Month: December 2009

That was great! I’ve just been watching the latest BBC adaptation of Day of the Triffids. What a marvellous romp for Christmas week.

Although the Triffids take themselves a lot more seriously these days, it seems that modern special affects still can’t master a realistic looking monster-plant.

The Triffids have a very unconvincing gait – kind of wobbling from side to side as they propel themselves along, balanced on their top heavy agave-like bodies. But they do redeem themselves somewhat in the credibility stakes when they attack!!!

They have a huge red poisonous inflorescence – a bit like Amorphophallus konjac or its giant Sumatran cousins. A giant dose of botanic exoticism, mixed with action packed adventure for a lazy Christmas week : ) The final part airs tomorrow.

I didn’t even attempt to remove any of the horticultural fleece, even to give the plants half an hour of breathing today, due to this cold, cold weather.  I have an outdoor weather sensor with an indoor reader and it has registered down to -4 over the past week, rising to +5 max during the day.  This little outdoor sensor is mounted on the shed door, because it is (a) north facing and (b) within a specified distance for the indoor monitor to pick up the signal.  On Sunday, the shed door was opened for all of 10 minutes while we got the fuel for the fire out.  During that time, the sensor was south facing and the temperature reading was +11.8!  Amazing what a little bit of sun can do.  

The birds aren’t eating the food I left out for them.  I have 3 fat balls out and a container of peanuts, as I have done every other year.  But they aren’t even dropping by, just to check the menu!

Gardening wise, I have Micheal Kelly’s books and seed catalogues all over the sofa.  I still have no final plans made except that I want to eat our own Brussels sprouts next Christmas.  One problem is the amount of different varieties – confusing to say the least.  I wonder will I ever get to make out a list of seeds because I am reading so much about the different varieties, I just seem to be getting bogged down.  Maybe I should just open the catalogue, close my eyes and prick a pin into the page!  

 

By the way, any of you suffering withdrawal symptoms from not being out in your vegetable plots, check out www.farmville.com   One of my sisters in Australia mentioned it to me just before Christmas so I checked it out.  Good fun but addictive.  Mine you, I’m not as bad as her – she was in bed one night and got up to harvest her crops!!!!!

Plans for the next month or so have been finalised in the mind. But a lot will depend on what the weather does and hopefully disruptions wont be to much. I am planning to get the last of the wilderness cut and clear back this entire area. This hopefully will be easier as a lot of it has died down naturally.

The work area behind the shed needs a lot of soil brought in to build it up to the level needed. This is no big problem as there is a mound of topsoil in the far corner from extension work some years ago. Along with the areas where I am planning to put the two raised beds to start with, this whole mound will be covered with plastic to kill the weeds off. Some ideas are stirring from the Carlow trip in connection with this area , but that will be another days work completely.

The area behind the shed will be paved, and used as a work, potting area, storage area for pots etc. Am keeping eyes open for wood etc that can be used as a n exterior workbench for summer / fine weather potting area. Time and some decent weather is all that is needed.

I hate getting up in the dark, but my body clock won’t let me stay in bed. Looking forward to the bright mornings. This morning I had a great sense of relief when I saw the roads seem to be ok. Very windy though. Can’t wait to be coming home from work in daylight. And kicking off the safety boots and donning the gardening gear to potter around, working until lack of daylight forces me to stop. Can’t wait to see the results of my new plans for the front garden.  Can’t wait to have loads of colour in the garden, and having dinner outside on the patio, a few drinks, nice music and great company. Ooooo roll on the summer. Oops, lets not by-pass Spring. But unfortunately the weathermen have predicted this rotten weather until 6th January at least. Let’s  hope it will just be a small blip on the barometer.

If possible finish digging the vegetable plot this month.

When digging is complete,lime the plot intended for brassicas if needed.

Use some cloches to warm up the ground that will be used for sowing in about 2-3 weeks.

Sow some early cauliflower indoors in heat [propagator].

Indoors sow,broad beans,leeks,onions,[spinach and peas.]

In late January get some seed potatoes,and put them on trays to sprout.

They will be some of my plans for January with the vegetable garden.Some tomatoes have been started in the seed room.

I had to go to town today and it is very cold. I am back in again, huddled up by the fire. I think I’ll concentrate on my house plants for the time being. 

Had to spray for aphids on a few plants yesterday. I also watered and fed all my Orchids over two days. I have adopted the regime of feeding every time I water, at half strength. No new Orchid blooms to report as yet.

I’m putting up a photo of the three Orchids I got for Christmas – a Phalaenopsis hybrid, Miltonipsis hybrid and my first species – Dendrobium nobile (close-ups in the Orchid album).

Although I have had a quick look at journal entries over the Christmas period I have not had time to write anything but now last of visitors gone and I’m back to normal! Hope you all had a lovely Christmas. We enjoyed it too and great to have all the family here together. Just sorry today is so wet and didnt manage to get a walk in but yesterday we had a lovely walk along the Vico Road which is one of our favourite places for walking and only a few minutes drive from us. I never get tired of this lovely view.

On our walk yesterday I took this photo of a very small garden. But I though the planting was lovely. I see Bramley was looking for plants in bloom at this time but I think she might enjoy the foliage here as well as the flowers.

I am very impatient to get things going again in the garden. I have a heap of seeds that I will be growing for next year. But it’s the waiting that I get p…..d off with. Yea, you have guessed, patience is NOT one of my virtues. And before you all say it, I Know. I just HAVE to wait. But it’s killing me.  I feel that I am in a bit of a Limbo right now. I have very little to report on my recent gardening activities. And I suppose that makes me feel very frustrated. Now that Christmas is over, I want to be doing something constructive. However, all I can do now is plan where everything is going to go. Maybe I could rent a little corner of Chilipeppers new Allotment!! 

 I will be sowing seeds of Sweet Basil, Garlic Chives, Turnip, Pepper ‘Hungarian Hot Wax’, and ‘Heatwave’, and ‘Hamik’. I have already sown some tomato ‘Alicante’ seeds, and soon more tomatoes ‘russian black’, onion seeds ‘Brunswick’ (I have usually only planted onion sets, but these are seeds), hanging basket tomatoes ‘Tumbling Tom’ Red, Cucumber ‘Crystal Apple’,Climbing Beans ‘Sultana’, broad beans ‘Aquadulce’, dwarf beans ‘Purple Queen’, Runner beans ‘Painted Lady’, and Mangetout pea ‘Reuzenzuiker’. I have two other types of peppers to sow, which I bought in Lanzarote, and 2 types of melons, and 1 watermelon, and parsley. I wonder would the fellow next door even notice if I knocked the wall down between us and took over some of his garden. He’s never there. It seems such a waste of land.

Next summer is in motion – I have placed my seed order for annuals. Although I thought I wasn’t ready to order, once I got going I found that it came easily.

I have been keeping lists of annuals I want and I have an idea for at least one of my border’s next year. I will have annuals playing a key (if not complete) role in at least two large borders.

I’m quite excited about trying to create a tropical affect and am influenced by Christoper Lloyd’s books and Will Giles. Next July I will be attending Fergus Garrett of Great Dixter’s course but I will need to have my borders underway by that stage. I will do my best with whatever inspiration comes my way until then and, hopefully, be in a position to ask questions based on solid experience by the time the course comes around.

I am quite excited by the combination of giant ornamental millet, as a border backdrop,  and coleus for the foreground. Seeds for both were included in my recent order and the plants are featured in this rather pretty, albeit tame, photo.

Of course I also ordered myself a few treats –  Salpiglossis sinuata, Eustoma grandiflorum and Cobaea. You know the type? Plants that will not necessarily fit in anywhere but so beautiful that you have to give them a try : ) Sure what’s gardening all about anyway?

And to engage my kids – 3 types of Sunflower for Sammy (but I’m steering away from yellow this year). Frangipani for Joshua (he’s the posh one but wouldn’t you have to grow it for the name alone?!) and Mimosa pudica for Zak (who originally brought this amazing, moving plant to my attention about a month ago). And also, Petunias for the first time. My youngest two love the cartoon Loopdidoo and the girl’s name in it is Petunia! I grasp at whatever gardening staws I can to engage the kids.

So that’s me started. I do still need to sort out all the seed I’ve collected (and send some off to those I’ve promised). There is also the minor issue of vegetables – a more limited list – tomatoes, courgettes, cucumber, mangetout, pumpkins, pak choi and probably cabbage. But that’s a question for another day and maybe another seed site – need to check out the site Krista mentioned again. And, who knows, maybe I’ll even have some luck with my gojis, kiwis, cape gooseberries and pomegranates next year!

Last night I posted a journal listing all the crops I intend to sow for next year. But I think maybe I have bitten off more than I can chew (literally) in my enthusiasm to get going. Realistically speaking, I would NOT be able to devote the space required for all of that. So I have decided to condense that list somewhat and hold over a lot of the seeds that I have already bought. I think they should be ok for next year.

My new list is now as follows. Basil, Hungarian Hot Wax (peppers), Turnip, Tumbling Tom tomatoes, Crystal Apple cucumber, runner beans ‘Painted Lady’ and only one type of melon. I also intend to sow my own corn. Far more realistic list.

It looks like I am going to have to root out my Gondola from the garage to get to work today. It has been lashing here in Dublin since yesterday morning and the wind is howling around the house like a banshee.

Looking out at the garden earlier and with the state of todays weather the only way out will be to spend some time indoors.Mainly in the seed room and also to look through some garden notes and vegetable books.Now that we fast approach the end of the year,then soon the stretch will come back in the evenings and we will all get back on track with outdoor gardening.

It rained all day yesterday and it looks like doing the same today. Somehow I think I prefer the cold frosty weather to this type. It is so depressing. I found myself humming "Joy to the World" in a vain bid to cheer myself up. Today, rain or no rain I intend to get out into the garden to check it out. At least I will get something done in the greenhouse and tidy up the shed and garage. Theresa got her anti swine-flu jab last Monday week and I am booked in to get mine tomorrow at 5pm. The weather forecast for tomorrow and the rest of the week is for more very cold and frosty weather coming in from the North East. Yesterday I opened a new photo album with pictures from previous holidays in Austria. Our first year there in 2005 it rained non-stop from Saturday, our arrival date to the following Wednesday morning and on Monday night the rail and road links between the Innsbruck and Munich were washed away near Garmisch by the storm and floods. We had visited Innsbruck by train from Seefeld on the Monday morning and returned to our hotel that same evening. Talk about a baptism of fire; ours was a real baptism with torrential rain.  

On Sunday it was a lovely sunny day but a little cold, so on with the winter woolies and out to the garden we went. Fresh air, lovely. Some work to do, we moved the peony tree to a more sheltered spot down the garden and then set about taking up a bamboo from the stone garden. What a job !!. It had run everywhere. will need to resurface the path we lost so many stones. We replaced it with an Astelia, should be nice when the sun shines…when !!!??? But it was great to get out and do some work and get some photos of what the garden looks like in December. The new camera is great too in capturing the birds. Some new photos in December folder.

On a cold winter’s day, with "slush puppy" falling from the heavens, it’s time to try to revive last year’s Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) bulbs.

I have three bulbs, potted together last spring. One gave a lovely display in late spring and I can’t remember about the other two. Anyway, I should have put this pot outdoors in summer but I forgot. The result is that the leaves continued to grow, lush and green in the heat, with a nice bit of tomato feed every now and again. Who would blame them for not dying back!

About a month ago, reminded by Liga, I decided to work on the bulbs and moved them to cooler rooms, reduced and then stopped watering. I would like to point out that this was a great effort of will for me as I have "compulsive, obsessive watering syndrome" : ) Eventually a few leaves started to die back. God, there’s no problem to get leaves of favourite plants to die back normally but when you want them to… 

Anyway, yesterday my patience came to an end and I cut off all leaves to about 4" I have now soaked the pot in warm water and will move it to a warm place to see if it will develop new growth.

Here’s a word of free advice. I planted the bulbs in one big pot based on some advice from one of Christopher Lloyd’s writing and an article in the Irish Garden. It is a lovely idea to have a massive display of Amaryllis. However, the down side is – what to do with such a big pot, full of dying foliage. Single Amaryllis bulbs, in individual pots, can be accommodated a lot more easily than can a whopping great big pot full of straggly uninteresting leaves.

Will keep you posted on developments.

I’ve got a parcel with lovely present – book and card. Sean, thank you very much, I didn’t expect a book about orchids, how very thoughtful! :))) I’m sure, it will help me 🙂

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas to you, Sean, to Fiona, and boys! Best wishes!

Batteries charged :O)

Got a few nice pictures but most were too shaky with the wind and the feeders blowing. Anyway looked up my picture on google with other finch pictures and I have a goldfinch family in the garden now. I have seen them eat from the seed feeder and pea nut feeder so far. 

Pat remarked on my early journal this morning. In answer to his question, yes I posted it at 05.17.  My alarm clock exploded before Christmas so I have the one on my phone set. It’s set for 6.00am. It’s a long time since I heard an alarm, as I am usually up well before it is due to go off. However, the digits on my phone are very difficult to see when you are half asleep. I thought it was 5.30am this morning so I decided to get up anyway. Just out of the shower and went downstairs to discover it was actually only 4.30am. No point in going back to bed. I really have to get a new clock at the weekend.

What a day it was today. Torrential rain and storm force winds. This was one occasion when I actually didn’t mind tending to the indoor plants. And the weather seems to be getting worse. I have put 2 more types of seeds on my list for next year, Malope and Pyrethrum.

Pyrethrum belongs to the Asteracaea family. This is a hardy perennial. It’s sown in May, transplanted to final position in autumn for flowers the following spring.The flowers are more DOUBLE from the 2nd year onwards. So they should be worth the wait.

Malope ‘Strawberries and Cream’ is a vigorous plant. It is a hardy annual and comes in shades of crimson, rose and white, which are supposed to be easy to grow. I have never grown either of these before, so I am looking forward to the results.

It’s so good sit in nice warm room,and dreaming about spring time.Make plans for spring …order seeds,books.Yesterday i ordered seeds from seedaholic.com-4 varietys of passifloras;2 of Brugmansias, arum italicum seeds and primula auricula Mix. Then atlast i saw that to Book depository have orchid encyslopedia what i looking for,of course this and some others books i had to take too:)Today ,,same ,,,again computer and checking seed lists,this time Plant World seeds,mh,,there you can find some good things,if looking(same is with seedaholic,they Irish),there i order some bulb seeds ,,for funn,then will see how it growing.

  On windowsill some orchid opened buds,one of them is Wilsonara "Zoe’s fire" first time blooming with me .Other "Wild cat Bod cat" 2th time this year.Little oncidiums "Twinkle"is growing flower steams,other little oncidium too.Pink cambria,with name i don’t know do same,,so all in progress!

  I dreeming about green spring…bye!!!

p.s.I uploded some pictures in Orchid album. 

It is one terrible night out there, just looking at some photos from bloom ’09. It was a great summer’s day when I went. Thought you might like to see some more, will post shortly.

I am getting this rose. Couldnt resist it when I saw it in the David Austen catalogue. So I have been googling! Darcey Bussell is an English Ballerina, some of you may have seen her on the judging panel on "Strictly Come Dancing". She is now retired from Ballet (only age 40) she writes childrens books about ballet and one of the characters in her books is called Rosa. I found all this very interesting now that I am looking forward to getting my rose with her name                                                   

This is the rose!

I have fat balls hung out in the garden centre. And I hung a nesting box outside too. I bought a bag of birdseed that attracts things like robins, wrens, tits and woodpeckers. Ok no woodpeckers yet, but yesterday and today there were plenty of tits devouring the fat balls, the wrens are a bit shyer. We also get a lot of blackbirds. They eat all the berries from the Solanums. I have to tidy them up all the time.

 And you wouldn’t believe this, but during October, I think the Wrens had a nest in a bag of compost. They were flying in and out of it all the time.  But it couldn’t be sold for full price because of all the holes, so the Manager sold it for half price. He did this on one of my days off. I could have killed him.

I was in the shed yesterday and was looking at my driftwood. I was surprised how much lighter it was already, it is drying out well. But sadly a large crack has appeared down its length. I may be thinking this one out again. Time will tell.

Problems Problems……