Month: May 2011

well im back again trying to catch up in everything , the last two years have been really really hard work and still not finished but loving the rewards when looking back . ive started of with a half acre and ive seperated the garden into 4 sections . i have an area with fruit trees , polytunnel and a veg area also coming soon in the area will be pigs a hens . . and then out my back yard i have a lovely green garden with plants that i planted . its gonna have lots and lots of plants and the other section is a patio area , sun trap . and last a car park section . ….

My long thin straight garden is divided into four sections. The first is the widest bit, maybe 8 metres wide, and is at the southern end. It’s the front garden, and can be seen from the living room. The first photo in the French Garden album is taken from this end.

My long thin straight garden is divided into four sections. The first is the widest bit, maybe 8 metres wide, and is at the southern end. It’s the front garden, and can be seen from the living room. The first photo in the French Garden album is taken from this end.

Photo number 6 shows the next two sections, before any planting. Section two continues up to the point where it narrows again.

Section 3 is the narrow piece as far as the shed.

Section 4 is behind the shed. 

My long thin straight garden is divided into four sections. The first is the widest bit, maybe 8 metres wide, and is at the southern end. It’s the front garden, and can be seen from the living room. The first photo in the French Garden album is taken from this end.

Photo number 6 shows the next two sections, before any planting. Section two continues up to the point where it narrows again.

Section 3 is the narrow piece as far as the shed. Photo 14 shows it in early summer 2009 when the poppies were holding their own.

Section 4 is behind the shed. 

My long thin straight garden is divided into four sections. The first is the widest bit, maybe 8 metres wide, and is at the southern end. It’s the front garden, and can be seen from the living room. The first photo in the French Garden album is taken from this end.

Photo number 6 shows the next two sections, before any planting. Section two continues up to the point where it narrows again.

Section 3 is the narrow piece as far as the shed. Photo 14 shows it in early summer 2009 when the poppies were holding their own.

Section 4 is behind the shed. Photo number 8 shows it in its current state, with distressed strawberries in the foreground. It last rained properly in February.

Have just been looking at ‘telegraph gardening’ and there is a wonderful photo which won first prize in one of their photograph competitions.  You should look at it.  Lots of gardening bits especially about Chelsea Flower Show.  Now I am really closing down!!

mandatory fields that are hidden from my sight 😀

Myself just wanted to ask my question in the ‘Absolut Beginners’ section which was as follows:

 I have recently got couple of passion flower (passiflora caerulea), which is definitely not native to the ‘Emerald Island’. In Pholainn, I come from, I was growing passifloras indoors due to very harsh Polish winters (frosts up to -30C). Hither in Ireland climate is much milder, however for last two years we all have experienced quite a minus temperatures.
Hither my question comes – is it advisable to grow passion vines outside and would the mulch for winter suffice to protect them?
Has anyone of you succeeded in growing them outdoors ?

With my best wishes

    Tomasz

Moreo’er I got two gorgeous clamatis’s. Pity though it is raining cats and dogs I have so many things to do….

Oh – my Jerusalem artichokes are already 2 feet high :D:D:D

hi garden.ie buddies. been looking through some journals. everyone seems to be busy with projects or simply enjoying the wonders and surprises as they happen. things have gone from drought ridden and stunted, to heavy rain , hailstones and thunder.

the plants are getting the moisture they need. although some weird things have been happening. my thyme, rosemary and sage are in bloom.  some of the rhubarb have gone to seed. donegal is wearing a white blanket of hawthorn blossoms !!!!! is it normal to have late daffs fading as the hawthorn is in full bloom ???? its like a time warp.

have been lucky enough to secure a half day on thurs coming to visit ( 2 1/2 to 3 hrs) carrablagh gardens . (DONEGAL GARDEN TRAIL ) went last year and thouroughly  savoured every tree,  shrub, walled gardens, lakes, and lots of interesting plants. was fortunate to fall in with the current head gardener and an old fellow in his eighties who as a aboy worked in the gardens. it was atreat to listen to them in the atmosphere of such a fantasic healthy garden. the garden could be situated anywhere in the british isles, its hard to believe it is in portsalon. the trees and walled gardens give shelter and a unique eco system.    

 would be willing to write an article for any aspiring garden mag or paper !! nothing like a bit of ambition and self belief.

called by today to visit friends and tour the gardens. had a wonderful afternoon in scenic surroundings overlooking rathmullen and the swilly with co derry in the background. we toured gardens on different levels with lots of interesting and happy plants, veg and an impresive orchard. when rain stopped and when rain started we had coffee and homemade tiramisu. a big thank you to maria and roisin for a relaxing afternoon.

 enjoying a mug of tae and a slab of homemade treacle scone smothered in last years rhubarb jam. its not mizzling out today. its wet and windy. hoping it settles down in the afternoon. need to cover over my fruit bushes, they are doing well this year.

just seen a little snippet from country tracks bbc1. a scottish couple have been using lava rock dust on there plants, veg in particular. the size and quality seem gigantic. anyone know where to get some. would love to trial it. my google seems to be locked into a canadian site and cant easily get info from irish/ uk sites.

Everything that is looking good in my garden at the moment appears to be in shades of Pink or red – The Burkwoodii Broom, the Weigela and the Red Robbin are all in full flow at the moment.  Only a few weeks ago everything appeared to be tinged yellow – the forsythia, daffs etc.  

We planted some cabbage around beginning of April, it was doing great!!…. when we went down this weekend 4 of the plants were starting to wilt … almost like they needed water which of course they did’nt. I  took away the netting and when I put my hand on the plant it just came away from the soil.. same thing with the others .. when I had a closer look  the area where the stem was severed was covered in little white maggots..  I am expecting the rest of the cabbage to be affected when we go down next weekend  Have we got vine-weevil?  and what can we do?   

I’m hoping that the dry weather will return soon. Last week i went to the garden centre to check and see if they’d have enough grass seed to sow the lawn. They had just got it in that morning so went back the following day to buy it. My sister in-law is doing her lawn too so we got 5 bags between us. I’m going to need 3 bags to cover an area of roughly 2,000 square metres. Just have to wait for some dry weather now so that we can get in the machine thats going to pick the stones, break up the soil into a fine tilth and sow the seed all in one go. Hopefully that dry weather that i’m waiting for isn’t too far off but looking out now I can’t see it arriving anytime soon.

Spent the day pottering about in the tunnel. I now have 22 tomato plants – this is mainly due to Chilipepper’s influence – this site has a lot to answer for!!! Chick weed is rife in the tunnel and has to be kept on top of all the time so no let up when it is raining outside.

 It was a "SOFT DAY" so was able to spend some of it outdoors and got a new later perennial border planted. It is interesting to note that I would rather plant a new border than look after an existing one….ah well planting is one of my favourite gardening tasks and I got in quite a few plants – some grown from seed, others bought in the country market. There are about 5 dahlias as well grown from tubers. The mainstays are Aster frikartii Monch (an old favourite) as well as Eupatorium, Sedum, Cosmos, Cornflower, sweetpeas. I will bulk it out with annuals this year but hope to keep it mainly a late flowering border as my garden has tended to flag in August at times.

I got a bucket of chicken manure in a local garden centre today and the girl working there gave me this tip: disolve/semi disolve the pellets with hot water before putting them around plants and they will get to work quicker. Hadn’t thought of doing that, had ye?

Blarney Castle is primarily famous for ‘the Blarney Stone’ but equally worth exploring are the beautiful grounds around the Castle and Blarney House. This includes acres of parkland, gardens, avenues, arboretums and waterways. Visitors often exclaim ‘We didn’t realise there was so much here and wish they had more time to explore!’

Arboretums

Blarney Castle’s arboretums and new Pinetum contain a collection of specimen trees, many of them rare and unusual such as the Wollemi Pine Wollemia nobilis, Foxglove Tree Paulownia tomentosa, Tree of heaven Ailanthus altissima and  Scarlet Oak Quercus coccinea splendens. They were mostly planted in the 1980’s and 1990’s but some already existing mature trees such as Yews, Limes and Spanish Chestnuts are much older, maybe up to 600 years old. New specimens are being added every year to further enhance the collection.

The Rock Close and Water Garden

The Rock close is a mystical place, said to be on the site of an ancient druidic settlement. There is a unique atmosphere in here created by rock formations and the leafy canopy of the ancient gnarled Yew Taxus baccata and Holm Oak Quercus Ilex trees. A trail through this area passes over a recently built boardwalk, which takes the visitor through a new water garden where one can be soothed by the sound of the two waterfalls. Other features include the Dolmen, Wishing Steps, Witch’s Kitchen, Druids Cave, Druids Circle, Sacrificial Altar, Sentry post and Fairy Garden. The Rock Close is planted in the ‘Robinsonian style’, with large natural looking groups of plants such as the enormous leaved Gunnera manicata, Bamboos such as Sasa veitchii, Skunk cabbage Lysichiton americanus, Willow Salix spp. and many more.

Fern Garden

Originally suggested by Sir Harold Hillier on one of his visits from Hillier’s nursery, as a ‘frost-free dell suitable for fern planting’ it now holds an extensive collection of ferns and rare woodland plants. The fern garden is a very tranquil place in the heart of the estate. It can be viewed from above from a limestone cliff and can be accessed from by following a grass path through a wild flower strip by the edge of the woodland. Alternatively you can enter from the bottom of the woodland walk, which avoids steps. The garden contains over 80 varieties of ferns, all of which are flourishing. These include an artfully positioned collection of tree ferns including Dicksonia antarctica, Cyathea dealbata and Cyathea australis. These are almost sculptural in appearance, and have been densely planted to create a leafy canopy, below which grow smaller species.  The garden contains a 17-foot high Dicksonia antartica, the tallest of its kind in Ireland. (They only grow an average of one inch a year.)

Poison Garden

Alongside the castle battlements, the new Poison Garden can be found. It contains a collection of poisonous plants from all over the world including Wolfsbane, Mandrake, Ricin, Opium and Cannabis. Many of these are labelled with information about their toxicity and traditional and modern uses. A large number of plants that we  now know to be toxic, were once used widely as herbal remedies for all sorts of ailments. The old expression ‘It will either kill or cure you’ could not have been more apt!

Belgium Beds

To the side of Blarney house lie the ‘Belgian Beds’, so named because some of the earlier plants came from Belgium.  They are filled with a collection of deciduous and evergreen azaleas which are quite spectacular when they are flowering in May and June.

Spring Colours

In the springtime there are carpets of bulbs throughout the grounds. Particularly beautiful in are the two lime tree-lined avenues Tillia tomentosa petioralis. The older, front main avenue is under-planted with snowdrops, daffodils and bluebells. The newer Lime avenue is under planted with early daffodils Rijnvelds Early Sensation, which flower from New Year’s Day, before any of the other daffodils are out.

Woodland Walks, The Lake and Wildlife

The more adventurous visitor can take time to explore the many paths that run through the peaceful woodlands and also make a circuit of the Lake. There are a resident family of swans on the lake, and the quiet visitor may also be lucky enough to see Otters, Red squirrels, Jays and many other bird species.

Herbaceous Border

At the back of the lovely old Stable Yard buildings runs a 90 metre long double Herbaceous Border.

having no leads in locating rock dust for plants in ireland or northern ireland. found distributers in uk and on line. i have relatves in uk . i might get them to bring some over. used comfrey tea on my tunnel tomatoes and veg today. too wet to bother outside.

charlene saved watermelon seed last year. 5 out of 6 have germinated. have transplanted one into soil in tunnel. has anyone grew them. im expecting it to have the same habit as melon or aubergine. needing loads of water and supporting.

I moved house two years ago and am attempting to put order and style on to the garden which had been pretty neglected for the previous 6-7 years. When the house was built there was some (poor) landscaping done so now we’ve got a front and back lawn (back one prone to flooding), both moss covered, some trees and shrubs which haven’t been pruned since they were planted, no flower beds, no ‘life’, it all looks quite boring, there is a circular hollow c/w steps and stone wall in one corner and while it has potential to look great it too floods. The only work which has been done in the last few years in mowing the lawn and I am a beginner to gardening with a non existant budget but am hopeful that I’ll get it all looking great – eventually.

hi everyone, yep, i finally have a home.

its in the noggin but it has an amazing garden back and front.

the hedge all round is very very high though so that might have to be trimmed right down for maintenance reasons.

its in walk in condition, will have to have some adapts for a disabled person but its in great nick. it even has a pond!

now the search is on for twins home, she sees one she likes but her offer has been turned down, again its near me and in walk in condition, she needs that bad too.  she has just been diagnosed with a bad autoimmune disease a different one to me, and its not a nice one.

so champers will be on when both are secure.

oh, took up the black tulips with a view to placing them in a single trough to die back but when i took em bulbs up there were good crop of babies, what do i do, store them in a dry place over the summer or put back in a soil pot awaiting transportation.

so who is a happy camper tonight????? 

Next month I will be visiting a wholesale nursery in Co Offaly, called Ravensberg.

Besides it being, apparently, fantastic, I know nothing about it. There doesn’t seem to be any information on the internet.

Has anyone been?