Month: April 2010

Hey guys, well you all know how I am new to this gardening, so as I said in previous journal I bought some plants well, seeds and roots. So I potted them in pots to get them begun, especially until I can get my garden organised. So I was looking for some advice, on this weather. I have been bringing them into my hall way at night and putting them into my front porch during the day. Is this good or is there something else I should be doing or putting them?

 As I said all advice is welcomed. Else wise the garden is coming along slowly but getting there, you can walk inand around it now and see some shape I ll try taking pics this weekend to post them up.

I couldn’t sleep a wink last night for the wind howling and worrying what it was carrying away.

This morning I’m relieved to see little damage. I few pots have been liberated but other than that the hen house, greenhouse, hedges and plastic membranes are all intact. Whew.

Frogswell is tucked into the inner slope of the Westernmost limestone ridge before the bog lake and mountain country of West Mayo. Just on three acres of south-east facing (mainly good) land, around half of which was in intensive cultivation with collections of unusual perennials and shrubs when I arrived, three gardening seasons ago.

The main collections are of hybrid and species hellebores, hardy geraniums and spring woodland plants.

One attraction of the garden was that it had always been managed sustainably – natural feeding of soil and plants, wildlife-friendly, no herbicides or pesticides. The major challenge has been to keep it that way, while extending the cultivated area.

 The garden is only around a mile West of Straide village. But Cloonconlan townland is extensive, so first things first – a location map…

The turnip seedlings have appeared 🙂 I feel like celebrating 😀

Oh, and I also finally got my potatoes and peas planted too.

Now that the digger work is finished and it will be soon time for rotavating, am i being too ambitious to think that i will get through 3/4 of an acre with a hand rotavator? It seems to be impossible to get anyone around with a tractor to come in and do it. Maybe it is doable over 2 weekends including the next long weekend but i dont want to be paying for a hand held rotavator if i’m eventually going to have to pay someone to come in with a tractor and do it. The weight of digger seems to have compacted the soil and there’s plenty of puddles on it after the heavy rain, so i’ll have to wait for it do dry out before i can do anything with it. Decisions decisions!

As reliable as ever, the red currant blister aphid is back. As soon as foliage begins to appear this pest attacks………. every year. I thought I would get a break from this nuisance after the harsh winter. Has anybody had any success in dealing with this pest?

i visited periwinkle garden this morning lovely garden well worth a visit on her open days part of the Donegal garden trail, and left with loads of plants i also got 6 half barrels of seaweed. i  was hoping to plant them when i got home but the sky’s opened and heavy rain, 2 morro i will be planting  thanks again 

it is looking good here on the East coast, Sun is up, temp is good for this time of the morning, from now till early next week weather is to be good and temps are to rise each day.

A girl in work yesterday, who was home in Letrim for weekend was talking to an old man who said the next mont is to be very good. This man has a good standing on his forecast via nature etc. here’s to some good weather at last.

Rachel hope the weather is good in the S/E, enjoy :-))

So I mentioned earlier that I was thinking of having a garden party here in the ‘summer’.  I’ve had a brainwave and decided that I’d do it on the 4th of July — that’s a Sunday.  And seeing as I’m a true blue Yankee doodle I thought it would be an appropriate day.  Any keen gardeners are welcome, you’ll just need to contact me by email.  I should probably warn my husband.

A kind person here had mentioned that it might be a good idea to have the party on a day when other gardens might be open in the area.  Woodville House Walled Garden is only a 15min drive from me and is worth seeing.

So my garden is still quite young and I’m only planting up my first true border today, actually.  I do have a large vegetable patch and a tunnel as well, so there is plenty to see.  I have lots of weeds as well so you can come and feel good about your own garden cuz I, for sure, will have more weeds than you 🙂

Anyway, things are looking up and things are starting to grow, which makes me feel happy, tho’ I’m still suspicious that perhaps we might get more frost.  I’m afraid this last winter will keep me suspicious for a while yet.  I wish they gave the overnight temperatures more frequently on the weather reports than they do.

So I managed to plant a few spuds finally and pot on the tomatoes, chillies etc.  They are really big already (thanks to the propagator) and if we get frost I’m screwed because I won’t have warm places to put them now that they are in bigger pots.  And as usual, I have far too many.

Remember the 4th of July — I drove to Farmleigh House on Sunday for the plant fair and was back here for 2.30 Easter Sunday dinner.  If I can do that, anyone who lives near the M6 can get here no bother.  Get in touch with me if you’d like an invitation.

Happy weeding 🙂 

Got down to tidying up and washing down the glasshouse on saturday at last.

Amazing how dirty and green the outside glass gets over the winter.

Eventually started sowing seeds……

Sowed seeds……..tomatoes, cucumber, lettuces, courgettes, peppers, carrots, aubergines amongst other in propagators.

Brought most inside to sit on sunny window cill which is also over a radiator to start off tomatoes etc.

Not enough room though for all seeds so some were left in glasshouse, so here’s hoping………

No great heat in glasshouse yet so not sure what will happen …….. 

I saw my first swallow yesterday while out in the garden, and this morning I saw about six of them flying around. I normally don’t see them until the middle of April. I hope it’s a good sign for a good summer. Apparently the males arrive first, about two weeks before the females and they look for homes so they can get straight into the breeding season.

In the garden I managed to get the grass cut on Sunday, the ground was nice and dry after the wind on Saturday and it was also sunny. The plants in the greenhouse are coming on nicely, the tomato, chilli, and peppers are doing nicely. The fuchsia that I slipped last week seem to be doing well, think I will try the geranium’s now.

Got in from work, had a quick look around the garden, checked the Lidl greenhouse. I had moved a tray of small but healthy looking White Lobelia seedlings in to it on Sunday, i started them under heat, took the plastic cover off, but decided to to put it back on as Sunday night was to be cold.

Forgot to take the plastic cover off, I now have a tray of sun dried white seedlings. I suppose the sun was just to much, with the plastic top on.

Yet another lesson in gardening learnt for this L plate gardener. So if it stops anyone else doing the same well and good. 

Hi all.

 Today was the first day in a while I could get out to the garden, and spent most of the day there, partially because I am encouraged to do so by all you very hard-working, energetic gardeners.

I tried to cut back an ash tree, finding out in the process how hard it is to cut ash.  I also tied in some shrubs.  I alternate between tying them neatly, then letting them grow naturally.  I moved a climber (lapegeria) that was in the wrong place for over 20 years.  Will it survive?  I weeded part of the garden, took some photos and moved containers.  I am now knackered.  Was it worthwhile? 

I am going to have a glass of wine and look at Alys Fowler on TV  (The Edible Garden, BBC2 .  I wonder will I admire her more than her garden.

Had to go back to Dublin yesterday and when I arrived back down this evening Graham had some more spuds planted, we got some "Sarpo Axona "  from Mr Middleton shop as they are suppose to be Blight resistant and also the dreaded slug will not attack them, we will wait and see. He had also planted some carrots and parsnip, I will have to go away more often as he had dinner cooked and a bottle of wine waiting for me. 

Managed to get a couple of hours in the garden this evening and everything had changed since yesterday! Amazing what a day’s Sunshine can do!! All daffodils in bloom, clumps of tulips in bloom, also Leucojum Summer Snowflake and, wait for it,…….. a green leaf on Ceanothus ‘Blue mound’ ! Now that made my day! yesterday not a sign of life – today, HOPE! Also I dug up a root of a dahlia that had been in the border all winter and it is firm and should be ok! Another one was a rotten mush so there is no telling what surprises are to come but Im feeling much more optomistic! The moral of the story is dont give up on any plants yet.

I did some weeding and dividing of plants and the wheelbarrow is now half full of stuff to pot up tomorrow.

Also planted  my 2 Andromeda polifolia compacta in the shrub border. Good sense of achievement!

By the way, never saw the soil in the South Facing border in such lovely condition, must be the effect of the frost. (there have to be some benifits!)

Is anyone else finding the network very slow this evening…………

I have black currant and red currant bushes in my garden. I made black currant jam one year and my daughter became covered in hives after tasting a tiny bit. Never made it again.  I have strawberry plants also…. the following year my son had some of them and he became covered in hives… he hasn’t had a strawberry since.

I was back in the field where I found the frog spawn a few weeks ago, After all the heavy rain, the tanks have filled up about half way with rainwater, which is great, Checked for the frog spawn again, and it all seems to have hatched.  There was loads of tadpoles in the tanks,  I will put in some planks of timber in a few weeks to allow them get out, Do you think this will be ok or does it have to be stones?

Beautiful morning out there, Sun, no wind, just what I ordered for a day off. Family things later on today so need to get a few things done.

Onions sets in peat pots will be planted, the front corner will have a little time spent in it. I need to start moving some of the mound of soil to the area along by the fence to raise the level. this task will be done over a period of time. On to the back garden a little time will be spent on the flower bed weeding and loosening up the soil etc. A few last summer bulbs need to be planted along with some cuttings.

Time to move.

Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport.  They had announced the departure.  

 

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, ‘I love you, and I wish you enough.’  

 

The daughter replied, ‘Dad, our life together has been more than  enough.  Your love is all I ever needed.  I wish you enough, too, Dad.’  

 

They kissed and the daughter left.   The Father walked over to the window where I was seated.  Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry.  I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, ‘Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?’

 

‘Yes, I have,’ I replied.  ‘Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?’.  

 

‘I am old, and she lives so far away.  I have challenges ahead and the reality is – the next trip back will be for my funeral,’ he said.  

 

‘When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’  May I ask what that means?’  

 

He began to smile.  ‘That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations.  My parents used to say it to everyone…’  He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. ‘When we said, ‘I wish you enough,’ we were  wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.’  Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.  

 

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.  

I  wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.  

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.  

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.  

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish  you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess..  

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.  

He then began to cry and walked away.  

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.  

* Only if you wish, send  this to the people you will never forget and  remember to send it back to the person who sent  it to you.  If you don’t send it to anyone it may  mean that you are in such a hurry that you have forgotten your friends.  

TAKE  TIME TO LIVE….

To  all my friends and loved ones, I WISH YOU ENOUGH.

Sorry the pictures didn’t paste out. Ignore the paragraph above with the asterisk, which asks you to send it back etc. etc. Jack

Got a good day of weeding cutting the grass (I need to have a new lawn laied) get rid of the rose bush that was let go wild, but took some cutting from it.

Cutting the grass in the back garden also, I haven’t go much done in the last 2 weeks as I suffer from virgo and it was bad for 2 weeks this time I hate it!