Month: April 2010
At long last all the grass is cleared off and the surface is bare. The ditches are nearly all cut back and built up in height. Some huge stones have been removed. The roots of the trees are appearing just above the soil so not much can be done about those accept for to cover them with some soil. Tomorrow will be the last day with the digger so that will be another stage completed. It wasn’t as easy and quick as i thought it would be. I’ve been going non stop at it from 9am till 9pm since friday morning so wont be sorry to see the end of this part of the process. Next thing will be to get a rotavator and rotavate it all which isn’t going to be easy either but it will be worth it in the end. Wont be too much heavy work remaining then. At least its underway now and I know I’ll get there at some stage.
Happy Easter everyone,
Greenhouse update we got the structure sorted out and were able to glaze the entire greenhouse today it looks great, just the door to complete tomorrow and we can start planting.
The Frogs have gone,Lots of little tadpoles swimming where the spawn was guess they will venture out to the rest of the pond when they are bigger, I have never seen this process before so it is very exciting.
I headed off to Farmleigh this morning to check out the plant sale. Came home with a Cardiocrinum giganteum– which seems a decent enough size and just might flower this year or next or the one after. I also bought an Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ to replace the one that I planted last year – almost dead now. I have taken cuttings of the dying plant but don’t hold out much hope that they will take. I reckon that last year’s plant flowered itself half to death and the frost finished it off.
I have been meaning to write a list of the dead for a while now but that would bring back wintery thoughts and today was about spring.
I managed, at long last, to get two tree paeonies into the ground – Paeonia rockii given to me by a friend and Paeonia ‘I’ve lost your label and don’t know your name’. Two ferns that I annoyed everyone about last year have finally been planted but might be on the move tomorrow if I change my mind about where I have planted them and the weather permits.
As for losing names – I have had a disaster with my plant diary. I was keeping a record of plants bought and the dates they were planted but I think I may have inadvertently (that’s a nice word for stupidly) popped it in the trash and zapped it. It went back to only 2006 so maybe there is no great harm done. Hmmmm.
Myrtle asked me for a photo of ‘Dawn Breaker’ but I can only supply a photo of a browned, shriveled, dead thing. I might get around to taking a photograph of it to decorate the next journal entry.
If anyone has any ideas about getting rid of ground ivy I would be a grateful and keen listener. I let it romp about under two cotoneasters but I would like to plant that area now and need to get rid of it. I sprayed it twice last year with chemical stuff but it had no effect. Ideas would be very welcome.
I am tempted to head back to Farmleigh tomorrow to pick up all the plants I resisted today but I have just looked at the time and – an early trip to Dublin is not going to happen.
goodbye facebook. hello garden.ie 🙂 i find i’m spending hours, literally HOURS on this site, checking out other people’s gardens and jimminy cricket, blow me a way if i’m not learning just looking at people’s pics, never MIND reading comments, journals, advice… wow WOW W.O.W. where the heck have i BEEN???????!!!!
so here’s the thing. i could do with advice on two specific topics, if you feel like imparting any of your wisdom to this wannabe gardener…
(1) say now i had VERY little money. what is the cheapest way of going about getting a polytunnel sorted. any and all advice about construction of same mightily appreciated. i am SO desperate to get one, that i am even thinking of going off to buy the timber and the plastic piping and just giving up 2 of my 4 outdoor ‘raised’ beds by clonking the tunnel OVER the top of the beds! patience was never my strong point hahaha sad but true. when i want something, i want it NOW. then my brain starts scheming… how… if… etc etc. the thing is, i will regret losing those beds to the tunnel after it’s done, so best i don’t even go there. one of the key questions i would have about putting up a tunnel, is how the heck do you secure it so it doesn’t blow away??? also, size-wise, what’s the minimum i should look at? i have been dreaming of a tunnel for sooooooooo long now, i can’t be dreaming for much longer, it is time for DOING… like nike says "just do it". yebo!!
(2) the other question that’s burning holes in my head is about the project i’m working on at the moment, to the front of our small site, in the curved piece between the perimeter fence on the laneway and our deck. this is a sloping patch of land, sloping down from the deck area, down to the fenceline. the soil is heavy clay. it has had one spray, maybe about 2 weeks ago (HATE having to spray but it is a jungle of weeds out there, like 3′-high docks and stuff, a nighmare), but as yet i see no plants going off to meet their maker. i am so eager to start planting up the woodland area that i nearly brought trees home from the garden centre on saturday, but i just KNOW i have to prepare the ground properly first. the thing is, i haven’t really got a clue what i’m doing. so, the soil is quite wet, heavy clay like. in summer, it can get rock hard. there are rocks and stones for africa under the surface and digging is a back-breaking, almost soul-destroying nightmare. luckily for me i have a fighting spirit. so, can someone advise me: can i just dig holes for the trees, put a good bit of manure in the holes, put in the trees, then fill up the holes, stake or not stake as required, and leave them to grow? OR: must i like ’till’ or whatever, dig over all that ground? and if so, how? with a pitchfork???? must i fork the whole area over and fork in manure everywhere? as you can see, i am a clueless chick. a hippy chick, but clueless. pleeeeeeezzz share your experiences and advice, i would appreciate it so much. because i am not a patient hippy chick, i am tempted to take shortcuts. but then again, i have german blood (shhhhhhh don’t tell anyone!) coursing in my veins, and you know what the germans are like, if you’re going to do something, do it right or don’t bother at all. like. so i am having a schitzo-episode going on, do it like this, no do it like that, ah blast it, i just wanna get planting!!!!!
and now i am going to make a cup of coffee and get myself a slice of lemon cake i made. i feel the need for some comfort food coming on.
terrible day here today wind and rain.i got wood to make up raised beds ive got some made up and waiting now for weather to improve to get soil into them and start planting. just looking out today its very late hedges or nothing growing at the mo we had hailstones up here yesterday any how i`ll post a few pics up of raised beds and some of the chicken coup for nuala as she is going to get into the egg market lol
i have never grown anything from a cutting before and want to try. is it possible to grow bamboo in this way?
you know the way if you come through the airport off an international flight and they check to see if you have foodstuffs – meat or fruit or whatever – and take it off you…
what’s the story with bringing in seeds or cuttings?
say i go abroad and want to bring back pods or actual cuttings, can i do that?
can i have seeds posted to me from south africa? i would like to grow a few plants that i remember from there, like ‘bottle brush’ (not sure if this is it’s proper name), also guava tree(s) and granadilla (passion fruit).
are there any rules and regulations i need to adhere to, or can i have anything sent to me from anywhere and bring in anything i want?
etc
people talking about zone 5 and zone 3 and zone 6
is this a world-wide thing?
how is ireland divided up?
should i even be asking these questions here? probably making one cyber faux fox (joke) after another…
Bloom in the Park
- Start Date: 03 June 2010
- End Date: 07 June 2010
- Venue: Phoenix Park
- Time: See below
- Price: To be confirmed
- Save to: MyDublin
Bloom is a wonderful outdoor spectacle with so much to do and see. Most visitors to the show spend hours walking around and taking in the beautiful surroundings.
Whether you are a garden enthusiast, a foodie or just on a day out, Bloom has something for everyone – full of ideas on outdoor living, inspirational cooking, fun for the family and of course the latest in cutting edge garden design.
Bloom 2009 featured more than 28 superb gardens from Ireland’s top horticultural talent. The show gardens were complemented by a spectacular floral pavilion featuring the best of Irish plants and flowers. The Woodies Garden Expert Forum featured Ireland’s top celebrity gardeners providing expert advice on planting and general gardening queries.
The show again featured a cookery demonstration stage with some of Ireland’s leading chefs; an Irish artisan food market for visitors to sample and buy some of the best Irish food and drink produce; various children’s play areas in the Family Fun Learning Zone and an outdoor entertainment stage. Bloom 2009 also featured a demonstration area hosted by the Crafts Council of Ireland offering visitors the opportunity to enjoy live demonstrations by Irish crafts people at work.
Getting to Bloom is easy with a FREE SHUTTLE BUS running from Heuston Station throughout the show.
Opening Times
Thursday 3rd June: 11.00am – 6.00pm
Friday 4th – Monday 7th June: 10.00am – 6.00pm
For More Information:
https://www.bloominthepark.com/
Sorry this is so long, this is the info I got from the net. I could go on a sat/sun love to meet everyone. M
Oh I could cry. I was so thrilled with my walk in green house the other day after, we erected it in the garden. This morning when I got up I found it by the kitchen window. It had blown over in the high winds last night and when I went to rescue it i found that the plastic had been completely shredded on the gravel path.
Has anyone any idea if I can get a new cover? Or do I have to invest in a whole new one again.? I didn’t have a lot in it thank goodness but what I did have is gone. What with this and the weather I am really not having much luck. I know now how you all felt about the plants, trees, and shrubs that you all lost to the floods and dreadfull low temperatures.
Never mind in Scarletts words "tomorrow is another day"
just uploaded some pics there for nuala and i added a few of the raised beds there aswell i wonder what they would be good for planting in them any ideas? also ive got black polythene wondering what i can grow under it or through it i should say all ideas welcome
For the last few days over Easter I have been able to work in the garden. However there is so much to do I feel I have not make much impact.
I am amazed at the energy of so many here.
Yesterday I put extra compost in containers and fed my plants and tied up some plants which were untidy.
Today I looked at my garden and need to:
1 Replace setts in the drive to fill in holes caused by the gas company.
2 Prune trees and get rid of dead plants, when I am sure they definitely are dead.
3 Weed the garden.
4 Feed trhe lawns and sow new grass seed.
5 Find out what plants I still have.
etc, etc.
Will I ever get time to look at the garden and sit down in it drinking coffee or wine?
An early trip to Dublin didn’t happen. A late and very welcome lie-in did.
This is the time of year where I run from one gardening job to another and finish none. Must focus. Must start a job that can be started and finished today. I need the buzz of achievement.
I usually find out about things after they have happened so I was surprised to see that other members knew nothing about the Dublin event. I have a hand-out that I got from a grower from Co. Down in which she lists the events for the island. April events are:
Sat 10 – Alpine Garden Society Show (Ulster Group) – 12.00 to 3.00 – Greenmount College, Antrim.
Sun 11 – Fota House Plant and Garden Fair – 11.00 – 4.00 – Fota House, Co. Cork
Sat 17 / Sun 18 – ISNA Plant Fair – Belvedere, Co. Westmeath
Sat 24 – Alpine Garden Society Show (Southern Group) – 1.00 – 3.00 – Cabinteely Community Hall, Dublin
Maybe people already know about these events. The website ISNA.ie lists them. I can post the other events Month by month if people wish.
Enough of this – I’m heading out to do something, but where to start? Not the creeping ivy, Fran, although the ground is nice and soft for pulling and it came up nicely yesterday. We’ll see.
The old saying certainly proved itself right this year. In like a lamb out like a lion. At beginning of March we had beautiful Spring weather. Got lots of work done around the garden and assumed Spring had arrived. For us this weather continued up to 29th when the present spell took over. We had snow on the 30th and it is still there on Sliabh an Iarainn (Iron Mountain). For the last week work has returned to the polytunnel. Have been manuring and digging the beds, planting seeds, transplanting seedlings and washing down the tunnel. It is very windy here today and not very conducive to working outside. Yesterday I did some work on the cottage garden bed. Weeding, planting, dividing and replanting. Hopefully Spring will return soon and growth will take off.
It’s whipping up out there.
I’ve already been down to put more stones on the plastic membrane at the front and the trampoline.
Hedge is still standing (touch wood – no pun intended).
Had a scour for somewhere less exposed for the chicken house but the wind seems to be coming from all directions at once I’m having visions now of it being blown through the greenhouse !!!
Fingers crossed.
Today’s plans fell by the wayside due to the gale force winds ripping around the extent of todays gardening was to buy some rockery plants from Lidl to fill in some of the gaps between the boulders in the bed along the south of the terrace.
Saturday replanted the raspberry bushes and gooseberry bushes that Johnny and James lifted when they removed the temporary raised bed along the hedge. They stoned the area around the washing line retaining the ground with timber poles and large stones. The area of the bed has been stoned and all the compost removed to the farmyard think I may just get a small poly tunnel built by the talk. I’m keeping my fingers crossed this project continues it’s close to the house not in full view and in the lee of the hedge.
Sunday after lunch planted in clematis Cardinal Rouge and Clematis Alpina at the arch just hope the gale force winds don’t batter them to death. In the terrace bed planted in the oriental poppies, alliums that I had potted up and sowed some larkspur, asters, love in a mist and phacelia to fill the gaps when the tulips die back. There are lots of plants starting to shoot although there are a number of plants that I’m not so hopeful about. In the east bed I planted up hollyhocks, achellia, rudbeckia, chinese lanterns and a block of echinops. Had planned to continue this planting today but I would have been blown away.Will not have anytime until Friday afternoon at the earliest as I have to teach at Monaghan Pony Club camp for the next 3 days just hope the weather calms down think it’ll take rain for that to happen but by all accounts weather is to improve mid week so fingers crossed this is just a blip.
Got a chance today to plant my shrub bed/bank. I had the 30 bareroot plants in some buckets of compost waiting for the snow to pass…
Before we left the last house I had been busy lifting and dividing plants to make a start here.. Unfortunitely the week of -12C during the winter killed off about 30 pots of plants..
The remaining survivors I planted today into the shrub bed… about 12 Crocosmia, 3 geraniums and three creeping groundcover plants that I rescued but have no idea what they are..
I lifted some Ivy from an old shed on the farm and started them round the oil tank, I’ll get some more and hopefully they’ll help cover it over…
Very windy here… VERY
What is the saying rain rain go away come back another day. at the moment it seams like all the rain is in Mayo. three days we have spent decorating the house bedroom ,kitchen and lounge,,just finished the sun room today so the sun can come out now so we can get back to the garden.
theres a storm up here at the moment its terrible wind rain i dred to think what shape the new laurels will be in the morning allready lost seeds to cold temps outside its awfull
The last of the work with the digger was finished this evening and i wont be sorry to see the back of it. meanwhile all the veg are showing now with the exception of parsnips. Having my doubts about them now. Sowed some a couple of years ago and they never came up either so maybe i’m doing something wrong! Some small bits of tidying up can be done now with a shovel now so will have plenty to keep me busy until i get the rotavator. Very wet and windy night now. Only a night for the fire.
Not much gardening done here today due to weather, but did lift and divide a couple of clumps of herbacious plants and then, with Myrtle’s help, potted on some pieces to grow on for Plant Stall in June. Great to have the help to spur me on!!!!!!!!!
Looking forward to the forcasted weather improvement!
spent a lot of time on the internet today because the weather was just too miserable to go out, so blustery and squall after squall of rain. baked a lemon cake instead, just as therapeutic. 🙂
found a website that some of ye might be interested in or know about for ages already. thought i’d share the link anyway, as i’m a fairy garden builder/maker and ferns are veeeeeeeeeeery essential for these…
well i thought i’d gone straight to heaven when i landed there *sigh*
tomorrow i will HAVE to venture out, even if the weather is still so awful, because i only have one of those little plastic greenhouse thingies from Lmenu_orderL and while it’s securely anchored and i don’t think it will take off like a giant kite, stuff does tend to come flying off the wire racks inside it, so i will have to go and see what the damage is and put some kind of restraints up to prevent pots from toppling
i came across some lovely instructions for building wigwams, as i want to put one of these into the thick windbreak of trees lining the one side of our property.
the treeline is backed in the neighbouring field by a mature hedge, so there’s a nice ‘forest feeling’ to where the climbing tower is going to be located. from the climbing frame (which is quite basic, just some ladder rungs up to a level area and a slide for coming down), there is already a natural ‘path’ (made by our dogs i think) wending it’s way several metres along to a natural, small ‘clearing’, which would be ideal for siting the wigwam.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/75474948@N00/3706922368/
just a reminder to myself to go back to this site to check out some of these instructions and tips
https://mostlyiwillbegrowing.wordpress.com/how-to-grow/
