Keego's Journal

After- new compost area

New compost area

Delighted with new compost area we have gone for 4 bays as we had the space and this will enable us to manage the compost making better and have place to store finished product

Before!!

Unholy mess!!

This was the first task on our hit list for 2012 - sort out our compost area which had just turned into a dumping ground.

interesting colour combination

Nice colour combination

Only got out for a short while today as it was very cold - the plants look a bit scruffy but I thought the pinkhue in the euphorbia was picked up nicely in th grass. Does anyone know the name of the grass ?

In the right place

Vinca Periwinkle

I know what you are all going to say not Vinca Periwinkle but I think if you have it in the right place it can do a good job for you and always a very early flower

Fern looking good today

Name of Fern please

Was my day off today and had big plans for the garden unfortunately the weather was not on for playing it's part. But in between the showers I got more weeding and mulching done and got some more geraniums split and replanted. I have now one side of the big border at the front of the house mulched so happy with that.

This fern is in the woodland bed and thought it looked nice to-day - does anyone know what it is called so I can add to my plant data base

Pot of Gold !!

Compost retrieved from the heap today

We (more correctly Gerry ) started clearing out the Compost area yesterday in order to build the new one (Ist task on the 2012 list of things to get finished and look what we found at the very bottom - Pure gold 

Journal about Journals

Stinking Hellebores

When I am in the garden as i have been for the last two days I have several journals going around in my head,i must tell all my garden friends about this, i must take a picure of that - by the time I get in tired (but very contented ) I am totally bereft of ideas for journals. So for tonight it will just have to be a brief note summing up my two days work

Weeding, Pruning , Mulching , etc etc etc

Ah but we did get a bit of planting done two Helleborus argutifolius in to the woodland bed along with a dozen foxgloves that had seeded in the cottage garden.

I also planted the "Hamamelis Intermedia Livia" that I got in Johnston on Sunday the scent is beautiful and the colour orangey red.

We also did a bit of planning and set down a list of tasks to get done this year - we are guilty of starting lots of things and not quite finishing them off, before a new project beckons, this year is time to take stock and finish off all those not fully complete. The first two on the list is sort out our compost area and extend an exisiting bed to incorporate Hydrangea Vanilla fraise that I also got on Sunday

Very happy with what we got done

Daphne Odara Aureomarginata

Daphne Odara Aureomarginata

Thought this looked good today in the sunshine lovely fresh foliage.  

Thanks

Una , Peter and Elizabeth

Well now that I have had time to draw a breath and reflect on our wonderful day yesterday I just want to add my thanks to all concerned who organised what we all agree was a great event.

The weather was mild, Johnston was well stocked with lots of goodies , the seating area was great, food and service perfect and well as for the Company a group of like minded people getting together to discuss there favourite topic what more could we ask for. 

Kris kindle and raffles, plant and book swaps meeting old friends and new my kind of Sunday and what better way to kick off the gardening year.

Thanks to all who I Received books, seeds and plants from. I look forward to sowing the seed and planting the plants and thinking of the kind doners every time i pass the plants in my garden. To me this is the singel best part of garden,ie is having the plants in my garden from all over the country and remembering the friendship attached and the days fun we had exchanging them. 

And what about these for Hats!!

Hats off !!

I know Dick and Jacinta's hats were good but did they sing and dance I think not well the one pictured on the left did and what a laugh we all got Well done to Ruth (Ladybird ) and her Husband whose hat I am sure you will agree was pretty good to. 

And why not make it a treble!!

Dick with his kris Kindle

Dick there will be autograph hunters after you next time you leave the house!!

Final Few plants

After allocating all of the below the following few are left

Aster 1

Lychnis Pink 2

Hermocallis day Lily 1

Centaurea Montana 2

Geranium johnston Blue 2

Succulent name unknown 2

If anyone wants any of the above let me know and I will add them to the boot

See you all tomorrow

Plants for Johnstown

Unknown Succulent

At last between the showers I managed to get to the polytunnel to see what I have for Sunday and the following is the list

Hermocallis (daylily) Peach 4

Aster possibly Frikartii (purple flower with yellow centre) 4

Lychnis Coronaria (pink) 4

Centaurea Montana 4

Rudbeckia Goldsturm 2

Acanthus Bears Breeches Only 1

Achillea only 1
( colour unknown take pot luck as I have many different colours in the garden)

YellowGrass name unknown pretty but invasive easy to pull out 4

Small seedlings from Airfield ( Again a mixed bag as there was a lot of seed all mixed up together) 4

Strawberry Plants 8

Geranium Johnsons Blue 4 

Unknown Succulent 4 ( pictured above ) 

Fuchsia yellow leaved plant with red stems and not very significant flowers (Hardy survived in my garden Winters 2009 and 2010)  2  

I was trying to put up a picture of these plants in an album but my technology has let me down again!

Nothing very exciting rare or unusual I am afraid but if anyone wants any of the above I will be delighted to bring them along   

Winter Colour in the front porch

Geraniums etc in Front porch

I am experimenting with my photos still and thanks for all the advice and tips - The geraniums in the picture all came from my poor mam who had  been giving me slips for years only for her to find when she next came to visit I had killed them again - I have now however come to value the great colour geraniums provide during the bleak Winter months and have now a small collection of 6-7 with which I am delighted Thanks Mum  

Uploading Photos

Pulmonaria Majeste

I would do a lot more journals (she says!!) if it did not take so long to upload photographs (about 3 minutes for one photo ) I uploaded pictures I took in the garden today and it took over an hour to upload - Am i doing something wrong surely there is a quicker way to do this. We are on broadband and the speed on the Internet is never a problem any ideas ??

Clearing away the cobwebs

First Pulmonaria to follow

The day was bright but cold in Cavan so managed to get out for an hour - spent the time cutting off all the old leaves on the Hellebores and taking some pictures of the evergreens in the garden that give the garden some structure and interest at this time of the year - I put an album of these pictures in my Cordevlis January 2012 album. It was great to get out and start making plans for the gardening year ahead so exciting. I discovered my first pulmonaria in flower - sorry the picture is a bit blurry