kitty's Journal

well needed water

well needed water

with all the watering that had to be done, there is still something about the rain, it was welcomed last night for the veg and flowers. got all the pots ready for planting, put some gravel at the bottom and potted up three with two fuchsias and one of my japanese acers i got at aldi last week, picked up another today in dunnes, 13.99 so i have plenty now. picked up some lovely marguriettes, 2x pink,2x yellow,2x white and a darker centre in lidl and two sennetti( i went in to get a hanging basket to replace the one that broke and got side tracked as we gardeners do, i am lethal when it comes to plants. 

 it is raining here today so i gave gardening a miss, tomorrow morning bright and early i will tackle the pots and saturday i am having a day out with my friend and her daughter and becky, we are heading to town for a day of shopping (more window shopping than actual shopping and getting a camera, then i can have fun taking photos, hopefully that will raise the spirits, cant seem to shake this down feelin. completely. its an evening for tv and mags. 

i used to get alot of garden magazines now i only get two montly ones ( irish garden, gardeners world and the weekly ameture garden), it is a waste of money and i dont have time to read them.

still have loads of potting on to do, once i have the pots done i will concentrate on that for a couple of days, apart from forget me nots and wall flowers seeds that is all the sowing i am doing for a while  

making great headway

making great headway

thank you for the kind words in the last journal, the heat and everything else got on top of me, i have been making great headway in the planting and all i have left now is the patio pots and planting the climbers in front of the diesel tank, hubby made the raised bed for them yesturday. i will be glad when this is done then i can relax abit. im hoping to get a camera at the weekend so that i can put up photos of the work that i have done. i was so wrecked last night i hadnt the energy to write anything, all will be revealed when i get my camera.

what a glorious day

what a glorious day

went to lacken beach in kilala today it was absolutley gorgous barley a cloud in the sky. there was horse riding on the beach but my two had more interest in the water so thats where we spent our time.

up bright and early tomorrow to get planting done, i need to get the plants out, they need to be planted out and the patio organised. when hubby finishes work he is going to get the blocks to build the raised bed on the patio for the climbers and other bit hope have the planting finished by wednesday.

the last couple of days i have been feeling down and exhausted and finding the going tough, hopefully it is tempory, i love looking at the garden and how it is turning out for me when the planting is finished i am taking time out, by the end of this week i will be finished it all  

getting stuff done

the long border done

well trying to anyway. i was up and out early this morning 7.30 actually and got the long border done  weeding done and yesturday i got the woodland area done yesturday  just a small bit to do on tuesday as i have no more room in the bin.then i went at some potting on till i ran out of trays for pots so monday is planting day, i need to get plants out in the garden early before it gets too hot and i need the space. i was working in the coolness of the shed in the afternoon im not able for that kind of heat.

im glad i got the long border weeded as it was full of horsetail at one end which drove me potty, its the first year i had it.

well off out soon to do the watering, hoping to get pots done up and alot of planting done in the cool of the morning and evening next week. i will get some photos in a while of the two borders ready for planting 

i need a new camera

a yellow iris ready to open among the blue

i definatley need a new camera, i have to selotape the battery compartment everytime i open it and the pictures are turning out all fuzzy.

hope to get out and do some weeding in the morning, there is alot of different things to be done and all need doing at the same time which is impossible, where could i buy a few more hands  

a better picture

some of the heuchera bed

well i hope it is. what a fantastic day, just managed to get some potting on from the coolness of the shed, the tunnel read 42 degrees at 2 and again at quatre to 4 had to give the floor and the plastic a good wetting it is down now to 30 degrees. pick up a few grases this morning from aldi to add to my collection wont put them out till it cools down abit more or else tomorrow morning. promised hotter tomorrow yippeeeeeee 

the grass bed

the grass bed

this actually looks better than i expected. when at laurnas garden i saw astilbes planted with grasses and decided to try it out. the berberis will be moved in spring also the potentillas as they are odd looking in there

the planting has begun

the heuchera bed

well i have started the planting, the large woodland bed is started and the two smaller beds are planted, i am now exhausted, no planting tomorrow as i have alot of potting on to do in the tunnel so it will be abit more relaxing than previous days

the photos are not great as the wind is making it hard to take them properly. here is the heuchera, hosta and sedum bed with rose bushes and astilbes already in it, i will i have to move the astilbes and rose bushes in the autumn. if these photos are terrible i will put up some more tomorrow 

a front view before

a front view

this is the last time you will see the beds empty in this garden i hope. kieran cut the grass which i think makes any garden look so much better. really enjoyed chelsea coverage, thanks rachel, i havent got around to reading my gardeners world and dont watch bbc for anything other than gardeners world.

 i will be out first thing to dig over the beds then out come the plants cant wait so itching to get started. i had planned on weeding today in the front but hubby pointed out that would it not be better to weed the veg today and do the front tomorrow so that is what we did while we had the kids help.  

although i havent planted up the beds i fell in love with the garden again in the evening sunshine and the cut grass oooooh so happy with it despite the weeds 

a family effort

all weeded and tidy

the veg beds were in serious need of weeding and potatoes earthed up, got the kids to help and hubby chipped in too, i got the kids to do the potatoes and then showed them how to earth them up, we had it all finished by four.

i put up a tempory garud around the carrots some havent come fully yet, the dogs had pulled up some of the fleece, i will have to get some thing better, mesh and stronger sticks ( 3x2s would be perfect just to stop them from getting in and ruining the carrot bed 

itching to go planting

this area is what i want to weed, this is an old pic

i am so itching to getting the plants in the ground now. thankfully the weather is to improve so its time to get them in there and get growing. cant wait to see it all planted up.

i know i said i would be good and not do much but it just isnt in me to sit for long and a bit of weeding tomorrow might be on the cards as i need this area cleared so that i can put some of the primulas in it as it is the second woodland area . 

for sallysarah

for sallysarah

sally i dont know if you remember giving me this verbascum at the garden show in the castle last year, you also gave me hebes that i will be planting out in the new beds this year. looking forward to seeing it flower this year, what colour did you say it is. 

another little beauty

another little beauty

here s another little beauty i spotted this morning

barrels of toms

barrels of toms

got 4 of the barrels set up and when hubby came home he filled them for me and i planted them up. 

today apart from feeding the baskets and other bits in the tunnel,no more gardening for me today sitting down watch corrie omnibus. hopefully feel well enough on monday to get beds dug over for plants at front 

baskets of colour

baskets of colour

spent a pleasurable day in the tunnel doing my baskets and some stuff for a friend. they were fed this morning and will now spend a week or two in the tunnel to fill out.

peony

peony

im hoping that i wont loose out on see the peony flowers, for no apparant reason that i know of the buds just fell off the peony. does anyone know why? it wasnt moved or anything. heres hoping 

primula viallii

primula viallii

i love these primulas. 

something different

something different

one thing i have done today is gone out and took some photos, i found this unusual (for me anyway) aquilegia, a creamy white im so used to the other colours even a yellow has been seen last year have to look for that one though. despite the cold the garden is doing ok with weeds winning in part . 

even if i wanted to i cant do anything much as the antibiotic i got is knocking me out. i could sleep in a harrow  

for jacinta

for jacinta

jacinta you asked for the close up of the marmalade heuchera, it looks so simular to creme broulee 

a bit of a scare

being inspired

ended up in A&E yesturday with pains running up and down my arm and heavy feeling on my chest, spent the whole day there had chest xray and the works, ended up that it was a very bad chest infection, was givin antibiotics and told to come back for another x ray in a months time, it was a bit scary when my doc said i need to been seen imediatley, was glad to get home yesturday eve. was so tired and hungry couldnt get the energy to do anything not even come on line. feeling very tired today, managed to pot up the bulbs or rhizones of agapanthus, if i didnt pot them up i would have lost them,  i watered everything that was it no more been done till at least friday. i looked around and thought how am i going to sort through everything inside and out and do my mum in laws but i know when i feel better i wont feel as overwhelmed with everything.

i am sitting here with a hot drink and ameture garden and between my visit to lornas and reading the mag i am thinking about a small pond for the patio. all i need is a container with no holes, plus i am making a large block bed around the diesel tank for climbers and i will sink the container in the centre as a sunken pond, when it is done you will see what i mean. i will pick up a pump when they are in lidl or aldi 

plants bought yesturday

plants bought yesturday

i got the plants out and arranged them and got the names, i can hide the most of them in the waiting area but the stipa is sticking out like a sore thumb, so i put that in the tunnel out of sight. i am hoping to get the barrels filled tomorrow and plant the tomatoes and cucubers.

in lornas i got

meconopsis grandis blue poppy

 primula bullyana, and primula guinereve.x2

hosta  lancifolia aurea 

verbascum phoeniceum 

lysimachia firecracker

shuttle cock fern 

in dangan i got

stipa gigatea

imperial red baron 

heuchera marmalade

i was very happy with the visit. i am thinking of going again next week. there is loads of photos in the lorna album 

lorna mc mahons garden

this is actualy 2 plants in one, pink flower is belong to the green foliage

what a fantastic visit i had, i got there shortly after two and done the walk around, thankfully with all the woodland it wasnt too windy and rain stayed away till bout 4 ish. i got loads of photos i think close to 100. i really enjoyed it and then went in search of plants. there was a nice crowd and a good selection of plants in her garden and for sale. there was ponds and streams running all over it and with all the dense planting there was little or no weeds and the whole place was imaculate, she is some woman to do so much. i got loads of plants there was a great deal of 5 plants for 20.00, and got a few more as well. she is a great lady for the hostas and these were 10euro each but worth it. i would love to go again next sunday and i think i will. when hubby is gone tomorrow i will take the plants out of the car and get the names and take photos.dont want him to see what i got. i blew the budget but so happy with it all 

but my day didnt end there, i went to dangan nurseries and got three plants in there so naughty then i stopped at horkans and got agapanthus bulbs, thats it i have to behave until at least the big plant fair in the claregalway castle in july. yikes see how long that lasts.

i put up a photo album hope i have done the garden justice with the photos, not as good as fran and the rest of you when it comes to taking photos but i did my best .

it is horrible here this evening winds and rain, it has been gale force winds since this morning. when i got up and looked out the last cloche was ok and in place by the time i got up to the kitchen it was wrapped around the clothes line oooooooops, they are all in the shed now and will be taken apart and the plants planted by the weekend as it is meant to settle from wednesday, heres hoping  

purple one

purple one

its almost double 

anenome

anenome

when i spotted these at mum in laws, i planted these ages ago so i was almost envious when i saw them didnt think there was a pink and purple anenomie. the picture doesnt show the true pink colour of it

lovely little tresures

lovely little tresures

i went in to sparkies in ballyhaunis today on the way to my in laws lookin g for slug pellets for mom but to no avail but i did pick up these beauties they will be lovely once the garden is done and our feathers friends will be thrilled with them, and all for 20 euro

another area to tackle at mum in laws

area been tackled

started to attack this area today there is alot to it and i didnt get it cleared but i am about half way will tackle the rest next week before planting it up. it is full of weeds especially ground elder ( i think thats what it is,) there is also scutch grass with roots that go on forever, i cant spray it because there are flowers in it, but with a bit of diggin and clearing it will be a lovely place to enjoy on a WARM  sunny day( if we ever get them). it will be fun to plant up with some foxgloves and other bits and pieces. when it is finished i put up photos 

aquilegia william guiness i think

aquilegia william guiness i think

am i right in saying this is aquilegia willam guiness ( sorry spelling terrible ) 

not been inspired

iris black dragon battered by wind and rain

either i am getting the kids dose or i am just plain lazy but i cant seem to get going at all. hopefully i will get inspiration from lornas garden on sunday cos god knows i need it, i am feeling so tired and unable to get going at all, am i the only one that feels this. although the sun is shining i am cold. 

i did go out and watered everything in the tunnel but ran back in after, i was hoping when i was in the tunnel i would be inspired actially do sonething but just couldnt. i did go out and take some photos also. must do an album for may  

lorna mc mahon

lorna mc mahon

i am heading to lorna mac mahons garden on sunday, the last time i was there was 2009 during my garden course, really looking forward to it. 

patients are improving but didnt get anything done in the garden today, it rained most of the day here so it wasnt a day for anything much. tomorrow i hope to get some planting done, plan to have a lot done by tomorrow eve, may have to head to mayo on saturday so heres hoping i will have a lot done by then 

no gardening done

one of the beds

i have a sick patient home this week, becky is off with sinuses brought her to doctor today so she will be on the mend, the doctor told us there are so many people sick because the weather is so cold and unsettled, chris my son is also under the weather so no gardening got done but not bothered the kids are more important.

hubby cut the drainage holes in the barrels so if i can i will get out tomorrow if not friday.

if the weather would just settle as it is suppose to be nice on friday so maybe get some planting done see how the patients are.

i am thinking or maybe rethinking about the grass bed, if i just put grasses it might be a bit boring and some of the grasses i have would not be great in praire/wild flower bed planting so i think what i may do is the grasses that dont suit will be put in the big bed and the grasses that will suit the praire/wild flower medow planting can go inthe grass bed, i will put in some echinacea and other bits that will suit like astilbe. will see how it goes i also have fullers teasel and ox eye daisey that is gone mad in other beds, i will have alot of juggling to do but when it is done it iwll be nice i hope. 

potting on

apart from the shower this morning and a sun shower the heavens didnt open till this evening but i was in a very hot tunnel as it was windy at times which was playing havoc with the cloches.

i got a good bit potted on and even got the dark leaf cannas potted and i also got the dahlias that i got in woodies ages ago were also potted will get the ones in the shed done tomorrow, got echinacea, dahlia seedlings,salvia pampas grass and monarda and loads more stuff done, started at 1.30 and finished at 7 and then watered everything in the tunnel and cloches as i had to leave them closed as the winds were catching them.

dont know how much i wll get done tomorrow but there is still plenty to do and i want to get the tomatoes in to their permanent homes. hopefully by the weekend i will get stuff planted veg etc depending on weather i need to get stuff out, this weather is really lowering my energy and mood. today i felt i was suffering from a massive hangover but i was nt drinking at all as i dont bother with it much 

cloches out again

cloches out again

decided to take out the cloches again as i need them for the stuff that is out, hopefully it wont be gale force winds again this side of summer. 

last bed done at last

this is a shot of the beds ready to be planted

i got the last of the beds done this evening, didnt think i would as i was so sluggish all day and feeling sad about hen but i started out by potting up the yellow tomatoes and the peppers and the melons then went out and put up the cloches again and sorted out all the plants into them , after dinner i got a second wind and out i went and finshed the bed out front now i need to spend the next couple of days in the tunnel potting on and bringing in the barrels in and filling them. the tomatoes need their new home asap.

i didnt think i would get all this done today as i was feeling horrible earlier  

fond farewell

she is the hen on the right of the picture

to my lovely little hen, the mother hen has been unwell for a week or so but had stopped laying long ago. when kieran let them out this morning she was dead, was so fond of her and the other two girls just have goldie and henny penny left they are lost today they know there is something not right and keep looking for her. 

little beauties

little beauties

got these in lidl this morning, they were the last two left, pity i could have done with 2 more. these will go into the birch bed its a small bed so i will put some viola with them, i have some viola with blue and orange so they will look nice i hope, will also put in the cyclemen corns in also. the circle bed is just beyond the bed i did this evening and  is in the picture in the previous journal

one bed left to do

bed done this eve

after shopping and dinner almost cooked(shepards pie) which i threw in the oven to finish off at 4, i thrashed into the front and got the bed around the birch ready and the one on the left (pic), i cut down the crab apple because it wasnt going to grow very well because the main leader was broken so out it came. i want this bed to be the grass bed.

i finsihed up at 7.30 was really delighted with what i got done, there is only one bed left to do tomorrow. this wont take too long as it is just a matter of taking out the scraws and then i can dig them all over and add some fertiliser. might even get a bed planted. i have to take out the potentillas and berberis from this bed in the morning and move them to the bed beside it that i did last week

little purchases in aldi

becky posing with the purchases

i was in town today bringing becky to an appointment so i popped into aldi before i picked her up and got three climbers, maybe this is my new love im not sure but i wanted to find something that i could hide the diesel tank with, at 1.49 they were well worth it. i also got these two trelises made of willow for 7.99 each will get these planted up in the next couple of days. i will have to get some 3x2s or simular to put them on to as just leaving them standing on their own wouldnt work, when it is done it will look right honey suckle serotina and H repens and one virginia creeper, i thought i had twp got but i must have dropped one accidently oops.

before i went in the morning i put out everything that needed to be hardened off as i need the space for the tomatoes and all the other stuff thats needed to be potted on. i

i had a while this evening taht it all got on top of me and thought i have really bitten off more than i can chew and thats not maybe. once i get the garden out front ready it will be easier i think. 

fatsia

fatsia

just to show what my fatsia looks like and if anyone can tell me if this is usable material for cuttings, i am usless at cuttings, seedsowing and division no problem

love this

love this

i love this combination varigated weiglia and berberis. please ignore the weeds i will eventually get this sorted once i have other beds done, my garden looks so neglected cant believe how bad it got. the amount of massive weeds that i pulled yesturday from what was weedblocked and stoned it is awful and i felt like a total faliure for letting it get that way. wait till you see the weeds for tomorrow oh for hells sake,  feel better about it today, knowing i am tackling it makes it better or should i say easier to handle. 

weiglia

weiglia

this weigla is doing brill and already in flower love the contrast between the variegated weiglia and the berberis

capanula

capanula

well thats what i was told it is anyway. i love the blue, this bed where the canansis and the pink tulips is turning out to be a pink and blue bed by accident, there is also heuchera and hosta and a big weigla which will be in flower really so as the buds are well on it and almost ready to open

the first day of summer

sorbus aucuparia

well if this is going to be our summer i will have to imigrate, its cold and horrible yuck, my energy is so low i cant muster up the want to go out and do something, will get it done tomorrow morning instead. the garden can wait this eve. gonna put my feet up and enjoy the tv.

what a horrible day

to be potted on

wild horses couldnt drag me out in that today, it is so windy here i am nervously watching the last cloche ready to pounce if it trys to go. 

i am trying to muster up the energy to pot up my tomatoes and melons and peppers if i do it, it will be on the kitchen table they will stay in the house until tomorrow when i can make space for them in the tunnel, it would be cosy in the tunnel but i prefer to be able to watch tv as i work.

a hot choclate first and then i will go and get the prefilled pots and labels