HeadGardener's Journal

Potatoes Finally Done

New Potatoe Bed

I've been so busy I have'nt had time to visit much, I've also have a broken digital camera which means it's difficult for me to put new pics up on the site, it's like I've lost an arm!!  I have had a lot of heavy digging to do and so I've been pretty tired most nights. Filling back in the hedge holes has been the hardest as digging them with the digger took only a few moments now it's much harder to fill them in by hand.

I've also created two new potato raised beds and because of the slope in my site that took me longer than I though also. I finally got all my spuds in the ground a little later than I hoped especially the 2nd earlies which I will now probably have to spray for blight before there ready.

I've been told the house is a state and the ironing pile is roof high at this stage but theres so much to do I'm spending as much time as I can in the garden, although I have to take regular breaks from digging as my back is'nt the best.  I did'nt get as much done as I wanted during mid term but thats always the way. I'm currently digging a 40m trench to put electricity into the greenhouse (I could'nt do this with the digger unfortunitly) so thats keeping me busy, I'm starting to water like mad now, especially any new plants in the ground.. and I may have missed my opportunity to move some plants i was hoping to move this spring but such is life..

Birthday Suprise

Ben's Planter

It was my birthday yesterday (ahem 21 + vat) and my little boy Ben was very adamant that he wanted to do a floral display for me. Originally I think he wanted to do a large 'parks' type display in the new beds but was convinced to go smaller :-)  Eventually he went for the planter opposite and suprised me with it yesterday and I was dead chuffed that he had thought of something gardening related to give me.

I also got another (my third) large dicksonia from my better half (you know me odd numbers are best and I only had 2) unfortunitly my digital camera is broken so I dont have a photo of it but it's about 2 and half foot high and quite wide will fit in nicely into my shade bed. Faith got me chocolates but I'm not sure she was reallythinking of me at the time!! Sam got me a bamboo book..

Other than that I had a lazy day of repotting all the neglected seedlings in my sunroom, and it was lovely to spend some time reorganising my greenhouse a little and take a break from all the heavy work thats needing to be done right now.

My Himalayangarden.com Plants List

My little Box

As some of you may have been reading about Rachels order from Himalayan Gardens already I thought I'd share my choices. Today I 'Popped over' to Rachel but stayed much later than I'd planned to (sorry Rachel) as were all busy people. I picked up my order and it was funny to see them all wrapped up in there little plastic bags, some looked suitably impressive and some looked downright tiny but like Rachel and Linda I hope they all do ok.  I'm currently in the process of looking up what they like but if I can't find it I'll treat it like any other tuber and see how it goes.

If your intrested in seeing what they rather than Googling them then I added the section and page number they appear on the www.himalayangarden.com site. My choices were:

Alocacia Macrorrhizos (Aroids p1)

Colocacia jeningsii  (Aroids p2) - still waiting on these to arrive next week

Xanthosoma violaceum (Aroids p2)

Ensete Glacuum (Banana p1)

Bergonia Josephii (p1)

Cautleya spicata (Gingers p1)

Hedychium densiflorum (p1)

Hedychium spicatum (p1)

Disporum cantoniense (Specialty Plants p1)

Heres hoping they all do ok?/

Easter Weekend Greetings and Progress

Hornbeam Hedge done

Well firstly just to say to everyone a very Happy Easter and I hope you all got some egg!!  My crew were up early and moaning till lunchtime about the Easter egg hunt which my wife organised, but in the end they got a load of chocolate.

So I've been really busy since Thursday when Rachel, Sam and Josh popped over with some stuff from Belvedere (thanks Dave, Alison and Una especially for thinking of me) it was a mad dash to do the shopping, collect my hedging, meet Rachel, do dinner, give a growing basic veg lesson to my brother, put the kids to bed and fix my brother in laws heating. In the end I plumped to put a hornbeam hedge instead of Laurel as it looks a little like a beech hedge which i cant grow on my wet soil.

So Good friday I was feeling a little pooped so I only really potted up the 200 Thuja plants I got on Thursday and did a bit of watering. On Saturday I was playing golf in the afternoon but managed to redig and manure the trench I was putting Hornbeam hedge int will give the hedge a good start, mind you it's not ideal preparation for golf and I bet Padraig Harrington wont be digging a trench before the masters next week :-) In the end I played poorly but my team still managed to win 3rd prize so maybe I should do it more often!!!

Today I cooked dinner for 12 and in the afternoon I planted up the 60 Hornbeam I had I was flagging near the end though until Gabriel came to help me finish it so at least thats off my list of things to do (too dark to take a photo will put one up in the morning). It's my wifes birthday tomorrow so I'm going to help her with her current project for a time anyway. She's building a living willow archway for the children and a 'Fedge' for around the Veg Patch. Sinking the holes for the uprights on the archway nearly killed her on Saturday so I'm hoping to do those for Fedge tomorrow.

Dublin Adventure

Books and Taro root

So I'm back from our family break from Dublin, my kids had a ball but are wrecked!! We did the NAC, Croke Park, National Gallery and Museum and the Dublin Bus tour (Thanks Fran Again). The weather was appaling for Monday and Tuesday but a trip to Smyths toystore sorted out the complainers. I visited the €2 shop on Moore St to buy bamboo canes (thanks Chillipepper) but never did get to Chapters Bookshop second hand section.

The search for Taro root (Colocacia) was traumatic as I tried two shops near mary St and got up early to travel in the rain (and no umbrella or hat) to the Shop on Drury St to find it did'nt open till 10am so back pack up deliver stuff to car in Smithfield and then back on the luas to the market for 10 and no luck no Taro root. Drenched and dejected I trudged on down Nth Gt Georges St not having the heart to walk to Chapters as wet as I was when I spied a little book shop with a €5 bargain garden book in the window, drawn inside i eventually bought three books (what more plant books Daddy my kids exclaimed when I got back) Garden Plants and flowers a RHS 400 whopper was only €5, Name that Plant I bought thinking only of Fran (you'll have to get one Fran) and also Grasses and Bamboos for only €3.

So feeling pretty happy with myself I headed off back to Jervis Luas stop and was waiting for my train when I turned around and saw a sign that read 'Oriental Emporium' looking at the display I had two mins to dip in and I tentively asked for taro root 'ah yes we have' came the answer and i was treated by a big box of plump tubers which although tempted to get more i decide on 7 (always odd numbers) which came to €1.80 lets hope they grow but at least I left Dublin Happy!!