Month: August 2010

Hi all,

I have a childminder arranged for Friday – I will have ‘Garden Peace’ for 3 hours – Bliss;). My dear Lupins are in seed trays – The journal photo shows them. (I managed to get the pic in before posting – i should have deleted the question, but thanks for the replies all the same, it took me a while to grasp how to bring them in).

Fintan If I’d my way I know exactly what I’d have in terms of colours and stone -the horrible ‘Bugdget’ word is my new foe… I am relying on my husband for funding these days. I’m a recession construction professional, job loss story… And well my poor husband gets an awful pocket lashing with my plant habit. He is not stepping up to the mark of forking out for my favourite decorative stone (unfortunately) – ANy chaep solutions? I would tend to prefer to stay away from the bark idea – I would love a light brown or wine/pink stone – wither or… I’ll put the opposite in the driveway, if I can ever afford to. I can’t wait to buy edging.. I think it will define it. 

Fintan thanks so much for info on Lilac.. .I will go for it and plant it where I think would suit. Gosh I saw the most fabulous plant ever today – A weeping Cherry tree – It had the WOW factor. . 

I bought a few new bits… although I’m running out of homes, unless some of my plants decide to…leave me…. 

Bought some beautiful climbers and soem nice winter colour. 

ANyone any grass ideas that might brighten up my beds? I love big leaves, but as a beginner am afriad to make a mess. 

Wellie – We’ll see about the gardeners eye- maybe the other one is a buthers, time will tell! As for the money pit, the house is still standing, always a bonus for an old place, isn’t it! 

Oh Rachel – what is ”harden off’ – for the Lupins? Thanks everyone… 

One time I was in my garden, I was surprise because my niece came to approach and told me "uncle you’re here! wow those plants are perfectly and neatly arranged." I give here a smile then said, "it’s what your uncle do best."

 Each morning, I can’t start my day without visiting my garden. I somewhat gives me a profound meaning of life and the satisfaction it brings completes me. 

 Anyway in a couple of weeks i’ll be back to a very busy guy helping my girlfriend process her insurance. However my friend advised us to to check first for the quote of our <a href=https://www.averagecostinsurance/lifeinsurance.html>average cost of life insurance</a>. then we did. It’s really helpful. 

Heading home after a few days away. Under strick instructions,therewas no gardens,gardencentres, nothingto do with anything begining with G.

OK fair enough, no problem. But who ever heard of anyone passing Johnstown GC and not calling in. I will try and override the autopilot on the car, but never worked before……………………

how do i order the garden catalogue

Just cut down my delphiniums, I learned this year that supports are vital and have to be tended to all the time…. I’m not sure if one of my delphiniums is a low grower or not as I planted it late, end of june, It grew to about 2 1/2 ft, and flowered well, I wonder if it will grow tall next year…

Called into Johnstown GC this afternoon, picked up two things I needed, teeming with rain, glad our weather was good while we were away.

Was really surprised as all the spring bulbs were been sorted and displays being set up, it seems no time since the bulbs were in full bloom in our gardens, and here we go again, the bulbs are on the gardeners planting list once again.

Think a return visit in a day or two is needed, when everything is sorted and on display fully. I feel an infection of Alliums coming on

I think Sligo is getting a full share of the rain just now.  It does not want to stop.  Had to get up early in the morning, it was still dark and guess what? it was raining.  It’s 7.26 now and it’s still raining with no look of a let up.  Glad got polytunnel to keep me occupied.

Started my garden files the other day – taken idea from Johnplotman and am adding more to it.  I’t’s great because I can never remember the names of anything other than the absolute favourites. 

The only casualty of the bad winter has been the Bay tree.  It has never recovered.  Everything else that I thought was dead is showing signs of little bits of life.  The polytunnel will be great for these plants this winter.

Will put up pic of our latest visitor to the garden when Matt gives me his camera.

We have a white rabbit visiting.  He came about 1 week ago and so we thought Oh whose is that, can we return it.  Closer inspection showed it to be quite mucky and a little wild.  A neighbour tells us that a guy down the road lost a white rabbit about 6 months ago.  So maybe it’s gone wild.  Matt has been feeding it and now he can almost touch it.

Our song thrush who had a run in with the window?  Well we are sure it’s the same one cos every day this thrush appears right beside us, we can never get too close but whatever we are doing it is around.  Looks like the same one.  Do birds have memories of such things I wonder!

Is on this Sunday, over 40 nurseries will be there, I am planning to be there at about 1.00 pm if anyone wants to meet up, let me know. There is also a farmers market aswell.

Hi all this has probably been discused at length via other peoples journals during the week but I must have missed it is the palnt sale going ahead this Sunday and if so does anyone know what time??

Well I just typed a pile of stuff and then hit the wrong button and lost the lot so here goes again.

Did not get out into the polytunnel today.  Had to go to town and then into the centre hotel for a lovely large lunch.  Yum, yum.  Wanted to go to the garden centre but Dan wanted to do his thing so I trailed behind mum-in-law whilst she went to her favourite shop – Penny’s.   Then got into trouble for losing mum-in-law and Dan whilst Matt and I escaped for some me and him time together.

Now I’m sitting here feeling as though I have not achieved anything all day.

think I’ll work on that database for the garden.  or, maybe not. 

Every year I try to be a different gardener from the year before. I try not to make the same mistakes, try to improve on what I did the previous year and I make notes to myself on what annoyed me the previous year. I keep a bit of a log book to try and aid me and make me a better gardener. A complete waste of time for me anyway.

I have just being reading over a few notes from the previous years and to be honest they are nearly a clone of the previous year. Tips to myself about letting the weeds geting the better of me in the onion bed and the hardship in dealing with them. Notes about trying to prevent the caterpillar getting loose in the cabbage patch and better vigilance on me good old friend the slug. I even see a note about using cheap composts in hanging baskets  preventing a good floral display. Again fell into that trap again this year cos I ran out of the good stuff when I came to do the baskets and there was a bag of the cheap stuff hanging around and I used that. I see a long list of flowers to try out as I noticed them on some-ones site but the list gets longer.

But my favourite notes in my journals is my plans for the coming year to make life easier for myself. Some of them make me laugh as I would need to take about a years holiday, rob two or three banks to fund them and hire a few men to help with the tasks. Some I have considered doing, some I made moves at, some I have done and some I add to the following years list.

But all being said, I will once again write my journal for the year, give tips to myself for the year ahead and make plans for the greatest garden to be ever seen on earth, and probaly once again I will fail to take my own advice. But this I do know, I give thanks I can do it, I laugh at my failures and act like I won a gold medal in the olympics when something flowers, and every year I look forward to the greatest madness ever, a little past-time called gardening   

Hi,

Does anyone know what  is the best PH tester for the least money 🙂 and where could I find it?

Planning to get to Plant Fair in Farmleigh early in the morning. Earlier than expected, but family thing in the early pm. Weather permitting am planning on bringing camera and notebook.

The thinking on the front corner is well and truly done. The serious work is now starting. Listing and planning the beds starts now. A lot of prep work will be done of the winter, with the heavy work been completed before the winter really sets in. Here’s hoping anyway………………

Friday didn’t work out – as a gardening day I ended up cleanign the house instead. I managed to get a few plants in the ground today. Lonicera – copper beauty (i think it is)..Very nice leaves. They look like the honeysuckle leaves growing wild around the country, except bigger. Also put a beautiful Clematis (Doctor Rappel?) and a few climbing roses including David Austin’s ‘Strawberry Hill’. 

I am now thinking of setting out my lupins (from the seed trays. They are about 2 inches high. What is hardening off (Rachel – you mentioend this in a previous pos). 

Also I put sweet pea seeds in trays – a littel late and they are about 1 foot high, what should i do with these – will they ever flower? Was I too late in sowing the seeds? 

 I am thinking of taking cuttings – how do you find out what to take and when. Some of the sHRUBS I have are 

Magnolia

Clematis

Lonicera

Daphne

Camellia

Crinodendron

Philadelphus

jasminum (nudiflorum)

Hibiscus

Hebe

Ceanathus

Rhods (think I read these are not best grown at home)

Hydrangeas

Buddelia Davidii (Butterflybush)

Lavatera (flower?? )

Lilac tree (Syringa Vulgaris)

Excuse al lthe spelling errors. I would be very inteested in finding out which can be grown at home and when – from the plants I have. Do you wait until after flowering – before and at htis time of year etc. 

Dick/Wellie – Interestingly I noticed that there is a house near my home (2 miles away) which has both blue and pink coloured Hydrangeas – In fact they are very mixed looking, very hard to call any of the plants ‘pink or blue’ – more a mix, this appears to be what is happening to mine too. Maybe I live in one of the ‘m,ixed’ soil areas too? 

I am really enjoying looking at other people’s gardens on here and if I’m honest ,a bit in awe of some of them..  It is great to take time out and peep through other’s journals and photos. is it possible to comment on photos that are not in journals? It would be helpful for pointing out what we like nad maybe asking questions about a particular plant or planting scheme – just a thought.

 Roll on mid-week, I should have a few hours in the garden. I also managed to meet a chap about decorative chippings (whic hare a v reasonable price)… They are not my first choice – but a hell of a lot cheaper than the others I have seen and will do for the moment. I just want the black membrane covered, so I can sit back and admit the new planted area.

There are a good lot of damsons growing in the hedgerows around us and I was thinking of collecting them to make jam.  Has anyone any experience of using them ?

Never made any type of jam before so any help would be most welcome.

Every morning – for as long as the mornings stay light I am out setting up the polytunnel.  Our soil is very good but stoney so it’s a case of putting some in the raised beds and then raking and raking.  Nice tilth coming now.  During the day it’s work work work.  Either in the house – cleaning or up in the loft – sorting out the rubbish.

Because of Dans bad back not been able to make any headway on the extension but it will come.

During the summertime it is particularly a pleasure to drive down to the homestead down in West Cork. After spending many hours in the car, travelling on the wide motorways from Dublin, the narrow winding, pothole infested roads of the countryside are a welcome sight. The roads are about half the width they normally are in the winter as all the plant life competes for space. Although the roads are narrower, they do look fantastic as the glow with colour. And none glows with as much dominance as the fantastic Fuchsia.

We have a lot of aliens down in West Cork, they all seem to love the mild moist climate that we have thanks to the North Atlantic drift. Now before you send Mulder and Scully down here, let me clarify, I am of course not talking about the bright green kind that fly around in space craft, I am talking about plants that are not native to this country.

Red Fuchsia hedges with the orange glow another much loved and plentefull alien to Ireland Montbretia ‘Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora’

Fuchsia magellanica ‘Riccartonii’, or more commonly known as the Humming bird fuchsia or lady’s eardrops is an icon of West Cork. Anyone who has visited West Cork in the summer time will have seen this amazing deciduous shrub illuminate the hedge groves all over the countryside. It is so iconic of west cork it image is used by many local companies and organizations.

A native of Chilli, it was identified by Charles Plumier in the seventeenth century. Plumier named it after the German botanist, Leonhart Fuchs (1501-1566)

This deciduous shrub will reach from about 1.5m to 2.5m high, and will favour coastal locations and rocky ground. Its flowers colour the hedgerows from July to October with their rich hues. The flowers (2cm long) are bell-shaped and have four violet petals which are surrounded by four large, pointed red sepals, rather like a ballerina with a crimson skirt, purple petticoat and long, slightly uneven, legs. The grey/green leaves are ovate and toothed and the fruits are black, fleshy berries in autumn. It should be noted that the black, fleshy berries of the Fuchsia are NOT edible. The branches of the fuchsia turn a pale, golden brown with age and its bark gets a lovely papery quality to it.

 Fuchs ia magellanica ‘Riccartonii’on frouunt of the White variaty, Fuchsia magellanica var. molinae (F. magellanica ‘Alba’)
If you would like to plant Fuchsia as an informal hedge, plant them 45cm (1.5 ft) apart in the spring. I mild areas like here in West Cork, Fuchsia magellanica can be grown quite easily through propagation, simply by taking cuttings from a mature plant in late autumn when the stalks are bare, and sticking them about 15cm into the ground.
Fuchsia flowers best on new wood so prune hard in spring, leaving just 15cm to 30cm (6in to 12in) of stem, from which new growth will shoot. Plants grown as hedges should be less severely pruned, although a portion of any old that may have been killed by frosted should always be removed.

The Drive up to Hagal Farm

Here in Ireland we all are accustomed to a few dreary summer days, and even though it was one of these kinds of days when I was out taking these photos, the vibrant colours of the Fuchsia still keep the place looking hot and summery.

Throughout the summer, the Fuchsia continues to make new flowers, while the older flowers fall to the ground leavening just the small berry behind. As a result of this, by this time of the year you begin to see these lovely red carpets at the base of the plants.

This Fuchsia is also popular with kids, as the flowers contain a pouch of sweet nectar. As kids we would often have purple and red lips as a result of drinking the nectar. The process you use to do this is, when you pick the flower, pull off the purple petals and stalks, hold the part where the petals were, up to your lips and squeeze the back of the flower to release the nectar.

in my small enclosure everything is mulchi and musty, that is smell wise, i have a small place here, rain, the growth and the fallen leaves i have fragrance all the time.

my first garden/yard-garden gave me the greatest of pleasure.

I learnt a lot, what plant spreads, what ones are very high and those that do best in sun and more water and those who do with less of water and less of sun.

i made a few mistakes alright, i dont know the names of most of my plants planted.

thats a pity.

also i never did have a water lily.  it just died an untimely death and didnt do much since i had bought it.

I was also sorry about my attempt at having goldfish, they all died off too.

the hanging sweatpea was success as were the might sunflowers which rose above the roof gutter, hope i am successful in getting the fruits of my labours.

all the best,

what has been your happiest growing experience this year anyone?  any answers??? 

Geraldine has suggested i post.

I have grown eight stunning sunflowers which have heavy droopy heads, they look tired now and am wondering do you lop them to hang upside in dry area of a room or do i leave em?

i do hope i get the fruits of my labour, if i do there is enough for everyone in the audience!

all the best,

ann 

Although rain threatened all afternoon it never really came ‘on’ here and I was able to do some more work on the ‘project’. I dug up and moved a Skimmia that was in full sun and therefore always had yellow leaves and didnt look nice. This was planted up in a shady corner and should be happier! After more digging, adding grit for better drainage and peat moss I then moved a Potentilla ‘Day Dawn’ and planted it where the Skimmia had been- hopefully a better choice for a sunny position. As I still have a couple more of these Potentillas I think I will move at least one more, maybe two, to this area as they will be close to the rose "Crown Princess Margareta" which is a peach colour and should tone in well. I know it is a bit early for moving shrubs but I have been careful to disturb the roots as little as possible and watered in well.

Mairin suggested planting an acer in this area but I think the site is too exposed so I have decided to plant a Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Dart’s Gold’ which I had bought in Kilquade last week. I hope it will be able to be the link between the Peach colored planting and the pink of the lacecap hydrangea. By the way when I went to find it today the hare had been enjoying the tender shoots and disappeared very quickly when I aproached!!!

Have been talking about this area for far far to long now at this stage. Spent a lot of time cutting it back all summer, only to find out that if I want to kill all the area off, I was better off letting the area grow, to allow the weed killer work better on good healty growth.

So this weekend the work begins on. ‘operation transformation’……………..

Episode 1…… ‘ The Killing’