Month: June 2008
hi everybody
we have now had some rain in england, the garden now looks more alive as it was drooping badly from lack of water. everything is about to bloom as you can see from my new picys, the clemetis is very much alive and the flowers are the best ever( it likes its new home). the foxgloves are beautiful, they appear every year in the stangest of places as they are wild, i let them grow were ever they like. hoping to dust off the barby and the garden furniture soon.
strange places
My Veggie Patch!
Just had a great idea on how to manage a tricky area.
I have a raised bed, surrounded by a dry stone wall (self built so a bit wobbly). It is very messy as the wall doesn’t come up to the top of the soil level. It has been built as and when I find large stones. There is only one plant there (a phormium) so the area gets very weedy. It is on the edge of another messy area of uneven grass (won’t go into detail) so it needs to kind of camuflage the other area.
Here’s the plan…
1) Weed bed
2) Flatten and evenly distribute soil
3) Finish building wall to soil level
4) Plant vertical juniper at the corners and box between
5) Think of something else to plant in middle (a phormium is the only plant there at present)
Problem Area 6 June 2008
the guilty culprits
Busy busy hardening off and planting out. The weather has been fantastic for younb seedlings coming out of the greenhouse. It’s not taking long to harden things off.
I let some self-sown poppy seedlings grow away in the greenhouse bed so now I feel as though I have a little piece of France. The only thing is that I think it is time to plant the melons in the greenhouse now so the poppies have to go.
I’ve been weeding like mad lately. I’m doing this section by section. Normally I would be freaking out by the amount of weeds that are in the garden but this year I seem to have adopted a more laid back attitude. Definitely a good thing for my mental status. I’m weeding section by section which is working well at the moment.
I went to Bloom. It was fabulous. I loved Paul Martin’s garden and the Mount Usher garden. I bought some plants – melianthus major and some verbascum Plum smokey.
In the veg garden the potatoes are thriving. I’ve planted the toms in the greenhouse and the tunnel. The basil will go in between them tomorrow. The dahlias can be planted out this week…..
I’ve made a decision about the herb beds. They’re going. I am going to replace one with a formal water pool and the other with a pruned crab apple tree underplanted with cloud pruned box. That’s a job for the autumn.
Oh and most importantly – the new wisteria has flowered!!! ALREADY. I can’t describe how excited I am about that. I’ll be treating it with constant care and attention throughout the year so that it might flower again next spring.
French countryside
Wild area
White foxglove
Last year my friend Janet gave me lots of plants, cuttings from her own garden and one was a sweet geranium riversleanainum, at least I think that’s what its called, I’m a divil when it comes to names, head like a sieve.
Unfortunately my garden is plagued with red ants, the nasty stinging kind.
When I went to pot up my geranium I discovered the red army had taken up residence among the tangled roots. So to get rid of them I decided to drown them out. Boy are they resislient little feckers!
I had to tear my plant appart and keep dousing it and shaking the ants off. I dont know how the poor plant survived such harsh treatment but it did.
And now I have six healthy plants happily growing away in their own antfree pots.
I wouldn’t have thought to seperate the origional only for trying to rid it of the ants. So alls well that ends well except for the ants of course!
Ant free geranium
Pretty poor weather over the last while and it’s been difficult to garden in as if it’s not raining then the soil is too wet to work. Grass is coming on well except for patches which had to be resowed. Torrential downpours still causing problems with soil movement on our slopes, which is depressing but very little can be done about it.
My wife and I completed the shady garden (see picture section) and were really happy with it, needs bark mulsh now and my wife’s still recovering from the physical activity! Bed No.1 now up for planting will post photos of the blank canvus to be able to do a before and after, over the next couple of days.
Kids on holiday at end of next week and trying to get as much done before that as I won’t have as much time when there home for the summer. They love "helping" but sometimes it just does’nt work as I spend more time trying to stop the arguements and destruction as I do encouraging a love of gardening to my kids, especially as they get destracted easily by killing snails, slugs or worms (or any other poor creature they come across).
Off to the South East Garden show got free tickets through the Irish Garden, bringing the tearaways not sure it’s a good idea but I’ll let you know how it goes.
Inside the Greenhouse
Sarah Bernhardt Peony
I’m absolutely delighted to note that my little orange tree is flowering for me this year.
I repotted it last year but it sulked and didn’t flower. I fed it this year, however, so maybe that’s made the difference.
4 July 2008
There’s just a sprinkling of flowers but that’s better than nothing. Maybe I didn’t feed early enough!
Orange Tree
still weeding! lillies and roses are doing particulary well this year. an abutilon which covered the shed blew down in wind the other day have cut it back drastically hope it survives.
tony is busy cutting trees around back garden.
i sewed a box of mixed seed i bought in canaries and they litterly jumped out of pots will keep you informed . they were all up in less than a week . cant wait to see what i get.
strawberries in greenhouse are so sweet ,we have them on our cereal for bre
akfast
my orange tree is covered in baby oranges see photo lemon tree has loads of flowers but no sign of a lemon for my g and t!.
orange tree
Birdhouse borden
Unknown flower
Just finished work on tidying up the view from the back kitchen window.
I had already built a narrow flower bed along the cliff there and had built a dry stone wall in front of the bed (when I refer to this construction as "dry stone wall" it usually gives my family a laugh as they think it falls short of any such label). You look onto the length of this bed and the length of the cliff from the kitchen window so it is an important view.
I have several low maintenance shrubs in the bed and there were a lot of tulips there in spring. Now that the tulips are gone, weeds are coveting the empty space in front of the shrubs.
I removed all weeds. Then I raised the soil level in the bed with compost. This was necessary as the soil was very poor and very low. The tulips won’t mind the soil level being raised above them and the shrubs are sturdy enough now too.
I then got to do the fun stuff – planting the helenium (moorheim beauty) and coreopsis I had bought in front of the shrubs. And finally I moved the kids’ trampoline from between the window and the newly refurbished bed.
It now looks a hell of a lot better. Can’t wait until the helenium knit together and flower.
Kitchen Window View
Managed to sort out a row of six Charles de Mills roses in need of attention. They are very floppy and hung out over the grass and onto the hill behind them. They were regularly damaged during mowing, as a result, but still give plenty of flowers.
I widened the border allocated to the roses and weeded them. After much thought, I invested in a set of 7ft bamboo canes and built a scaffold around the roses. Although probably not the best solution, I didn’t want to fork out a lot of money for supports. Finally, I gave them a good mulch with well rotted manure and dead-headed them.
The overall affect is much better – adding heigth to the garden. However, I dead-headed half a bucketful of roses and, while doing so, noticed that the petals are turning brown before their time. They seem to be going brown before the flowers fade. I wonder is this a result of wind? I never noticed it on my other roses before. Any suggestions?
Charles de Mills
This bed was planted up this spring, inspired by a photo in a gardening book of the Picton Garden in Worcestershire.
I planted two types of asters – blue and pink (the names escape me now). There were a few achillea and echinacea already in the bed so I left them there. There is also a giant phormium in the centre. I had grown the achillea & echinacea from seed last year but, when I planted them out, only a few survived the winter.
Anyway, I can’t wait to see how the bed looks in autumn! No doubt I will be the only one reminded of the Picton Garden but, never mind, I hope it will be pretty.
Aster Bed
31st May
Spring onions
I’ve 7! That’s after another round of sowing. The tabbouleh will just have to wait till later this year!
Peas and beans
The peas and beans are coming on great. I’ve put them in all over the garden as I know the kids will love looking for them. I’ve sown purple-podded peas for the first time and they’re coming on particularly well. If they pass the ‘extremely delicious’ taste test, they might get promoted to annual staples! The broad beans are doing great too. Let’s just hope they survive the dreaded black-fly due very soon.
Baskets
I put some alpine-style strawberriies in the baskets for the first time this year. They didn’t take too kindly to being uprooted from their previous spot, but the’re hardy – I have faith in them!
Time to enjoy…
FINALLY I’m sitting out in the garden in the evening, it’s warm enough, AND it’s not raining! This is really the life! The candles are lit, the wine open, there’s some mellow music from our discerning neighbours 2 doors down, and the fountain is bubbling it’s soothing negative ions out…..
21st May 08
My Birthday!
Last year I was 26. Yesterday, I turned 36 – where did it all go? So this year, for my birthday, I potted up some baskets and pots with a gorgeous mix of hot red, passionate orange and whimsical yellow. It looks devine – even if I might say so myself! AND I got a present of a course in the Organic Centre in Rossinver – can’t wait. Maybe it was worth being older after all!
19th May 08
Spring onions
For some reason my spring onions (White Lisbon) won’t germinate. So far, I’ve had one single seedling from this year’s sowing and three that managed to overwinter from last year’s crop. I’m wondering if I should try soaking them first before I sow. I’ll give them another week or so and then think again.
Oregano
All the problems coming out now…Perhaps we over-cropped the oregano leaves, or maybe they’re just not hardy enough for this climate, but I don’t even have enough leaves for one decent pizza! We’re a mile from the east coast, so it shouldn’t be too severe. I’m in the process of cutting out the deadwood, and have planted some more, but I’m going to try the TLC route and see if I can rejuvenate my old faithfuls before I rip them up.
English Lavendar
Another sore point! They were magnificent last year, but alas and alac, there’s more wood than green or flowers this year. I think I’m going to have to be ruthless with them, as I don’t think cutting back into the wood will do them any good at all, from what I’ve read. I’ve found somewhere I can get new small plants for quite good value, so I think the big old woody ones will just have to be demoted to a spot in the back of the flower patch in the front. I’ll leave them till they’re finished flowering anyway, possibly even till autumn…
Montana
I was never over-enamoured of Montana but this year it has been spectacular. I’ve been trying – and will continue to try – to mix it in with another climber beside it. I’ve no idea what the other one is called, but it’s evergreen, and has the most beautiful little white flowers very late in the season and they last through to the depths of winter. I’m thinking that if I can encourage these two to intertwine, I’ll have that greenery on the fence through the winter, and two annual splashes of colour. That’s the idea, anyway. I hope they like each other!
Waterlogged Bay
Need I say more. I’ve discovered that bay doesn’t like wet feet! Here’s hoping that the bamboo and next door’s alder will suck up enough water to allow the bay get back on it’s feet – so to speak.
Discerning Slugs
They’ve eaten my little irises again. And I’ve discovered they’re picky about the beer they get. Expensive brands go down very well while economy beer gets ignored! So much for value-for-money! My husband reckons there are too many chemicals in the economy ones and the slugs don’t like the smell of the chemicals. Whatever the reason, having irises just got dearer.
Raspberries
Can’t wait. Nothing else to say, except I’m drooling at the thoughts!
Gooseberries
God bless those little bushes, they’ve really been through the mill. I think we have the only gooseberry bushes for miles around, and every saw-fly butterfly (or moth, don’t know which!) makes a beeline for my poor specimens. It’s a real testament to their hardiness that despit being stripped almost bare at least twice a season, they still manage to actually grow bigger AND produce fruit – not much, but it’s there! As for me, I can’t think of any worse job than picking off the caterpillars. I do it, but I try not to think too much about it. I did it once on a saturday, and my kids thought I was so cruel. It happens when they’re in school now as I can’t deal very well with the extra guilt-trip. What surprises me the most in all this is that I’m still as dedicated a carnivore as ever!
Thyme
Some of my thyme has gone woody in the centre. I’ve painstakingly cut out all the deadwood there too and kept any little leaves or buds that i’ve noticed in the hope that these will get more sun and thrive, and that the surrounding leaves will be encouraged to grow into the space. I also have a really lovely one, I call it a creeping thyme but I’m not really sure what it’s supposed to be called. It almost died last year, and I considered digging it up, but then didn’t for some reason, and it’s come back beautifully. It’s about twice the size of the year before last, with a creeping habit (which probably won’t do it any good as I have a membrane down) and really soft leaves and stems. It tastes wonderful too. Just on the theme of thyme, I did dig up some other dead ones last year that I thought had become waterlogged. When I dug them up, I wasn’t so convinced, as under the roots of each of them were at least two cocoon-type things about an inch long, pointy at one end and wider at the other, a dark reddish brown colour and quite hard and shiny. Some of them were definately still inhabited as they squirmed when they were disturbed. Others were abandoned. I never found out what they were, but I’m slightly inclined to aportion them the blame for the death of quite a number of my precious thyme bushes. You can probably tell by now that I’m a real foodie!
Allotments
I’ve been trying to source some (one!) in my area, but they’re nowhere to be found. My parents have ‘allotted’ (couldn’t resist that one!) me a portion of their garden as it’s bigger than my little patch. It still wouldn’t feed a family though. I’d love to see allotments becoming available to the wider population, or even community gardening plots. I know they have them in the UK and that some are more successful than others. I might try and start something but I don’t have the time to devote to it this year. Maybe I’ll put out some feelers to see if anyone would be interested in doing a group kind of a thing. I’ll see.
June 1st 2008 while out weeding today, I found some fat little white maggots on the roots of some very sad looking cabbages and cauliflour and broccoli,I picked off some of the maggots and replanted the plants.Can I cure this problem with, or without ,.chemicals
the garden has specimen docks thistles and several other outstanding varieties of unmentionables at the moment .It has just been attacked by the round-up demon which is not yet evident to the eye of the beholder.heres hoping the demon will be successful .Just back from blooms it was very good.4/6/08
how does your garden grow !!
When we bought our house many years ago we decided on a plan for the garden. It consisted of dividing it into several different areas including a pond ,a sunken garden,a small vegetable and fruit area and a large lawn. We bought a quantity of red sandstone from a quarry near Ardmore. My late husband was not very interested in gardening but he enjoyed laying paths, paving, and walls etc. so he did all of the work himself.We bought some cordon apples and pears and planted a row on both sides of the sunken garden However I don’t think there was much attention given to dwarf stock . They were cordons alright but not on the correct stock . They are still here but I have to keep cutting them. One on the edge of the row grew into a tree. It still bears a good crop of nice apples- Laxton Superb but the birds enjoy most of them as they are too high However we enjoy the b1lossom.
13/5/08
At that time the only nursery nearby was one owned by the Cork County Council so the choice of plants was not very great. I bought a number of C. macrocarpa trees and planted them inside the front wall . Sometime after a friend who had more experience than I had came to visit us and advised us to remove them which we did and replaced them later with two Cherry trees, one of which we removed last year as it was crowded out by an Acer Osasuki . The other we cut back a little but it still gives me great pleasure every Spring. My next mistake was to buy a Magnolia tree and to plant it in a very windy and draughty spot so of course it died . I tried another but that also died . By this time Mr Nangle had opened his nursery and many of the first plants which I bought from him are still in good condition . One in particular comes to mind .It is a lovely red Chaenomeles, which I think is Rowallane .It appeared to have died once but it came to life again . It has been in flower since Jan. and slill has buds on it.
Hi All
Will have just finished building our house now so it’s time to start on the garden.The site is 1/2 a acre.What i have done so far is got the lawns at the front and back complete in the last week.Lots of work as the soil is not great (clay Type)and had to add lots of oragnic matter to it to improve the soil.
I divided the back into two with a veg plot at the very back and lawn and flower beds nearer the house.I have made 10 raised beds for the veg due the condition of the soil.So far there is carrots,beetroot,potatoes,leeks,onions,strawberries,peas,broad beans and lettuce planted.
When we bought our house many years ago we decided on a plan for the garden. It consisted of dividing it into several different areas including a pond ,a sunken garden,a small vegetable and fruit area and a large lawn. We bought a quantity of red sandstone from a quarry near Ardmore. My late husband was not very interested in gardening but he enjoyed laying paths, paving, and walls etc. so he did all of the work himself.We bought some cordon apples and pears and planted a row on both sides of the sunken garden However I don’t think there was much attention given to dwarf stock . They were cordons alright but not on the correct stock . They are still here but I have to keep cutting them. One on the edge of the row grew into a tree. It still bears a good crop of nice apples- Laxton Superb but the birds enjoy most of them as they are too high However we enjoy the b1lossom.
13/5/08
At that time the only nursery nearby was one owned by the Cork County Council so the choice of plants was not very great. I bought a number of C. macrocarpa trees and planted them inside the front wall . Sometime after a friend who had more experience than I had came to visit us and advised us to remove them which we did and replaced them later with two Cherry trees, one of which we removed last year as it was crowded out by an Acer Osasuki . The other we cut back a little but it still gives me great pleasure every Spring. My next mistake was to buy a Magnolia tree and to plant it in a very windy and draughty spot so of course it died . I tried another but that also died . By this time Mr Nangle had opened his nursery and many of the first plants which I bought from him are still in good condition . One in particular comes to mind .It is a lovely red Chaenomeles, which I think is Rowallane .It appeared to have died once but it came to life again . It has been in flower since Jan. and slill has buds on it.
Just after coming in from the garden, we had a productive weekend as so had the slugs!after eating 8 of the 10 liatris i had sown. Finally getting my back border back to itself after the pet rabbits ate everything in it, also was at the garden center bought some new bits and pieces and of course had no where to put them so out with the spade and extend the bed, border is now at least 30 metres long! Am waiting till its in full colour and will take some photos and upload.
In the veggie garden have done our second sowing of onions, lettuce, peas,and beans we have sowed some sweetcorn seeds so hopefully they will take off..
Forecast is good for tomorrow so may try and shake myself and paint the fence and of course some weeding! which is worse?back next week
It’s now almost the middle of June and the weather has been good for the past few days. Our garden faces west and we get brilliant sunshine all afternoon and late into the evening with the result that we eat out most evenings. It’s a pleasure to just sit and enjoy the garden now. The plants are doing all the work and the most relaxing part of my evening is when I water the garden in the evening. I try to limit watering to containers, unless it has been particularly hot all day. The roses are beautiful at the moment and I am particularly thrilled about this as I never had success with roses before. The yellow ones in particular have a beautiful scent. Jasmine also releases its beautiful scent in the evenings. Mmmm. Lovely!
