Month: October 2009
HI ALL SORRY I HAVE NOT WRITE IN ALONG TIME BEEN BUSY IN WORK AND HELPPING IN OTHER GARDENS, I HAVE START A LITTLE WINTER HOUSE TO HELP ALONG MY SPRING AND SUMMER FLOWERS I WILL POST UP PHOTOS AND NAMES OFF THE FLOWERS AT A LATER DATE .ALL YOUR GARDENS ARE LOOKING WELL FAIR PLAY TO ALL
Hi to you all,
I logged onto the site today, from work, and received some messages that were sent as friends requests or as ”friends request replies” to me. This is the first time that I saw them, there was also some private emails. This must go back to the email problem that I was having. So if I did not reply to any comments sent with friend requests, I am sorry, you now know why.
So please treat this as a Hello and great to meet you all.
Regrets again.
Fran
From next thursday 15th Oct. lidl are selling Phalaenopsis Orchids at 12.99euro. Also Vrisea at 9.99 and Anthurium 14.99. All indoor plants. Thought you might be interested.
Well the rain came heavy today so no gardening done. Wont get anything done tomorrow either because I have to mind my two grand children for a few hours in the afternoon.
My husband promised to rake up the leaves yesterday but when I came in from work it was’nt done. I did’nt bother doing it and now they are all wet and blown all over the place and it looks untidy. When I’m away tomorrow maybe he will do it. (some hope)
I’m translating a document on asparagus as ornamental foliage plant into Japanese (I’m a freelance interpreter/translator) at the moment.
First, I discovered there is more to asparagus than just edible plant.
Second, there’s a not-so-small world of people who enjoy (or are rather obsessed with) asparagus ornamental plant in Japan. (Hence my work!)
We learn something new every day :-))
This afternoon I put on my raingear, plastic coat & pants and green wellies ans sailed forth into the back garden to complete the moving of compost bin (1) to its new position beside compost bin (2). I was glad that I had moved the loose wall of cavity blocks to their new position yesterday because the trolley I used would have been bogged down in the muddy ground today.
When I had them in situ I began rearranging the situation of bin (2) so that it now faces down to the front of the garden in line with the newly situated bin (1). Then I had to reduce some of the material in bin (2) and shovel it into bin (1). The final job was cutting back branches of a large purple floweredhebe which overshadows bin(2) so that I can access that bin when the compost is ready.
I enjoyed being able to get out into the garden in the rain even though it never eased off while I was working. Then when I finished the rain stopped and the sun shone. Hallelulia! I know the Lord rested on the seventh day but I think I will rest tomorrow.
I am well and truly ‘jacked’. Those cavity blocks were much heavier now than they were the first time I moved them nearly forty years ago. They were leftover after my neighbour and I had built garages the full length of our houses. His father said that the foundation we had laid for the dividing wall would have taken the weight of the Central Bank.
The telly is broken and we won’t get the other one moved down tonight in time for Gardeners’ World.
Just checked out the on-line ipod replays but they are not available outside the UK : (
I had to go to a course today (starting at 9am) so before I left home, I ran out to the garden to open the glasshouse. I should really call it the polycarbonate house, shouldn’t I? The grass was absolutely sodden underfoot. The grass isn’t doing too well but when I think about it, how could it do well considering I am walking on it when it is soaking and compressing it. I really am expecting a miracle if it was to improve, given the conditions.
This evening, I ran out to close the glasshouse. If the grass was sodden this morning, you could see the water lying on top of it this evening after all that rain. I really will have to do something to sort this – I did put holes using a four prong fork only a couple of weeks ago but clearly this was not enough to get the water to drain away.
The wind must have been awfully strong during the day too as some of the plants still in pots were knocked over. It is the first time this year that they were knocked over, despite having some very windy days. (If Spider is reading this, yes Spider, they will be planted in the front garden – its just that there are some lovely dahlias in flower still so I don’t want to pull them up yet – that’s my excuse and I’m sticking with it.) Not only were some knocked over, but one of the red flowering peonies was damaged – I’m not a bit impressed.
So apart from opening and closing the glasshouse and picking up the knocked over plants, I didn’t do anything else. There always is tomorrow.
Wow, that is some change from yesterday. One or two family things first thing, then start clearing, cutting back and moving some things in the back garden. Enjoy your day whatever you do I think it is going to be a good day.
Having breakfast and looking out the window loads of swallows flying around. Has the sun brought them back. The weather has gone mad. Happy gardening today. I love Saturdays breakfast at 11.00
Hi all,
Have been neglecting my site for a while busy blogging on my other site www.talesfromagarden.blogspot.com! come on over and follow me and leave a comment or two!
At the moment we are busy removing our 30 odd yr.old griselinia hedge that surrounded our average suburban back garden and replacing it with timber fencing and concrete posts, it actually looks quite well though we have one more side to go!I for one am thrilled the hedge is going as i gravelled the back garden a few yrs ago and had to endure the hedge cutting every yr. which meant there were leaves all over the gravel to pick up just as i had got the place into shape for the summer!I have also gained a few more inches of garden all around as the hedge was quite thick so i am a happy camper and my husband is spared the backbreaking work of hedgecutting from now on too!
Just wanted to say thankyou for all the welcome messages. Much appreciated.
Twice this week I had to chase away a greedy Grey Heron. He was trying to break through the netting on pond for his dinner of Goldfish. He nearly succeeded. Any suggestions as to how I can keep him away from my Goldies?
Just wondering does anybody know the answer to this. I bought two bags of autumn lawn feed two years ago. I didn’t use them then or last year, when I opened them today they were gone hard. I broke up the pieces with a mallet and spread them over the garden. I would like grass, not even aspiring to a lawn, instead of moss and weeds. is the autumn feed o.k. or does it lose its effectiveness over that length of time.?
had a great weekend in the garden, will do a journal tomorrow when I am not as tired after the work.
Okay, I’ve done the deep breathing, been to the happy place and now I’m back.
Yesterday I posted up some pics of our garden. Well really its just a site at the moment. Creating a garden is the task at hand and the reason, I suppose, I am here.
When I say "here" I mean this website, not this earth. I have no idea what the reason is for me being on this earth. Though I have suspicions there actually isnt any….but thats another days work.
I grew up in the seaside town of Balbriggan in north county Dublin and moved down here to north Roscommon back in 2000 to my wifes locality. Growing up we had a semi d with a decent size garden front and back. While my mother looked after the flowers and shrubs in the front, my father grew veggies and had a small greenhouse in the back.
I had birds. Now it was the 70’s, but no, birds did not mean female acquaintances. Well not for me anyway. My birds were small colourfully featherd creatures that I entered in bird shows all round the country. I noticed that one of my compatriots in the "fancy" back then, is on this site as well.
Anyway, the 70’s was a different planet. These days I have a loving wife, two great kids, no birds or animals of any kind and a big site that I want to turn into a garden. Well several gardens infact. I don’t know what you think, but given the size of our site I think the only way to go is to create several small, more manageable areas.
My rough plan is to create small lawn areas close to the house with colourful beds, plant lots of trees to the front of the house outside of the lawn area, create a veggie garden, a small orchard, a secret garden and I have one corner that I don’t know what to do with.
What do you think ?
At the moment my biggest quandry is what to do about the boundaries. We are very exposed to the north, west and south and being on a high site, the winds cause major problems for plants. So just plant shelter belts. Hmm. Yes. But. If I do that we lose some fantastic views across the rolling Bricklieve hills out to the Curlew mountains in the west. Golden dawns and crimson sunsets can be spectacular and there is nothing better than sitting on the patio on a (rare) sunny day enjoying those views.
Any suggestions will be welcome.
Slainte.
hi everyone
hope you all well and happy, not much to report, great wk got lots done friday and saturday study wise, had no energy to do anything to day. i will have an early night and up at cock shout tomorrow morn to start another week. course going well i have a lot projects on the go at the moment, have to sketch and name the plants in one of my borders, getting good at the names to my surprise. loving it all. thats it for now. enjoy your week, it will be a week before i will be back on site, with the workload
happy gardening
12.10.09
Having has a very successful first year growing vegetable I have decided now is the time to sort out the patch for the winter. I am a total novice however I have read up on what to do. This weekend saw me clear out the sweet corn crops (that had been devestated entirey by the local birds) – note to self next year hang CD’s from string to disuade them. I felled all my sunflowers and am currently trying to salvage the seeds. I planted some winter peas, winter lettuce, winter cabbage, cawliflower, winter onions and japanese onions. I have also planted some more carrots just to see what happens.
This year my tomatoes did not do well. I think they all but one got blight. My fruit did not produce much and my strawberries were a disaster. Never mind I have just cut back my rasberries and fed everything.
Weeding is ongoing.
a long day powerhosing for me and a long way still to go
Managed to get the grass cut today, it was really a pet day. I also sowed some grass seed down the end of the garden where the machine churned up the ground. Had to water the hanging baskets, they were bone dry. It was a real pleasure to be in the garden for the few hours this afternoon. The pansy’s seeds we sowed 3 weeks ago are jumping out of the trays, they are so reliable as flowers for filling in pots and troughs, and they give great colour.
This good weather has me running from Billy to Jack. Now I am not complaining about it, far from it. However I have that many jobs started and none finished. I started clearing the greenhouse last week when it was raining, but the weather improved and I abandoned that. mowed the lawns but with the good weather the grass is still waiting to go to the recycling centre. Finished the grisalea hedge planting but not the bulb planting. they have to go back into containers as I still have no specific area for them. Still have not started to take down the fence so that I can start the wall. However have now started to plan another project without finishing any of the rest. I have started to dig over the veg garden, preparing it for next year. Thats what I love about gardening, theres always something to do.
I want to get a greenhouse for my garden. I love the garden, its big and we have plenty of room for a good sized greenhouse! Soon hopefully…
I took yesterday off, the car needed a service. I leave it in over in Sandyford and got the LUAS into St.Stephens Green. Plan was to "potter" around town and visit Mr. Middleton. Went into Easons and bought a garden magazine and a camera one too. Went down to Mr.Middleton and bough lots more bulbs, he has some selection. had lunch and went back to collect the car. I love a day in town like that, just rambling and window shopping, and it was a lovely day which made it more enjoyable.
Did some spraying in preparation for hedge and tree planting later on.
Got some lawn feed weed and mosskiller down on the areas I want to have decent grass in near the house. Turned black already.
Posted up some pics of the locality.
Anyone planning their garden for next spring might be interested in checking out www.squarefootgardening.com for some very interesting ideas. I found it very good and different, especially if you have limited space to work in.
My mother had an old style Chrysanthemum in the garden years ago. It was 4 ft tall, lovely red/orange rustic colour, it woulld flower well into November/ December, real Autume colours. The only plants I can find are the small compact type. Does anyone know where these tall growing kinds be obtained.
Where my new gravel area has gone in at the side of the house, there is a large Ash tree on the boundry. In the distance past there was also a small wooden shed, now long gone. For years, after, we moved in all grass cuttings, leaves etc were put here, an unoffical compost heap. When the hedge grew and access to this spot decreased it was forgotten about.
The shed was removed some years ago, that is where the new hedge has now been planted. At the weekend I decided to pull ivy away from a mound at the back of the Ash tree, to try and keep it away from the new hedge. Knowing ground Ivy, I thought I had my work cut out. I was very surpised how easily the Ivy and roots pulled away totally. Beneath was a sight to behold. Beautiful Brown Gold. I then remembered my old compost heap. I would say there could be up to 20 bags of compost in it. There is some crap and stones etc. but I can take it out as I need it. Happy days.
I presume there is no problem in using it, it has impoved with age, just like myself..
