Dick's Journal

A wet day here, not one for the garden as such, so I have started installing bubble wrap in the greenhouse. Some plants (fuchsias) were taken out, now going back. The table shown was at the back. It will be returned soon, then the aluminium tables at the side, not visible, more difficult. The rest should be easy.

While we had rain during the night and early morning, it cleared up and made it possible for work to be done in the garden. There were wallflowers growing at the back and these were lifted. The soil in that area was not so good, low in organic matter, so the growbags which housed the tomatoes were opened and the compost spread over this area. There was plenty of compost in them, more I would say than in other years. It will be dug in on Monday if the weather allows. Begonias were lifted and taken into the greenhouse. The greenhouse was tackled again for cleaning. Most of the inside is clean, the algae being washed off the glass. A small portion had to be dealt with as tables have to be moved. This should be done on Monday, rain or no rain. The outside of the green house was washed thoroughly and a few minutes ago I noticed that it was raining so this should now help out. Dahlias are still in the ground and these should be lifted on Monday. Pelargoniums are potted at the back of the house all looking good. That should be the next item on the agenda. I have a roll of bubble wrap ready to install in the greenhouse at once it is really clean.

Another sunny and dry day. Perhaps a bit late for making hay but a good day to be in the garden. Around mid day it was reasonably warm although it got cool again. Rachel's Kalenchoe has now given another root so division took place. Some blackcurrants were pruned, perhaps the first pruning this season. Went to Woodies and bought two packets of Alliums, one packet of bird seed, the first this season and some metal strips to repair the mower. The plastic at the back got broken, last time I was operating it so when I get a chance, repairs will take place. alliums were planted in the front to replace summer bedding. Leaves were raked at the back of the house, they seem to accumulate a lot there. Now 5.30 p.m. only a few days left before it will be dark at this time as the clock goes back.

Wasn't it great to see the sun shining again to day. Last  Friday we had it and then one might ask were we going to have it shining down on our gardens again. About 11.30 a.m., out it came so we are able to get at our gardens again. I got some tulips down (about half of them) and soon I should have the rest down. The soil was so easy to work with here as a result of the rain. Perhaps we could do with a bit more sunshine for a while.

First, it was a case of getting the stones from the back of the house into place, second, increasing the number of plants, some from friends in garden.ie, some from my sister in Castlebar, some from Woodies and finally introducing the gnomes I got from my sister in Dublin. It all started when in August last year the Poplar tree came to a horizontal position one day.

Now that most fruits have been harvested and the cold weather is on the way, I decided 1. to turn on the heat for the first time this season, 2. to give the greenhouse a wash. At about 5 p.m. using a cloth and a bucket with warm water and some detergent, I tackled the inside of the greenhouse. Greenhouse was an appropriate term as the green algae had grown inside like at this time every year. Soon the water in the bucket was truly green. Not all the interior was done as 1. certain pieces of furniture will have to be moved to get at the glass, 2. the aluminium frame needs to be washed as well. Some of the outside was also tackled and now one can see what is inside more easily. Of course more sunlight will get in as well as we will have very little from now on. The outer part will be easier to clean as I will uve a hose and mop.

I got this tomato from my sister when I was in Dublin yesterday. I had given her some plants and she told me that she had got bigger ones from the same plants. The tomato weighs almost 1 lb. I put the jam jar beside to let people see the size of it. She suggested that I give her more of these next year and perhaps less of the standard ones (Alicante) next time.

I collected this birthday present to day from my sister in Dublin. I had been at a meeting yesterday while the sun was shining. Now we have the rain. It consists of three Gnomes, a solar lamp, six packets of tulips, one Azalea and some other items, not shown and not for the garden. I was to collect it a month ago but I was not well at the time. Now thank God I am back to normal.

Raining all day. The result was most gardening put aside and probably a blessing as the house had been neglected. However a bit of work was done in the greenhouse, A friend of mine who knows that I have an interest in gardening gave me some pots.Some were not really flower pots but looked like what would be yogurt containers. I have a small electrical drill which came to me from Bakkers with plants some time ago. I drilled some holes in the containers and into these I put 18 Pelargoniums which I had taken from this year's plants with compost. All were rooted, so they have a bit more room to develope the roots. One photo is shown. As they would say in the Late Late Show: "There is one....."

To day, a lovely day to be in the garden, more like summer than mid October. The back lawn was mown, a small one very easy to do. The greenhouse was tackled, most of the tomato plants taken out and transferred to the new compost heap. this meant that one grow bag was now free of plants and the bag taken out. Next the vine was tackled. Unlike the tomatoes which gave a great yield there was very little fruit on the vine. Some pruning was done to the vine. Now there is plenty light coming into the greenhouse. Finally a bit of weeding was done to the rockery. It is looking very good at present with the Geraniums I bought at Woodies showing lovely blue flowers. a bit of digging was done in the newly recovered piece of ground at the back. I didn't go to Woodies to day as I wanted to spend as much time in the garden as possible. Very soon I believe the weather will be quite cold so I will make use of the good weather while it lasts.

All apples were picked to day. On one tree There are two varieties, cookers and dessert. The second tree has dessert apples only. I got 3.5 stone of cookers  and 1/2 stone of dessert from one tree while the the secont tree yielded about 4 lbs. The cookers were about normal while the dessert type were below normal. Six cuttings were taken from rose bushes, treated with rooting powder and put in the ground. I am looking forward to getting rose bushes from them this time next year.

These five roses were taken as cuttings about this time last year. They were planted in the garden after a bit of rooting powder. To day they were lifted and potted in deep pots containing soil and peat. Now I will give them the chance to settle before planting them out.

When the weather was dry I got at it and moved what was at the top to the back. This entailed moving a fair number of leaves fro a Phormiun which is showing improvement every day. The leaves were not decomposed much but other materials were. I can take out quite a lot of rotton compost when required. I decided not to go any further with the turning. Part of the reason was the misty conditions. Some of this material was moved to some flower beds. Another job was to remove some plants from the rockery: Berberis darwinii, Heather (Erica), and Mahonia. These were out of place in the rockery and were transferred to other locations.

The one on the right is ready for turning, the one on the left not quite yet. In addition to yesterdays (Saturday) grass cuttings, there are many materials besides grass. Very soon, shreddings will go in.

Yesterday I got more than half of the lawn done and planned to finish it early to day. However it was raining in the morning so I had to wait. By 4 p.m. I had the mower out and got at it again. There were some technical problems, the grass box coming off frequently partly due to the heavy crop, also emptying the box very often. eventually I got the mowing complete. Then it was a case of bringing out the wheelbarrow and transferring all of the grass, and what amount of grass was there, to compost heap No. 2. By tea time work was suspended and as darkness was approaching, I wondered would I get it all in. Eventually I got at it again and finished the job by 7.10 p.m. I had hoped that compost heap No 1 would be turned but time did not allow so it will have to wait for another day. It was a really mild day and I had to cool down a few times. Photos will have to wait, not enought time or daylight. Spraying with ferrous sulphate will have to wait as well.

I had planned to do this work for some time. After returning to full health after antibiotics, I had this work in mind. However the weather broke. You may remember that at the end of September, we got it warm for a few days, then came the rain. To day while on the cool side I had planned to get the job done. I wasn't free until about 4 p.m. as I was the the Country market in the morning(sold two lb of tomatoes) then I had a meeting in Tullow. One can imagine that the grass had grown quite a lot in a month under these conditions. The action was slow compared with normal but eventually I got half of the job done. Also due to moss in the lawn, it was not as dry as I would like. I believe that to morrow will be dry and mild so I hope to get the mowing complete. I also hope to get at the two compost heaps at the side of the house. I believe that the progress of the break down of matter in them should be good. Probably I will make one heap out of the two and the grass I have cut could be the beginning of a new heap. I notice that there is quite a lot of moss in the lawn so very soon I will start spraying it with ferrous sulphate. No photos to day. I notice that the mushrooms have reappeared in the same part of the lawn as last year. Natives of the Baltic countries: Violeta, Jurga, Liga may comment on them. I didn't eat last year's ones but if edible may try these.

While this day of our National saint seems a long way away and it is still only October, here is a reminder that the spring may not be too far away. I have found a considerable amount of shamrock (Trifolium minus) in my garden and outside the front gate.

A definite drop in the temperature to day. Some pruning of tomato plants in the greenhouse, looks like the day for the tomato plants is coming to an end for another season, leaves from trees falling, showers, change in the direction of the wind, apples almost ready to be picked, not as good a yield as last year. Very soon it will be time to prune blackcurrants. Some more daffodils to be planted. looking forward to a day free of rain when I can get the mower out for the last or perhaps second last mowing this year.

To day was ideal for the garden. I have had two bags of Alliums (or is it Allia?) I have a small bed where I have some of these already, ones that gave flowers this summer. Fuchsias which were in that bed were lifted and potted. A number of French Marigolds were lifted and put in the compost heap. After a bit of digging the Alliums were planted. There are still a few Antirrhinums there but I will leave them there as long as they will look good. One of the Shasta Daisies from Noelle was planted.

So busy at other things that gardening was very limited. Meals on wheels in the morning, appointment with optician in the afternoon meant that all i got done as regards gardening was to pot the Pelargoniums from the Hurling Club. I hope to get some work  done in the garden to morrow. The grass in the lawn needs to be mown, Daffodil bulbs and alliums need to be put where the Pelargoniums were lifted, weeds need to be sprayed in the drive. I am inclined that perhaps not all of these things will be done. What a pity that darkness comes so early now. I will also get down to reading the Irish Garden and get some tips from it.

All Pelargoniums in the garden, some in the ground and others in pots are all potted and taken to the back of the house facing south generally. I had the idea that there were 70 plants there but now it looks more like 90. There are also 30 small plants in the greenhouse grown from cuttings and should all be rooted. I still have to collect some from the Hurling Club. I was hoping to replace them with wallflowers but the number that grew for me is well below normal. I have two big bags of Daffodils which will be planted as quickly as possible. I also have two bags of Alliums, one from my sister in Castlebar and one from Bakkers. 

It seemed a sad day after the winter. All of my Hypericums about ten seemed dead. Pruning of the dead wood took place simply to get rid of it and then the resurrection took place. It seemed reasonably good during the months past but now look at it. I believe the warm weather and rain at the end of September was greatly responsible. Looking at it to day in a bit of sunshine it seemed transformed.

Remember the tree fern Dicksonia Antarctica which I got as a present for Christmas. Having taken it indoor, the dry conditions did not suit and thr fronds withered away. Martin told me a way to get the fronds back again, plenty water and a little wash up liquid. before long one frond appeared. I have continued with this practise and recently two more fronds are on the way, so I will have three fronds DV or perhaps more.