Last Post 813 days 20 hours ago
28 February 2011 23:09:59
After spending some time working on the garden of the Hurling Club, I spent some time in the afternoon at my own garden. Rose beds are now in good shape. Soil in back garden is almost ready for parsnips and onion sets. Some wildlife flower seed is sown in a border. I have several packets which I got free with other seeds in Woodies. Some ground which I did not till last year due to hernia was tackled and I would have done more only that a visitor arrived. He came to have a look at a problem in the house and he kept me away from the garden but I will make up for it if the weather continues. Rhubarb has made great progress and should be fit to use very soon.
28 February 2011 18:59:03
Bud on Oncidium
The bud which was visible yesterday has grown such that it can be seen better now.
27 February 2011 12:22:53
This morning I visited the Hurling Club. Nothing had not done there for months. I plan to get at it to morrow, prune roses and Hydrangeas, clean flower beds, put something in flower boxes. I did not bring the camera.
26 February 2011 23:30:37
This orchid which I got from Rachel last summer is showing some new life. I hope to have a flower before long. Thanks Rachel.
26 February 2011 22:05:15
In two areas, there was great progress. First I noticed many buds opening on fruit bushes - gooseberries, raspberries, black currants. Rose beds were cleared of weeds further. Rose cuttings which were taken in the autumn are showing opening of buds. Rhubarb has made great progress and should be fit to pick very soon. Ground which had been dug before the snow arrived was dug again and is in great condition. Pending some dry weather which is forecast, some vegetables can be sown. Forsythia is looking good. No photos to day, too busy while I got the chance to work at the digging. I have several packets of seeds which I got free in Woodies with flower and vegetables.
24 February 2011 23:34:58
I had a quick look at the new issue of the Irish Garden delivered to day. I will be attending Askea Country Market to morrow with my garden produce. I will have an opportunity of reading it there while waiting for my customers. I have already read Rachel's article, very interesting. There is another article from Deborah. I notice there is picture of Darlingtonia in it, any connection with our member fro North Co Wexford?
24 February 2011 19:58:42
Sweet Pea
Tomatoes well advanced. Other seeds have germinated and will take time before potting up. Some seeds have yet to germinate. I got my Christmas present on Sunday last: plenty of seeds, some germinating others will be sown within the next few days.
24 February 2011 19:49:47
Tomato
Finished weeding the rose beds. They look better now. Called to Woodies, bought seeds: Antirrhinum, Tomato (Gardeners delight) to be sown any day now; Spiraea japonica. The Antirrhinum seeds I sowed in January failed. They were taken from last year's plants. The tomatoes I sowed in January are doing well. Sweet Pea was put out for the day to harden, back in the green house in the evening.
More buds on the vine.
The Irish Garden arrived by post to day. I did not get the chance to read it yet, even Rachel's article. I will get that read now!
23 February 2011 20:34:46
I have done very little in the garden since Saturday, was at a meeting in Dublin on Sunday, returned Monday which was a good day for the garden. It was a bit wet to do anything in the garden except to get at the rose beds again. Due to the rain and mild weather, grasses and weeds have come up in the beds. I got one bed cleaned and hope to finish the job to morrow. More shoots have appeared on the vine. Some compost and potato manure put outside the greenhouse, where the roots of the vine are.
19 February 2011 17:34:30
A real spring day here. Temperature in the greenhouse reached 30+ degrees and vents had to be opened for most of the day. Cold air was blown to bring down the temperature. On examining the Phormium, shown earlier, I found that it was not as bad as appeared yesterday. Some leaves were removed by pulling. Looking at the leaves, I noticed quite a lot of ladybirds. It must be a good sign, elimination of greenflies perhaps. Mopheads were removed from the Hydrangeas. I decided to do it now as the weather forecast for some time is good where temperature is concerned. A few roses needed a further pruning as did a few black currants. It rained a lot last night so the soil was a bit wet for digging. A few more snowdrops were divided. Too busy to take photos.
18 February 2011 17:02:17
Vine
Anything wrong with this vine?
18 February 2011 17:00:04
Bud on Vine
I noticed this bud on vine is opened to day.
17 February 2011 15:41:03
Phormium
Alas poor Phormium, I knew it well. I was so proud of it over the years. Two winters in one year and there it is. Will it come to anything?
17 February 2011 15:26:01
Transplanted some snowdrops where the flower had died away and was surprised with the number of bulbs I had out of a small number. Plenty of same to transplant later on and hope to approach Altamont! Planted out two Hellebores. They went into areas which were cleared last year. Weather is pleasant to day with little or no wind but is overcast. We had fog early in the day but when it cleared, the sun did not come out until about 3.30 p.m.
17 February 2011 14:02:52
Phalaenopsis Mini
Called to Woodies this morning, bought a Phalaenopsis at a mere €2, Gold crest reduced to €1, Helleborus @ €6.99 plus two packets of seed with a free packet of wildlife. Total €13.93.
16 February 2011 20:39:12
Anthurium
This Anthurium I bought at a mere € 2 at Woodies about three weeks ago. When I showed it it seemed very good value but later I found that it was pot bound, so I loosened the roots, put it in a bigger pot, gave it compost, water and some feed. Look at it now.
16 February 2011 20:24:53
Dry but cold to day. Frost early on but it cleared. Temperature did not rise much so outside work was almost nil. I did some pruning of fuchsias and pelargoniums in the greenhouse. The fuchsias are still dormant while in the case of the pelargoniums some are quite sound, others it is obvious are dead and will have to be discarded. A walk around the front lawn showed that it is getting greener every day. Some of it was absolutely black after spraying. I hope to have a much better lawn this year.
15 February 2011 22:31:56
Very difficult to do anything in the garden with the rain. However more and more crocuses appearing. Daffodils are showing promise and some should be in bloom before the end of the month.
14 February 2011 20:30:06
Very pleasant early in the day but at about 5 p.m. to continue to work in the garden it was out of the question. Temperature in the greenhouse was in the 20's. It was necessary to open the vent. Most of the work done was digging and tidying up as well as pruning some holly at the back. The holly seems to stand up to the low temperatures while some other shrubs do not. Rhubarb is making great progress. I hope to be able to use it before the end of the month. Seeds have germinated a lot over the last few days. Tomato seeds are well advanced. Twenty six plants have now been potted up. Also Penstemon, Petunia and Campanula are germinated. Other seeds are to go down yet. some of these came from Jacinta. Thanks very much. i noticed that Michael Ryan had a bit to say about Altamont, this evening. I thought that he could have given a whole programme to it.
13 February 2011 17:41:31
Forsythia
To day it was a real spring day at least early in the day. In the greenhouse a temperature of 25 degrees was recorded. It was enjoyable to sit down at the back of the house facing the south and enjoy the warm sunshine. This evening, I noticed forsythia in bloom. I think that last year it was a month later.
13 February 2011 17:29:57
Swan in Lake
Here I got a photo of a swan.
13 February 2011 17:27:07
Snowdrops at Altamont
Ten thousand saw I at a glance
13 February 2011 17:23:04
Visit to Altamont
Left home at about 2.30 p.m. and made my way to Altamont Gardens. It was the first time I was there for years despite the fact that it is so near. It was of course the time to view the snowdrops and what a view. Wordsworth used the words "Ten thousand say I at a glance" referring to daffodils and the same could be said about the snowdrops at Altamont. I went for a walk around the lake and took photos of the lake and of course the snowdrops. I was hoping that some of the locals from the club might be around but no. If any of you are in Co. Carlow, I would recommend to call and see Altamont.
12 February 2011 16:42:01
Snowdrops & Crocuses
Snowdrops and Crocuses.
12 February 2011 16:36:31
Upper part of Lawn Sprayed
Upper part of lawn sprayed.
12 February 2011 16:32:03
Lower Part of Lawn
Finished the spraying of moss on lawn to day. Now I can get at other things. In the case of lower part of lawn some of it is seen as not sprayed but this photo was done to show the contrast. Afterwards the job was completed.
11 February 2011 22:55:47
Are you all watching the Late Late Show. I didn't hear Martin's song:)
11 February 2011 17:46:51
Attended the Askea Country Market to day, sold nothing. We had our AGM afterwards. I mentioned garden.ie. In the afternoon I continued with the spraying of moss. The lawn was somewhat yellow up to now. Where it was it is now black and I should finish it to morrow. It is a slow job using the watering can on a lawn 1/4 acre but worth it. I should finish it to morrow.
11 February 2011 16:17:52
Rhubarb
Since February came this rhubarb has shot up. Temperature to day recorded 13 degrees C.
10 February 2011 12:56:32
Helleborus
Called to Woodies and bought two Hellebores. Total €17.98
09 February 2011 20:31:00
When the rain cleared, I got at the moss on the lawn again. By to morrow there should be little or nothing left to to in this area. Some more tomato seeds were potted up. Those potted early on are doing well.
08 February 2011 17:37:36
After returning from Woodies I decided to get at the moss on the lawn again. As I mentioned I mowed the lawn yesterday so there was more moss and less grass visible. I worked at it until shortly after 5 p.m. Now about half of the lawn is sprayed.
08 February 2011 17:25:30
Arabis
Called to Woodies the reason was that I heard of orchids at €2. I did not see any but saw Arabis caucasica at 20 cent.
07 February 2011 16:08:58
After a week without frost and temperatures in the teens, plenty of rain on Saturday and wind last night and early this morning there had to be growth. Snowdrops and crocuses very prominent and some growth in the lawn the mower came out about 12.30 p.m. Now the grass has been mown 1/4 acre of it and it looks good. There is plenty to be done yet such as tackling the second half for moss.
06 February 2011 12:37:30
lawn
Hello Peter, you can see where the lawn has been sprayed and not.
05 February 2011 19:57:00
It pelted, pelted, all day long
A singing at its work,
'Til everyone took up the song
Way back to back a Burke,
And every creek a banker ran
And dams filled over top.
"We'll all be rooned" said Hanrahan,
If this rain doesn't stop.
05 February 2011 17:59:24
Thank God I got a fair bit done yesterday. To day raining all the time. Nothing to do from the point of gardening. It was a day to get at things inside the house from the point of cleaning and tidying. I'm sure Geraldine would say "a day for the ducks"
04 February 2011 17:47:49
Robin on new ground
In the morning I attended the Country Market, the first day since Christmas. We had a break until to day. Sold two Aloe vera at @ €2 each. in the afternoon, I dug some of the back garden and then got at the front lawn to spray the moss. Finished at 5.15 p.m. While digging, my friend the robin came along to pick from the ground and came very close to me so that i took a picture. temperature varied from 12 to 14 C, very good for early February.
03 February 2011 17:28:27
A little bit of digging was carried out early on but had to retire after a while. Ten tomato plants were potted up. others not ready yet. Sweet pea overground but not touched. Campanula seeds sown, very small seeds, never grew them before. Work on moss will have to wait.
02 February 2011 23:21:59
Ground cleaned around acer yesterday
Very little done to day, tied up with other things but work was confined to watering plants, in particular pelargoniums and fuchsias in the greenhouse and getting at the spraying moss on the lawn. Peter reminded me yesterday, so using about an eggcup full of ferrous sulphate to a two gallon can of water, I began where I left off before the snow came. Considering that there is a quarter of an acre in the lawn it will take some time but it will be worth it. Probably to morrow I start if the weather permits. Note the moss in the picture.
01 February 2011 17:49:36
Helleborus
Nothing done in the morning due to other comitments but the afternoon was so enjoyable on Lá le Bríde. Cleaned around bases of trees in the lawn, planted a rose in the long bed. It was one I propagated from a cutting last year. Planted the Helleborus in a piece of ground near the Phormium.