Dick's Journal

The sun shone after the light frost had gone. I went back to the new ground which had been out of bounds due to the rain yesterday, what rain? Some progress was made and that plot is almost ready, will finish it on Tuesday if the weather permits. I was thinking that due to potatoes failing for me over the last few years and Gerry's advise that it could be Potato root eelworm that perhaps that part of the garden which had nothing but fibrous roots of briars, blackthorn and some shrubs (affected by the frost) that the spuds might be a success there. Of course part of it in particular near the boundary could get something different. At about 3.15 p.m. I entered the house for refreshments and secateurs but I was scarcely inside when the rain came down in torrents.  Fortunately it was only a shower so back to the digging and pruning. Eventually I left it nearly complete. Leaves were raked to day but no whingeing like Fran. I notice an improvement in his face to day:) Perhaps due to Monday being All Saints Day that he will appear like one by then rather than a ghost.

Tried various types of work to day. Too wet early on then a bit of work on hedge clipping but the hedge was too wet with certain materials, tried to do a bit more in the new area, ground not too good, finished up digging the piece of ground where the runner beans had been removed. Here the ground was excellent. Anything should do well there next year. I went to Woodies in the afternoon and looked for some bargains having seen Una's journal. however the bargains were not great. What I did buy a fuchsia and an Erica heather were good value only €2 each, also polyanthus 4 pack at €4.99 less discount of 50 C. Now I am ready for the Country Market to morrow where I hope to get some customers.

A fair amount of time was taken up at hedge trimming. This work had been neglected for some time. Some shrubs like cotoneaster had grown quite a lot. The main part of the hedge at one side of the drive is Lawson Cypress. A fair amount of this was trimmed. Also at the same side are Forsythia and a few others. I fear that with a fair amount of pruning of the Forsythia, it may not be great in the spring. There is still a lot of work to be done here but at least cars can come in and go out without interference.  The shredder should be back in operation provided the rain stays away during the day.There is quite a lot of ivy at the base which will be removed soon. Nothing has been done to the back garden due to heavy rain at night. Fortunately it is able to take the rain. I have not really decided what to put in the new ground at the back. I did think of roses but I am subject to advise from any member of the club. After the heavy frost we had on Saturday and Sunday night some burning of the Hydrangeas took place. Rarely would one expect this in October but they are deciduous anyhow and nothing to worry about. 

What a change? Yesterday morning the temperature at 9 a.m. was 1 degree while at the same tome to day it was 13. As I drove through the town at mid day it was 18. However the ground was very wet due to heavy rain at night. Too wet to continue at the new piece of ground. It was a good day for tidying up. I also planted some winter pansies where the begonias were removed yesterday. All of the gladioli are lifted. It remained dry up to 5 p.m. although not really wet.I took a photo of the new plot.

After a very cold night, temperature 5-6 degrees in greenhouse due to heater and reaching 20 or more around midday. All begonias and dahlias cleaned and put in greenhouse. Most of the gladioli are lifted. Then the work once more on the new ground as I call it. Hard going but worth it. Most of that area cleared of roots and stones. i didn't finish it as it was close to 6 p.m. It is looking good now but better when I am finished. What is left of the tomatoes is in a box with some apples and one or two turning every day.

Hello Mairin, Having read your journal about the Silver Birches, I took a photo to day of one of my two. Although it is  shedding the leaves now it will continue to look good at all time. I did a little pruning low down some time ago to show off the bark.

Rachel, you may remember when you called here we were in the sitting room in front. This is where I had the orchids until now. We had it very cold last night and to day, I moved to the back of the house for the winter, as it can be quite cold in front facing mainly north. Three orchids all Phalaelopsis are also gone to the back of the house. I have not moved the other two which have pseudobulbs, one of them I got from you, an Oncidium. Do you think they would be safe there? I know that the Moth orchids need to be kept warm all the time. I was also thinking iof the greenhouse. I have a heater in it and it is thermostatically controlled. Last night the temperature in it went down to 6C and during the day, so sunny, it rose to 20 degrees.

Started at the new piece of ground a week ago. Very little was done there for some days and although I had planned to work there yesterday, the rain drove me in. Now to day was the reverse, some rain early in the morning. The afternoon was good, perhaps not warm but I felt that way. Roots, very fibrous in nature were removed from about half of the ground. What is left of that area is relatively small and should finished on Monday. 

Now with the builders departed and being a fine day, quite a lot was done, with some builders' materials collected from around the place and once more the place was looking good. Some dahlias were damaged and the flowers and stalks were severed from the tubers. The tubers were lifted and the flowers taken into the house. leaves were raked along the paths when the foreign materials were removed and here I noticed that compost had settled on the paths so this was put in the garden. The runner beans are now at a stage that no more will be available so the foliage was  removed and put in the new compost heap. Some of the ground in this area was tilled. Yesterday I started  with washing down the greenhouse. Some more was done to day. Lack of daylight again prevented me from doing a bit more. The one break I took in the afternoon was to go to my doctor's surgery to get the 'flu vaccine which I hope will make it possible for me to keep at the garden.

To day around mid day the builders departed. The place was not left as it was when they arrived,  some work has to be done as they seem to know nothing about gardening. It was a lovely day with plenty of sunshine and would be the real day for the garden but so much time was taken up regarding building that very little work was done re gardening. I plan to tidy up the place to morrow and get back to work in the garden. Gladioli were lifted and put away for the spring. Some dahlias were damaged. i collected the flowers and will lift the tubers, probably to morrow. Some work was done in raking leaves as there are a lot of trees both in the front and back garden and adjacent to the garden. The Weigela  is now planted at the base of the trellis.  Some ground has to be cleared in this area. A better photo should be available to morrow.

Normally I would leave pelargoniums which have been potted at the back of the house facing south but having heard and seen the weather forecast, I decided this evening to bring all inside. There are 74 pots with 2 or 3 plants in each and 20 single plants (there were in already). All are in now, about half of the big pots in the lean-to at the back facing south and the rest including the single plants in the greenhouse. Those in the greenhouse will be kept warm at night as I have an electric heater there and it is now turned so that the hot air comes out when required. We had it very cold on Saturday night and Sunday morning but I decided to wait until now. Some begonias are also in the greenhouse, others to follow.

This photo shows where I am working to redeem some ground. There is plenty to be done here yet. 

What a great day for the garden? I got at the second apple tree to day. what I picked and what fall naturally early on came to three stone. all are dessert and one variety, so the total amount of apples I now have in stock is 7 stone, 3.5 of cookers and 3.5 of dessert. What I got off the tree where I picked to day is possibly the biggest yield yet. You may see them in the picture and would somebody tell me the variety? All of the tomatoes in the greenhouse were picked, still green together with some more green tomatoes which grew outside, picked about two weeks ago. Some of these have turned and I hope to have the rest ripe before long. I am using apples to ripen them. Apples give out a gas called ethylene which on absorption by the tomatoes ripens them in time. Next the grow bags were taken out and the compost in them spread over a piece of ground which was high in mineral matter and low in organic. A little bit weeding was done in the greenhouse and it is looking good and roomy now. A little bit of pruning was done on the vine and let us pray that I will have plenty grapes next year. Can I instruct the social insects with the Kilkenny colours to go somewhere else? They can really be very unsociable! I continued with the pruning at the back. More and more ground has been redeemed. Perhaps the effect of the frost on the senecio had a good effect. I took a photo but there is more to be done yet. Regarding the tomatoes, I believe some member if not more than one has made chutney. My niece in Dublin had a big yield of tomatoes and her mother (my sister) told me on the phone to day that my niece, Josefa, would like the recipe for same. Incidentally the tomato plants she grew came from my greenhouse. Only for the lack of daylight, I would probably get more done, darkness at 7 p.m., in two weeks time darkness at 6.30 p.m. and then the clock goes back, what a pity but let us be thankful for small mercies.  

Arrived back from Country Market after mid day and had great plans. They were interrupted by builders who began work. I decided to pick the apples from one tree (two varieties). I picked 3 .5 stone of cookers and about 1/2 stone of desert apples. Then the rain began to come down so work in the garden was abandoned. 

Visited Woodies in the morning, bought some trellis 6 feet high, three trays of Winter pansies and one packet of Glory of Snow. I had planned to buy some freesia but they were not available. The solution then was to lift up the freesias, put them in pots and keep them in the green house. Gerry had said that this was the best way to deal with freesia corms at this stage. So the freesias were potted and the Glory of Snow put in the flower bed in their place. The trellis was erected in a place where a lot of other items had been growing. They included Senecio which had been growing out of proportion and ivy as well as blackthorn. Now there was plenty room to plant some herbaceous plants. A yucca was removed and put in stock with other yuccas. Now it was like going back to basics with much more room than there was for years. a hole was dug for a climber of some kind. I had considered a Weigela which I had got from Wellie but changed my mind as I felt that it should be grown by a wall. I will have to think again about what to put in it. While it was a bit cool to day the work kept me warm. Now the back garden is beginning to look good. The pansies should be planted to morrow after i get back from the Country Market. I hope to have a picture of this area when it is complete.

Some wild fuchsia which I thought would never die as it came from the Nagle Mountains not far from Mallow, seemed to have departed after last winter's frost, but young shoots came from below during the summer. I though that perhaps some might come from the woody part but no, so I got out the saw to day and cut away almost all of the wood. some pieces were almost two inches in diameter. Now it looks well and provided we don't get a similar frost this coming winter. I may do a bit of trimming on it to morrow. 

The compost heap which I built up early in the year got attention to day. The turned compost heap is now much bigger but quite a lot of work has to be done to complete the job. Some of the partly decayed matter at the top was put over the new compost heap containing mainly grass. Now that we are around mid October leaves are falling and very soon they can be put in the new heap when I have enough. A climbing Hydrangea at the back of the house is shedding its leaves rapidly. These will help to build up the new heap. 

This line above is taken from The Seasons by Haydn and of course refers to Summer. However it seems so strange that in mid October when we might be thinking of rain and strong gales but to day except for the brevity of the actual day and the colours of the leaves one might think it was Summer. Who could be inside to day except where one is compelled to do so. Certain things which I had put on the long finger were taken on to day. A bit of ground where I had lilies was now ready for some daffodils I had bought some time ago. A small number left over I potted so Come Gentle Spring also from The Seasons, when they are in bloom. In the meantime let us hope that this beautiful weather will remain for a while at least. Some pruning was done on Cordylines. One might describe them as the ugly which I had as a heading early on. Now I know the wood from the tree. In the meantime the same trees are sprouting and assuming that we don't get the sub zero temperatures like last winter, I am looking forward to these trees being rejuvenated. A Pieris which I was unable to grow in a flower bed due to the alkalinity of the soil and was transferred to a pot, while doing well was found to be pot bound and was transferred to a larger pot with plenty of peat.

Some of the fungi from my lawn. Can I assume that they are edible?

The smallest of the pelargoniums, slipped during the summer, over 20 of them are now in the greenhouse. Others at south side of house, safe enough for the present although I believe the frost is on the way. Tulips planted in pots which had summer bedding a few days ago. Geraniums divided, some put in the rockery. A piece of ground which had been covered by senecio before last frost was tilled. The number of stones i got out of it was unbelievible. It had not been tilled properly earlier in the year. I had lilies in it. They were transferred to another bed and I plan to put daffodils in this area. It was a pleasant day although not as warm as yesterday.   

Back from the Country Market where this time sales were good, Hydrangea, Coleus, Geranium, Tomato. first thing in the garden was to divide a geranium and pot up the new plants. In the front, I lifted some miniature roses and potted them . I felt that in pots they might do better than in a bed. Later on I decided to put the lilies which I had acquired during the Summer into that bed. The soil is better than where they were. They really came to giving no flowers. they should be good next year. More work was done in the rockery. One large rose bed with one rose bush was cleaned of weeds. It had been annoying me for some time. Now the front garden is beginning to look good.

I had two visitors from Dublin to day, my sister and her daughter. My sister had told me that she had a birthday present for me and as I had not been to her house since July she decided to come my way. Included in the gifts she had for me were freesias, tulips, miniature daffodils and Ranunculus. They were most welcome. There were other things as well. What puzzled me was that in the case of Freesia and Ranunculus the label said "Plant August to December" while the Flower Expert says to plant in the Spring and lift in October. Can anybody explain? The three of us went on a tour of the garden which looks better now than the day Rachel called. What lovely weather we have and likely to be even better over the next three days. It is like an Indian Summer. Unfortunately my niece who was driving had to leave early. 

All of the grass cut yesterday was collected (with mushrooms) and put in the new compost heap. Part of the lawn was not treated in the spring due to the hernia which is put behind me. Some ferrous sulphate dissolved in water and sprayed on part of it. I hope to have that complete within a few days. All of the pelargoniums except for a few are potted. I will leave them outside for another while as no cold weather is forecast. They tell us in Met Éireann  that temperature will reach 21C within a few days. some pruning was done here and there.

While I had to curtail the mowing yesterday, I got the job done to day. The Pelargoniums which I did not pot yesterday were potted to day. They filled ten pots. I would say that the total number of plants in the pots would be about 150. There are still a few growing at the back facing the south and I will leave them there for the present. Eventually due to sun and wind it was possible to bring out the mower and within about an hour the lawn was mown. some parts of the lawn had more than the normal amount of grass, in particular the area where the fungi were growing. I should put the grass in the compost heap to morrow. I hope that the fungi will help to break down the grass in to good humus. There is a lot of moss in an area which I did not spray early in the year so the ferrous sulphate will be in use to spray same. 

Here Martin is a close up view of the fungi in the lawn

This morning, I had great plans. It was generally dry but the front lawn needed a bit more drying before getting out the mower. i got at the small lawn at the back and did the mowing with the hand mower, then some edging. It looked quite good then in the afternoon, cleared some prunings of shrubs which were left there for some time as other things got preference. The prunings were removed and brought to the side of the house. The the power mower came out. As I was working at the lawn I could find a change. The wind had done a great job at drying the grass but now there was a change. Down came the rain. What could I do but retire inside and wait for another day to do the greater part of the lawn. There are some fungi growing on the lawn. Any idea of their name? 

All of the pelargoniums surely well over 100 have been lifted and most of them potted. The potted pelargoniums have now been moved to back of house, over 60 pots in all. They are now facing mainly south so there should plenty of time to take them indoors. Were it not for the rain, all would be potted and taken to the back by now. Winter pansies bought on Thursday, replaced some which were not replaced by wallflowers. The last of the work was done after 6.30 but the darkness drove me in by about 7.15 p.m. Only a small portion of the summer half hardies remain. Soon the French marigolds, Nicotianas and Begonias will be lifted. I am looking forward to the Glory of Snow which I never grew before.