The flower on the first of my two Hyacinths is opening up nicely. I t looks as if it will have a second flower lower down. My second one is a bit behind and the third one rotted even though I don’t think it  was touching the water.

The picture tells it all

From Greg and Clare

I wonder would anyone be able to sort out one of the many confusions in my life.

I have put up photos  of skimmias in my garden, photographed today.  I am confused about what they are.  Some are presumably male and female Skimmia japonica.  I would welcome suggestions.  I did not want to make suggestions as this might bias your views.

Today I tried to find in my garden plants mentioned in the December issue of The Irish Garden.  Unfortuanately this  made be realize how many plants I have  lost over the years.  But perhaps this is positive, since many of the old plants have been replaced by newer ones.

Hope that you have a good one all of you

According to Anna Pavord, Sagittarians are responsible for killing the most Rhododendrons. Rachel, that comment sure made me laugh. This is the only Rhodo I have ever owned. Remember last summer when I asked Steve to pull it up out of its pot so I could give it a bigger one? Steve accidentally broke half of it off. I thought this was a ‘gonner’ but now the bit left is looking decidedly like a ‘standard’ and lots of buds too.

Please excuse all the weeds in the compost. A job for this weekend, before it comes into flower. 

I wish you Health………. 

So you may enjoy each day in comfort.

I wish you Love of friends and family……….

and peace in your heart.

I wish you beauty of Nature………….

That you may enjoy the works of God, whatever you conceive him to be.

I wish you wisdom to choose…………..

The things in Life that really matter.

I wish you Generosity……………

So you may enjoy and share all the good things that come to you.

I wish you Happiness and Joy……………….

For the coming year.

I wish you all the best…………

Of everything, that you so well deserve.

Happy New year to you all.

Spotted first helleborus niger today!

Can I take this oppurtunity to wish all members of Garden.ie a very Happy New Year and thank you all for the pleasure of your company on this wonderful site.

Every gardener knows that under the cloak of the winter lies a miracle…..

a seed waiting to sprout,

a bulb opening to the light,

a bud straining to unfurl.

And the anticipation nurtures our dream.

Odontocidium ‘Hansueli Isler’ is in full flower again.

It last flowered for me in February. It is an easy one and was my third orchid ever.

May your New Year be filled with the plants of your dreams.

Happy dreaming.

I picked up my post earlier today and delighted i was to see this months Irish Garden Magazine there.

Over the weekend i will have a good look through it,especially the vegetable section.

I decided late last night to spend a few hours doing some notes about the garden.

Time was also spent checking through pages i had thrown under books etc.Not any more as they are now all in single folders.

No more rooting for different pages.I could not leave without doing an hour or so about the January sowings.Those started in late December and those yet to come.

I was very suprised today to find my carrots in such good condition. I had left them in the ground just covered with a fleece so the hens wouldn’t get to them. One of the yellow Limburg weighed nearly 1kg which should be enough for the dinner tonight 🙂 I got the seed from the Irish Seed Savers near Scariff. The red carrots are the regular Nantes 2. I’ve uploaded a few photos which I took during this beautiful cold spell. 

I’d like to wish all my gardening friends a happy New Year!

Through the year we have had plenty of ups and downs in the garden.Earlier in the year the weather gave a terrible blow in the form of some serious frost.

After a few months on the recovery lists for some of the plants the sunshine returned.Later on in the year with some of them in the form of a few prizes in the vegetable area at the local show,but also giving a supply of home grown food that brought good meals to our table.Much appreciated.

Rain paid a visit at times and diseases were in the air,but we put up with them.Then near the end of the year we were given a very,very,severe attack of snow,and ice which left its own trademark with damage. I will say no more about that.

Over the weekend i will spend an hour or so looking back over past notes kept here down the years and compare the outcome,with this years events.Maybe i might even get to pluck from them,some badly needed buckets of sunshine for 2011.

Who knows i might try out some stop signs at the garden gate during the summer to maybe banish away the garden pests and diseases,along with bad weather,all of which caused the need to destroy some of the vegetables that had been doing fine for months of growth before the weather attack.

Happy New Year to all my garden.ie friends and good luck with all your plans for 2011.Bring on the sunshine,we want to sow and grow.

As a Goodwill gesture the water restrictions have been lifted for the New Year. Haven’t been able to shower here since last Sunday. Wahoo! Steve nearly had to drag me out of it. It’s amazing the way we take the simple little things in life for granted. But come on! We ARE an island, and are surrounded by water. It has been very difficult going to work, and dealing with the public, without the magic of running water. Happy Camper now, though. Going out to put on 4 washes before it’s cut off again tomorrow.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY.

Jane Powers, gardening correspondent with the Irish Times, will have her  book, "The Living Garden: A Place That Works with Nature" published in April next. I received some sample pages today, introduction, some of the first chapter and some of the final chapter and it all seems very promising. My impression is that this will be a very readable book – Jane has a very relaxed and unassuming writing style which makes for very easy reading but she makes very simply stated yet fundamentally important statements about how we garden. 

The table of contents reads as follows:

Introduction

Gardens for the Planet

Circles and Cycles

Soil

Planning Your Garden

Plants

Creatures: The Garden Population

Food

Helping Nature Garden

Gardener’s Gold: Home-Made Compost 

The Garden Year

Resources

Index

The book is being published by Frances Lincoln and I have booked my copy. It is good to support an Irish author, especially one who writes so well and has always supported and promoted Irish gardening ventures.  

Paddy 

…this year:))

    As the new year blossoms, may the journey of your life be fragrant with new opportunities, your days be bright with new hopes and your heart be happy with love!

        Very Happy New Year to my special people- garden friends!!!