Dick's Journal

Early with some heavy showers, it looked as if nothing would be done. Then in the early afternoon , it cleared. The area I cleared at the back probably over a year ago had a little bit of weeding done followed by planting of one plant given to me on Wednesday and taking other plants from the bag. Next week I will have plenty of planting to do. A parsnip bed was next. Thinning, and a little bit of weeding followed. It was necessary to remove some rhubarb leaves in order to let in some light and even to cut off a gooseberry branch, laden with fruit. I was anxious to clean oround some shrubs like Hydrangea and Yucca. This led to finding that there were some Geraniums hidden. Now they are visible if you get near that area. With the secateurs, briars and blackthorns were cut back . Now this area is looking presentable but a lot to be done yet. The roses are even better to day. I retired at 8 p.m.

The magazine arrived to day. My first move with it was to look at the section on Jurgita in the garden centre in Kilquade. Congratulations Jurga. You really did well. Unlike others you went for quite a lot of plants. You will be kept busy for some time getting all of these into the ground. Well done.

I was delighted to meet the pair from Co. Waterford Anne and Noelle, yesterday. It is great meeting people who have a common interest with yourself. I was a bit ashamed that the place was not in order as I wished. Fortunately having good weather since Saturday when you wouldn't put a dog out I got quite a bit of work done. The rose beds were not in order even though it wasn't long since I had cleaned them before. I must say that there was hard work done with the dutch hoe the spade and the hands. The drive had not been sprayed until the day before and the lawn needed mowing. On the other hand, the positive side was that over a few days more and more roses had bloomed and the rain in June had brought on the Hydrangeas.

 

At about 4.45 p.m. the two ladies arrived and Noelle, whom I met last year, about a mile up the road was so apologetic for being late, was up first but why should they apologise the fact that they came so far. It was a privilage to me that they came at all. When they came in would you believe, they ate nothing, they must have had a good meal in the Arboretum. I think they wanted to see the garden. antirrhinums were admired but would you believe, they were last years, you see we had a mild Winter. Anne described the tour of the garden. As well as seeing trees, shrubs and roses, they alo saw weeds. I have prize Hogweeds and as one of the visitors was looking at some moss roses which have a lovely scent, I had to say Mind the Hogweed there. By the way I called to Woodies to day and bought some weed killer to deal with these public enemies. We then went to the back and had to pass by an eyesore, three compost heaps and a big pile of cuttings which were put there after the awfl frost in 2010. Anne saw a perennial flower which I could not identify. We reached the greenhouse and I showed them the grapes. I am really proud of the crop this year. Anne before she came asked if she could sample one grape, would you believe? the two were given full permission to pick out the ripe ones. If it were a month later, I could have given them bunches of grapes, but they had to pick out the good ones, not too easy. Eventually they told me that they had to go and left me some good plants such as Magnolia Solangia and three pots with Libertia Grandiflora. Thanks ladies for your kindness.

 

 

 

 

What rain last night after three lovely days? I was delighted to meet two members of the Club from the Decies. First thanks to Craig for the restoration of garden.ie. However the uploading of Photos is a problem which wii be solved. Now the sun is shining and while Cork got it bad we in Carlow slept through most of it. I will conclude for the present but thank you Ladygardener and Noelle for coming. It is great to meet fellow gardeners. I will say more about it.

Really enjoyed the garden to day. Most of the work was pruning away enemies like Vetches and Briars. The place is looking better now but a lot to do yet. Friends of Garden.ie expected on Wednesday. These Antirrhinums were obviously not planted this year.

To day, it appeared that perhaps we might have it dry but when you were about to start operation the rain came down. This happened on a number of occasions. I had planned to put down bedding plants after I had prepared the ground yesterday. Great weather for the Hydrangeas, a good rest for the watering can except in the greenhouse. Almost all plants except Tomatoes, Peppers and some cacti and succulents are out for the rest of the summer. The bedding plants are still in trays except the ones whichare already planted out. Grapes are getting sweeter every day.

To day after the Country Market, the day turned out fine though windy. I spent some time in the front garden removing nettles, briars and vetches as well as digging a patch of ground which was blue with Forget Me Nots during April/May. Now I have space to plant out some of the bedding plants, which originated as seeds given to me at Johnstown in January. Yesterday was such on account of the rain, that outdoor work was out of the question. The place looks a bit better than when Bill came last week. I am expecting two members from Waterford on Wednesday. In the area where I was working, preparing the ground and weeding, there is Philadelphus which is looking very good at present. In previous years, there has been a scent of oranges from it, in the evening, due partly to the warmer days, hence the common name Mock Orange. Hypericum hidcote is beginning to give the yellow  flowers. Normally it is in bloom at the feast of St. John the Baptist, 24 June only two days away, hence the name St. John's Wort.This time last year, I wondered if I would have any due to the very cold December 2010 but it is better than ever now. Roses which were really great, in previous years, about 100 of them are in arrears. Normally they should be great at this time. I also picked some more gooseberries to day so the next really wet day Gooseberry Jam number two will be on the way. By the way, all I sold at the Country Market was one Aloe Vera and that reminds me to rub some of it to my poor hands after the work done in the front.

Finished the first lot of the jam. I got almost 10lb of jam out of 4 lb of fruit. I could do nothing in the garden due to the rain. Now I look forward to another fine day.

To day was a great day in the garden until 7.45 p.m. when the rain came. We had had three days when one could do some work in the garden and it was really enjoyable. When Bill (HeadGardener) came a week ago, I felt ashamed with the state of the garden as the previous rain brought up what one would say All Kinds of Everything. There was a flower bed near the front door and it was crowded with weeds. Earlier, I had planted out Hollyhocks and Antirrhinums as well as a few Begonias. The bulk of the work was weeding and what I used included a hand fork, a Dutch hoe and mainly the bare hands. Now that bed looks reasonably good. One can see Lupins, Ajuga, Lady's Mantle and a few more. After tea, I had planned to do some more but Nationwide come on the TV and it was all about Cork where a lot of my ancestors come from. At 7.30 p.m. I got at the garden again but then at 7.45 p.m. it began to rain and has continued since. Nevertheless it was a good day in the garden and it was warm so I was attired accordingly. By the way when I bought the seeds early in the year, I got free seeds Butterflies and Bees, one packet free for I think every two packets of seeds I bought. The picture shows one of the flowering plants, like a Poppy of some sort. Can you name it?

We think of the last few days and wonder if we would see the sun again. My entry was somewhat pessamistic but to day, the sun was out, little or no wind and warm especially when the clouds disappeared. Having been at the Hurling Club and watched the under 14' s play and enjoy the weather, I went for a stroll around the front garden and I must say that a lot of what I said was temporary. The roses look much better and plants in bloom in the rockery such as Geraniums and Oxalis. The flowers shown are from a Geranium I got from Linda, in Rachels garden two years ago when we had some glorious weather in June. That day was special. Note the grasshopper? on one flower. It was great to see all the pollinating insects especially the bees.

For the last decade, my roses were top class. This year things are different. Have a look at this rose. I felt ashamed when HeadGardener looked at them on Thursday. Is it the weather? I have looked back at June 2011 and everything is late. I had Phiadelphus the first week of June then and I had roses blooming in late May. Of course the grass and weeds are thriving. and I have a bumper crop of grapes and the gooseberries are great. This type of weather suits them down to the ground. Some people will tell you that it is Bloom's Day. Well blooms on roses - not here. These people who celebrate such a day reading Ulysses are probably in Central Dublin where there is little interest with many as regards flowers except what they might buy in the shop.

To day at about 12.20 p.m. Bill or HeadGardener arrived. I knew that he was coming as we had been talking about tiles and I had quite a lot of them at the back of the house. The weather was not bad at the time. I had thought it was to be worse. After a chat over a cup of coffee, we toured the front garden and then to the back where the tiles lay. He loaded what he wanted into his car and then we retired into the house where I showed him some plants including the Lemon tree. A few photos were taken and we bade fairwell. There was a period when the rain began to come down but it cleared again. I hope the tiles will do the job for him. He gave me some plants, indoor and outdoor. We also entered the greenhouse where he sampled some of the grapes.

Philadelphus or mock orange is in bloom at present, not all of it but part. I hope that over the next few days more of it will be visible. If it were a bit warmer there should be a scent of oranges from it. To day was a quiet one for me as the rain prevented the gardening from functioning.

To day was great, good temperature, plenty of sun, until about 4 p.m. I got a fair bit done, between three areas, the drive where quite a lot of weeds mainly vetches were removed and also some pruning of Cotoneaster. The main type of Cotoneater tends to produce quite a lot of new shoots and removing them can be tedious. This was done in the morning and the hedges at the side look a bit more respectible. The second job was getting weeds out of the rockery. All or nearly all of the plants in the rockery have grown a lot  but so also the weeds. It was very warm at this time, early in the afternoon and I was attired accordingly. Everything except scutch was moved to the compost heap. The third item was tidying outside the front gate and the grass strip by the road. I didn't complete this job as it began to rain. I had a meeting to attend and so after teatime which was somewhat early I had to leave the job unfinished. True it did clear up but I was not available. I believe that we will have rain to morrow (Tuesday) so much of the work undone will have to wait. Nevertheless I feel that a fair bit of work was done. Flowering shrubs such as Philadelphus and Hypericum are on the way and I hope to have photos of these soon.

I bought this plant from Bakker not so long ago, surely in the past year. To day when I looked at it, I noticed there white buds. Are there flowers and then fruits on the way?

To day was a great day for the garden and I took advantage of it. The front lawn had to be mown and also a strip of grass along by the road. Now I had tried the mower on the grass strip by the road without success. I mentioned that my two pairs of hedge clippers also failed so I finished up using a large scissors and it took me nearly the whole day. Now after the two days rain, the grass had to be cut again and I was not going to repeat what I had done. So after mowing the lawn 1/4 acre, then the strip by the road. The grass was returned to the compost heap and I think I need to start a new one. Earlier I worked in the greenhouse removing portions of the tomato plants. Now I had hoped to go to Mozarts Requem in Carlow beginning at 8 p.m. However the grass in the front had to be done. I fell in love with Mozart back in 1959 when my eldest sister presented me with an EP of Eine kleine Nachtmusik. He became my favourite classical composer. Eventually I decided to continue with the gardening. By the way, Mozart also wrote Don Giovani and considering that so many Irish people have travelled to Poland to follow Don Giovani (Trapatoni). That sport  by the way is not my forte and to morrow afternoon, I will be watching on TV not the Boys in Green but the Boys in Red in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

This Helleborus is changing back to the vegetative state. The last time I showed it the flowers were prominent. Now the vegetative parts are taking over again. I took portions of it some months ago to propagate. Some seem in order, others not so.

Hello Bill, I have some roof tiles, perhaps not 60 . They are Stonewald tiles almost flat at one side. I would be delighted to help out. Some are whole and entire, some not quite. One good turn deserves another.

Despite the weather forecast given yesterday (Tuesday) to day was lovely. The sun shone and it was warm again. I slipped some more Hydrangeas but most of the time was taken up weeding. Vetches seem to have taken over and large numbers of these were pulled out and taken to the compost heap. Tomatoes which were in flower pots have fruit while those which were put into grow bags some time ago have still to show fruit. I have a record crop of grapes on the vine and the larger ones are sweet. Roses are appearing every day and there should be a good display. I believe we will have quite a lot of rain to morrow. I hope it won't be that bad but it is a day when I normally have plenty time for the garden. Sorry no pictures as it was dark when I entered this.

To day my work in the garden was very limited due to other comitments. I had a further look at the Hydrangeas and found that mainly due to the warm weather late in May and then the rain, these shrubs are not as bad as I anticipated. There were some new shoots which had no flowers and were ideal for propagation. I took five cuttings and planted them in a mixture of potting compost and sand. I am looking forward to getting now plants from them.

Now that June is here, I can be thinking of propagating Hydrangeas. I have a considerable of H. macrophylla (Mophead) in the garden. I find June to be a good month for this work. I have a number at the back which I think were propagated last Summer. One of them is in bloom would you believe.

While I got little or nothing done in the garden yesterday due to rain, I did get something done to day despite less time available. One of the rose beds was made clean of weeds. Two others are to be done. Plenty of vetches were removed from shrubs, Hypericum, heather etc. It can be a slow process but worth it. The shrubs like Hypericum seemed to be dead last year but they are looking great now and I am looking forward to seeing in bloom this month. They are normally in bloom around the longest day which to me is mid Summer (Met Éireann considers to day to be the beginning of the season despite the fact that we have had plenty of long days so far) Several Tomato plants were potted on to day. I used the tomato food for the first time to day. I was at the Country Market this morning and sold very little, but what about it. The early afternoon was very warm so I enjoyed the garden. Digitalis or Foxglove is shown. I got the plants from Unagrant at Johnstown. Thanks very much Una.