Month: July 2008
A country hillside garden overlooking the River Foyle and Donegal mountains featuring woodland and a cottage garden.
My niece Becca was down staying while we were away on hols! She took some pictures of my garden which I have uploaded. See Mary’s garden by Rebecca.
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The end of July is very windy here, it was a very bad month for all the Asiatic Lillies, they didn’t last as long as usual with the cold and wet weather we’ve had.
The last 10 days have been dry and warm so I was keeping my fingers crossed for the trumpet lillies. Today I took some pictures of the African Queens in full bloom and a yellow one of wich I have no name. Pink perfection will be out soon as well.
As I mentioned in the June post the sweet pea wall is fantastic, way above my expectations, it looks beautiful. My skills as a photographer are not very good but you can see that it works. The wind is hwling here now and if the sweet peas were on bamboo canes they’d be down by now. It has happened every years so far, so I’m glad I came up with this idea.
We managed to keep the blight at bay as well on the potatoes, so we are hoping for a good crop.
The tomotoes are doing great and we should pick a couple in the next week provided we get some sun
Dahilas are still awaiting planting as the rain is relentless. But having success with 2 pea plants that I grew from seed in a pot, lots of peapods fattening up. Also my peppers have started to shape up too. So heres hoping for some bright weather to enjoy.
New veg patch
Our roses were the best ever this year and it was such a pleasure to sit under the pergola earlier in the month. I choose them especially for the scent and have not been disappointed. It has been awful weather these last 2 weeks but they are still going strong although it breaks my heart to see them beaten by the wind and rain.
Every year I grow about 60 sweet peas on canes and every year they get knocked down by the wind, so this year I have put in some metal posts with sheepwire in between, in order to create a wlal of sweet peas. I have planted another rose and a couple of clematis at the bottom of the posts and the sweet peas in between. A friend gave me a load of horse manure which was dug in and I picked the first sweet peas last friday. I will take a picture as soon as I have a few more flowers and the weather is a bit brighter.
I am looking forward to digging our first potatoes this year, I choose Desiree as they make yummy roasties and taste great with butter.
We always grow our own salad crops, tomatoes, French beans, beetroot and as many herbs as I can fit in.
I planted new strawberries as well this year and so far we’ve had a great crop, the red currants are nearly ready and we’ve had 3 raspberries so far. The only disappointment was our cherries, they just seem to dry up and shrivel. There are loads every year but never any to eat. Must ask Gerry about that.
Constance Spry
It has hardly stopped raining since!
The weeding is relentless. I’m very proud of the way I’ve been keeping the veg garden and the fruit garden. It’s the best condition I’ve ever kept it inI’m constantly tying in the toms and pinching out the sideshoots. The onions are pretty much weed free. I even have good support for the peas. Miraculously I still have a full crop of blight free potatoes in spite of not spraying. Thanks by the way to Headgardener for the info about the organic blight spray. Just haven’t got around to it.
The hard work I put into the raspberries is paying off now. There are at least 5 times as many berries this year on only two rows instead of three. And they are all accessible. It’s the simple and blatantly obvious things that make a significant difference. I was being very greedy when I originally planted the fruit bed. I originally planted 4 rows and then 18 months ago I reduced it to 3 and still I couldn’t pick them all. Now there are only 2 rows with a wide path between and at each side.
I took the weed suppressing fabric from around the strawberries this spring also and found that it was easier to weed and there are much less slugs because they have nothing to hide under. Ironic isn’t it.
There is more time to relax and enjoy now. If only the rain would stop. I haven’t had a glass of wine in the garden this year yet!
Windy
we started by cutting back the tree that is outside of our house so that people can walk under it safely.
We then cleared the branches and leaves away from that and the hedge trimmings as the hedge was cut back at the same time.
late we cropped back some of the plants that were over grown and pulled up the weeds.
we then planted some new flowers around the semicircle of plants.
we then went around to the back garden and descused what needs to be done there tommorow weather allowing.
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 blossom.
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.
6/o6/08
Mr.Nangle (the first) provided us with many more shrubs in those early days. Some I still have, others have been replaced. I bought a few trees including a Lilac and a Laburnum. The Laburnum was blown down and the Lilac must have died. A Hamamelis I still have and also a Crinodendron which still flowers profusely.Some of the conifers which I bought were sold to me as "dwarfs" but kept on growing. I also bought a little heather which stayed small for a number of years and then took off and is now over 6 ft. Two other large trees in the garden are there for sentimental reasons One was the first Christmas tree which we bought for my eldest son now aged 58 years , the other is a Monterey Pine which my daughter brought home as a present from a sale at school when she was very young.I never realised that it would grow so high. However, I love the tree. It has been home to goldfinches and other small birds. However, of late some magpies have started coming into the garden and I am afraid that they will frighten the smaller birds away These are just some of the plants which determined the future development of the garden.
06/07/08
While my children – four boys and a girl – were young the garden became a playground for them and their friends. There they amused themselves happily for hours. They enjoyed the wildlife and fish in the pond but so did the heron, and later they built aviaries for their budgies. Meanwhile, I continued planting shrubs along the boundary, while one of my sons followed me around with his own trowel. Today he has his own lovely garden in Canada and is a very keen gardener.
Can anyone tell me what this is?
I moved into my house 8 years ago and since then have been reforming and remaking the garden. Ideas come to me as I am working. You could call it my inspirational garden!
I will keep posting up new photos when I get a chance and hope you all enjoy viewing them.
Regards,
Tulipmania
At last a break from work …and some sunshine …its so good watching my beautiful roses and a freshly manicured lawn ..but then everything looks good ..when alls right with the world …..time to orginise the pots …no point before this when theyd have been washed away ..with delightful Irish weather!
Mombrisia is out. Lupins still flowering but quite a few have gone over now. Gladiolis have first buds coming. Sage in flower. Toffee papers flowering.
This morning was beautiful gardening weather but there was still a bit of a breeze. I began to feel I was growing old waiting for a still enough day to apply weed-killer. So I took matters in hand…
I weeded my problem area by hand.
I also built up the "wall" and at the back, where I ran out of stones, I put in tree-trunk pieces as a retainer between the "problem" raised bed and the existing bed (see where the two beds join in the photo). The tree trunk pieces had been knocking around for ages.
I raked and levelled the soil and I planted it up with the few plants I did have available. I also removed the mint and put it in pots.
It doesn’t look half bad – even if I say so myself.
Obviously I need more plants – a lot more box to run between the juniper trees and obscure the view across! I also need two or even three more stipa gigantica. There is already one planted there although it’s hard to make out any detail from the photo. I also need to order the heleniums I mentioned before.
Box & Juniper Project
We are still waiting for a dry spell to cut the meadow so we can get the machinery in to level ground.
Did some more weeding in the rain today.
Enough already. I want to enjoy my garden now please!
It is July – I want to be sitting out in the sun, while the kids play in the paddling pool!
11 Dec 2008
After writing this journal entry I went to my mother’s house and found that she had had a brain haemorrhage. She died on 12th July.
Weeding in the Rain
THe weather has been so bad lately that it is almost impossible to get to the garden and do some work. Having fed the grass which is growing fast, it is difficult to cut in this poor climate. My new back lawn is doing fine, growing well, thankfully. I am sure the sweet eas should be flowering by now, but no sign of flowers so far. Plenty of little bud, so come on sun………….
Part of back garden facing west
The rain seems relentless this summer doesn’t it? But when the sun does shine, even for a brief period, everything seems so green and clean. My petunia’s suffer from heavy downpours, but I am so glad I planted them as they give me lots of pleasure. I deadhead the soggy ones and they don’t let me down, as they continue to bravely produce more colourful flowers. Their vibrant, gorgeous colours cheer me up. This year I grew sweet peas for the first time. While I do have flowers, some of the leaves seem faded and I feel the plants could do better. The roses are weighed down and soggy from the rain, which is a shame as they were gorgeous earlier in the summer. I have great fun growing vegetables for the first time and am delighted with my first ever crop of peas, courgettes, rocket, lollo rossa and carrots. The rocket bolted and is a bit of a mess now but even though the weather is depressing and the summer seems to be such a washout, colours shimmer through and I still enjoy my garden.
Two weeks ago my seventeen year old daughter gave me a gift of the most beautiful pink hydrangea. She had ordered it for my birthday and put a lot of thought into her choice of gift. However, it didn’t arrive on time and she didn’t say anything to me. It was a really lovely and unexpected surprise when she proudly gave it to me. I wanted to make sure that this hydrangea would be well cared as it would always remind me of her. I made space for it in the garden so that I can see it everyday from the kitchen window. It is quite close to another very precious plant – a Japanese acer given to me by my father. As he is very ill now this acer is special beyond words. As well as their special physical beauty, plants and trees remind me of those I love.
white patio rose
Alstromeria
Passion flower
Flame creeper
My son and his wife live in Provence – about an hour north east from Marseille – in an atmospheric farmhouse which he is converting into their home. They have about two acres of land with a wonderful view of surrounding vineyards, a scattering of other farmhouses, and in the far distance on clear days there is a spectacular view of Mont Ventoux. The land was treeless and featureless and he has started to plant and design sitting areas both for viewing and for shade. I am amazed at how mature it is all starting to look. The garden centres are called Peppinieres and are similar to ours and yet startlingly different. Nick has been able to buy old olive trees and has planted four amazingly ancient looking ones.
I have been visiting frequently over the last two years, helping an amount and enjoying discussing the pros and cons of different ideas and it is fun to see this totally different sort of gardening taking shape. I have been over there in cherry blossom time which is just beautiful; scarlet poppy season is enjoyable; this time the sunflowers had their faces to the glorious sunshine ( like me ) and the fields of lavendar were glorious. I have never seen such magnificent oleander – the bushes were just ablaze with colour.
I was there for a week in sunshine and warmth with endless blue skies and every meal outside. Now I am back in Corbally with endless grey skies and every meal so far inside…..but this garden looks fabulous. It seems so lush and almost tropically green but with splashes of colour from roses and carnations and bottlebrush and lupins and acers and angels fishing rods wafting over it all. Nice to travel but oh so nice to come home.
