this one is called?

That Friday Feeling!!

White Lilac

It is hard to beat that Friday feeling - home from work at a reasonable time for the first time all week - suit off gardening gear on 2 bottles of bud in the fridge for later chips for Dinner out to the garden - two hours of bliss - feel the weeks stress dissapate - Oh I love Fridays!! 

Tree Peony

Tree Peony flowers first time in 7 years!!

I made a comment on one of Martin's journals last week when he showed us a lovely picture of a bloom on a tree peony that Deborah had grown fom seed i was telling Martin that I had a tree peony that I set about  7 or 8 years ago but I never had a bloom - Martin advised me to feed it with tomato food - the next evening I went out and would you believe it hidden away under some foliage was this bloom i was absolutely delighted so thanks Martin I think I will ask your advice more often if I get these kind of results!!!

Tomatoes planted out in polytunnell

Acer - what to plant underneath??

We planted 4 each of the  tomato plants I grew from seeds that Dave sent me  in the poly tunnell tonight - We planted them straight into the raised bed's. I washed out some pots and hope to plant the remainder in the pots and compare how the plants do in the ground compared to the ones in the pots

 Had to go to Damastown for work today and needed some compost so called into the garden centre in Clonee only for Compost ended up getting a few perennials!! - white bleeding heart & two new hardy geraniums that I have not had before.

Can someone tell me what is the best way to store tulips that I had in pots??

Also I am sure I should not feed tomato plants until the first truss appear is that right?

Malus Royalty

Malus Royalty

Lovely Sunday here in Cavan - lots of nice sunshine - spent a while in the poly tunnell potting on some dahlias that i planted from seed ( another first ) for me so hopefullly they will come on well) Gerry and I planted out a few new purchases that I got in Virginia last week a nice Verbascum among them "Rosie" I think it is called and a kniforia.

Delighted to see our Malus royalty full of blossoms it is a beautiful red colour and ideal for a small garden -

Have a great week  

Lazy Saturday

What is this shrub??

Had a lie in this morning lovely! did not get out to the garden until about 4 ( I was out of bed before 4!!)  spent a few hours in the poly tunnell amazing how fast the time goes when you are doing something you really enjoy -I thinned out the carrots and set some marigolds near by in the hope that they discourage the carrot fly (companion planting - heard this at the GIY meeting). I planted some turnip seed, a third setting of radishes and beetroot. I also set out some of my cabbages that I planted from seed outside. I planted some more sweet corn and cucumber as the first lot I put in pots are doing really well.  

My tomato plants are all now out in the poly tunnell - doing ok but not great hopefully the temperatures will increase in the next few days and they will come on a bit. You think you are doing ok and then you look at Daves!!

Tomorrow it will be a few hours in the flower gardens have a few new plants to get in and a few to move. Raining and windy here this evening. Hope you all had a good day

life back to Normal.

My apprentice gardener on her big day!!

Well it is all over and we had a great time but I am glad both occasions are over and life can get back to normal I refer to Confirmation and Communion both of which we had this year - it is a great incentive to get things done but for the last 6 weeks it has been lists and lists of things to do. The one big upside is all the work we got done in the garden, all the things we do every year all got done a bit earlier this year, all the weeding, mulching, strimming, pruning, painting etc everybody contributed which was great and we had a really lovely day when the sun shone beautifully.

We promised ourselves that this weekend we would sit back relax and do nothing but I can not see that happening now where did I put that list???? Plans for tomorrow is to turn the compost heap, plant in a few plants that I got in Pergola ( great garden centre for anyone in this area) move a couple of minature pieris that are in the wrong place. I want to set more seeds in the poly tunnell - turnips, second sowing of beetroot and third sowing of radishes, more carrots, sweetcorn and cucumber. I also need to do some weeding and mulch the strawberry plants.Once all that is done then we can sit down have a beer and relax - but there is that unfinished business of some ponds!!!

Hope all have a good weekend.

Bank holiday weekend

Dwarf Tulips in hot bed section of big border

What a busy weekend - we have Communion next weekkend so we were trying to get the place ship shape - good weather turned a bit cold today but not much rain. We got a new load of mulch and topped up a lot of the beds. We have "ash" seeds eveywhere as we are surrounded by trees but this year is extraordinary spent a lot of time picking them out from the different beds.

We took out a large Photina Robin red - we initially were only going to prune but then decided to take it out completely and were really pleased with the result as it opened up the whole bed in the middle of which is a lovely oak tree and a castor oil plant that has done really well over the years and now we can see it for the first time.

All the vegetable salad and fruit doing well so far. We had our first rhubarb crumble yesterday yummy (Thanks Gerry and Roisin a lovely treat) the winter cabbage is starting to bolt but it was really nice - can I save the seeds of cabbage how is this done?? I am still bringing my tomato plants in and out from the tunnell to the house every day but from the end of this week I will leave out. My runner beans have just come up -was beginning to give up on them as they seem to be in a long time.

Tulips starting to go off but what a show there were this year - I am hoping to get another week out of some of them as they look so lovely. Like Steno I have had a double headed one as well never saw that before. I have finally dug out the last two casualities from winter a pittseporoum and Hebe and have got some replacements to plant in tomorrow evening. 

Looking good at the moment in the garden, primrose, Bleeding heart, Virb Burkwoodi (heavenly scent) Heuchera, Astible (lovely new growth)

Hope you all have a great week