Month: July 2010

Picked this up today, really striking leaf, will look well in any position. Called ‘tropicanna gold’ has peach/orange flowers.

Just to keep Rachel wondering, the two pieces of wood are for each side of the raised pond……………..wait and see.

Look at this. He was in the greenhouse this evening. I have been seeing a few more out-of-the-ordinary insects here in the last few weeks. I wonder is it because of the new pond? However, this one is of the ‘wasp order’. Just looking in a little pocket handbook here.

One of several red-banded ichneumons with a cream or yellow scutellum and cream spots at the rear of the abdomen. The legs are yellow and black. This insect is commonly seen on the flower heads of umbellifers. It lays its eggs in various caterpillars, especially those of the swift moth.

And don’t worry, after having a really close look at him, I set him free unharmed.

What I cannot understand is why I only have one of these in the garden. Well can anyone say what it is called

Are these to die for or what.

Did not have time to fix up my telescopic sights so I had to crop this thing up

this Dianthus is growing in the Thumbling Pots, really like the colour.

Just for you Marin, my, Thumbling Pots, it’s not everyone I would show these to……….

……………….white is always right!

 This afternoon i had very welcome visitors.Violeta with her daughter ,and Jurga with little Saimon and her husband.I had a great time,and i hope my dear friends too.While we walk around my flower beds,Liam and Jurgas hubby minded Niki and Simon:)).And Paula has Viktorias copany, girls was so quiet,that Violeta almost forgot when her little girl is here:))

   I want thank you all for coming,,it was so great to see you all again!Thanks Jurga for beautiful orchid,and i think Nikis new book will keep her busy for while.Violeta. chocolate is almost gone…no idea where:))

  Funny,,,Niki called Saimon-baby….Saimon was very upset:no baby-Saimon!!!:))

  Have a great Bank holliday weekend you all ,my friends on garden.ie!!!

Look what appeared for me today. Bishop of Auckland. Wahoo!

Eventually this beauty has opened is in one of the many terracotta pots, lots of plants shining in the garden with the picture changing daily. Hope the weather stays reasonable over the weekend as today was very changeable. Did very little i the garden today other than dig some more potatoes and decided to remove stalks from potatoes in the raised bed as it was very warm and decided that I’d remove any chance of blight as they had escaped so far. Some of the potatoes are massive so hopefully I’ll not be disappointed with the rest of the crop. Pulled some carrots and picked more peas and a few more sticks of rhubarb.Posted up a few more photos around the garden in July hard to believe that August is upon us and the evenings are dropping quite dark here tonight at 10pm due to it being an overcast day.

I did very well for myself with house plants today.

After I left Dick’s, I took a trip to Woodies in Carlow and fell in love with this beautiful red orchid. It has four flower spikes. Is it the same as your new one, Liga? I am nearly sure that the label on the other ones said ‘Colmanara’ but when I got this one home I found the label said ‘Cambria’, which is just a generic term for hybrid. I wonder is it a Colmanara!

Next I decided I would visit the Arboretum but on the way I saw signs to Morgan’s Garden Centre and remembered my neighbour, Wayne, saying that he had got some good bargains there. So of course I detoured. And guess what I spotted as soon as I entered Morgan’s? Only a Strelitza reginae for €5.95! It has been on my wish list for ages so of course I had to buy that too.

I’m now at home and have finished my only gardening task of the day – repotting the Curcuma (ginger) plant that Wayne gave me a few days ago. So lots of nice new house plants for me!

but blurry. The catalpa flower.

When planting these years ago, I thought the combo of Jasmine ‘Clotted Cream’ would compliment Lonicera ‘Graham Thomas’. I wasn’t wrong. It is a pleasure to cast eyes on this pair, instead of an ugly oil tank.

No work, no gardening, no cooking. Just sightseeing, family get togethers, wine drinking and shopping. Back on Monday night. Fortunately Martin is staying at home and has instructions to work like a slave in the garden while I am away. Life is good!

Unforunately my strawberry plants have stopped giving fruit. However a few runners have come from the parent plants and i have pegged them down in pots of compost. This I read in a book. However I do not know what happens next. When the new plants grow roots does the runner to the parent plant die of itself or do you have to cut it ? If you have to cut it, when do you cut it ? I know next summer I can go and buy new strawberry plants, but i think that defeats the purpose. I would like to know how to create new stock from my own stock.

my white Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’ I divided a a large plant last year, no sign of anything this year. I did the same with this Anemone ‘ Serenade’ this was a smaller plant, that I divide in two, these two are doing fine.

There is some hope, both plants self seeded last year, so there may be a white there somewhere.

I am so pleased with this ones performance this year. It rewarded me with just 2 flowers last year (its first season in my garden) .

This is it today! What a ‘doer’.

I sowed so many seeds earlier, and nearly all of them perished. In the end I decided on dahlia seeds as I thought these would be robust enough to grow anywhere. I was delighting in the fact that these were doing so well. However, during the transition period of ‘hardening off’, these were lunch for slugs and snails. Only one remained. What a disappointment. I was going to have SUCH a splash of colour in my Pond Border. But this one escaped the clutches of the dreaded molluscs.

Between rain on one side and temperatures down in the tunnel to just above 9 deg, the weather is quite cool.After spending an hour in the greenhousei we have decided to head to the Virginia Show earlier than planned today.Time will be spent there looking around all and on return about evening time i hope to get some more work done in the garden.Late yesterday evening i managed to cut most of the grass,and at least the rain will not hold up that up now.

My lilies never disappoint, even Abi bounded into the kitchen this morning excited that they had opened. Im sure I get more flowers every year too! I’m not sure the exact type of lily, this is one thing I need to work on, names! The only thing is already they are swarmed with hoverflies I’m guessing that’s because the scent is so strong.

Poor thing I thought my fuschia had died over the winter as the weather was so bad, I cut it back and it just wasn’t doing anything but a while down the line and wehey we have a couple of flowers back x

It is me that has been left with all the jobs not you lot.

Eh, I don’t think so. This one is a combination of seedlings that I bought in Homebase, and my own sown from seed ‘Sweet Sensation’. Obviously they are both fairly small growers. But coming along nicely as you can see. Did corn years ago, so really looking forward to this.

Been busy all morning until heavy rain rushed me inside.. Been planting all the gifts i got from Violetta and Liga.  

Yesterday, finally we made a move to see my garden. ie friends and more. First stop was Violetta’s house and city garden. its amazing how many plants you can plant in small garden, how beautifull you can mix colours and plants. great job Violeta. We could probably spent more time in the garden, but we were fed so much that couldn’t move.. thanks a lot for for Lavenders and cutting, hope they will go some progress..

next stop Liga’s house and botanical garden… i never saw so many varieties of mints and herbs..  we were smeling and sniffing every plant, rubbing leaves and all. i guess for person who is not into gardening we looked so funny.. mad or what. Liga was so good with all the names and advises and she is the most generous gardener i ever met… yep full boot again… thanks  a mill Liga. and the pineapple cake?//? any chances for recipe?. 

I guess its great to meet the ones like yourself…