Month: July 2011

Particularily like that Allium but would give the others a home with no bother!!

The area reclaimed last year having removed blackthorn, blackberry etc. and dead wood many plants had been introduced including Mirabilis Jalapa  and miniature roses but so many weeds grew. However most of them were annuals so that area is looking better now. Carrot seed sown perhaps a bit late but will let it have its chance. The front lawn was mown, 1/4 acre and large number of prunings moved to a place where they will be kept until I can dispose of them either by burning or some other way. Roses looking really good (will take a photo to morrow). Hypericum which  was given up as lost doing well. Country market in the morning, sold nothing despite people asked to spend, spend, spend! The drive needs to be sprayed for weeds, probably to morrow. Mirabilis Jalapa has made some progress but very slowly. The miniature roses had been taken from the front early in the year and are now in bloom.

not much done in the garden lately. pulled away alot with the kids stuff lately, last week it was feile, today was handball at brefey house hotel.

got the tomatoes and cucumbers sorted during the week plus other bits and pieces in the tunnel. hopefully i will get some weeding done tomorrow,thats the plan once i have sorted dinner and some other bits around the place.

stopped the cigs 4 days ago, and got a sore throat instead, like razor blades at mo and very little voice.

 

Hi, It’s been a long time since I wrote something here but I’d like to give it another go. I’m still interested in the garden and doing a bit. I want to create a new bed in the lawn which I have some ideas for. What I’d like to know is do I need to take out the grass, turn it over or can I just put earth over it. I don’t mind it it should be dug out but I don’t want to do work that is unnecessary. Would like to hear some suggestions on the best way to go about it. Regards, Derek

hi hope one of you can help me.  i was out at the garden and noticed one of my lupins had loads of seed pods so i picked them so that i would get another flush of flowers. would love to save the seeds but when i googled it they said it was better that they be brown, never kept them before but i want to try it. can someone tell me what to do?

went out today and weeded the long border on the way in to the house from the gate. took 3hrs, the heat was something else. didnt get anymore done, was ready to collapse after that. monday is promised good so will get some more done.

What a lovely day? Most of the debris in the front is moved. Edges of the three rose beds  and hoeing surface of beds. Roses are looking good. Pictures of roses in Photos. Hypericums making great progress, Hydrangeas changing colour, Philadelphus beginning to fade, soon it will be pruned, grapes in greenhouse beginning to turn sweet, gooseberries doing same.

how sad is this, i have just got excited about a head of cauliflower, never grew before this year, while i was out hanging out clothes i started looking through the leaves of plants and found a small head of cauliflower, called rebecca over to see it, she thoughtt i was going to show her a bird nest.

isnt it easy to excite me

 

Is it my imagination or are the photos in our albums on garden.ie now smaller?

My friend got in touch with me last night and suggested that this plant is Knautia arvensis – have googled this and I’m sure now that the ‘giant’ is indeed Knautia arvensis.  My RHS book says it’s of the scabious family and needs staking (certainly does).   Rachel the other plant I have in corner is the Centauria dealbata and I will put a photo in Album as it has one flower (like yours) on it plus a close up of the leaves of the Knautia.  Hosta, thanks for all your help, but I’m sure it’s not Cephalaria gigantea as mine definitely has lilac/blue flowers. 

Fantastic weather all week-end for the Tall Ships Festival, Everyone appeared to enjoy themselves, the town was absolutely packed, Lovely while it lasted, pity its all over now!!

Hi thanks to each of you for the all the advice.

Yes Clara, you got that right; well spotted. I am closer to the sea in the Greenhill area.

Digging out a bed makes sense really. Recently walking through Merion Square I was very taken by the beds of heathers and miniature pines, at least that’s what I think they were. I decided there and then that’s what I want to do. They seemed so easy on the eye and very peaceful to sit and look at. So, instead of a raised rockery, I intend to lay an area out flat and make a feature out of a rock or two or a piece of old wood.

I did like the old fence; it had character but it was begining to merge with the bacground and I had to think security. I spend the day putting on a coat of Fence Life. There are eight panels (sixteen sides) and I got six sides done. My arms are sore but had to take advantage of the weather.

got alot done today

got up out of bed and went straight out and started weedin with a banana for brekkie. the stupid slugs were havin a midnight feast in my cabbage bed, f*****rs. ( this is the milder version of the bad word). they made lace out of some of them.

when i had the weedin finished i thinned the turnips, and the peas and then sowed 2 long rows of carrots outside and then 5 short ones in the tunnel. then i put down slug pellets around the outside of the bed., then i covered the cabbages with mesh, need to get another role it is great stuff.

then i fed tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers and potted on the pelargoniums that had rooted if i didnt do it soon they would nearly pot themselves, that would be great(wishful thinkin).

before i finished up i sowed 2 trays of cabbage for me and dad.

i have planned to sow more seeds tomorrow. bellis perenisis, viola, wallflowers,forget me nots and spring cabbage.

love sowing seeds, will pick up some more tomorrow.

time for a mug of drinking choclate and browsing through my monthly garden magazines. that is my dream evening.

i had to write this entry 2 because for some reason internet is slow this eve, had pic and all so this time i am not doing pic. will take some during the week and do a photo album of the garden ( hopefully without weeds). not chancing adding a pic again this eve

 

 

 

 

 

i got seeds today, but it is making really heavy showers, i need to make outdoor seed beds for some of the seeds so hopefully it clear later and i can start making seed beds, got lovely wall flower seeds and (violas,which acoording to the packet need to go into a propagator)so i can get started on that.

 

i got the violas, forget me nots sown in the propagators today, plus chased down sone more of the special pots for the window propagators, have some more to hunt doen. i have a masive pile of pots that will have to be washed, that can wait, weeding will be done first after seed sowing.

wall flowers will be sown tomorrow. also bellis perenisis and sweet williams will be sown in propagators tomorrow.

Raining most of the day. I had gooseberries topped and tailed. On other days being out most of the time, the berries were put away in the fridge but to day, the garden being out, I got at the berries and made more jam. I am sure that things will grow even better with this rain. The place was parched and watering would be limited. I have made three lots of jam and there is a bucket full still there picked but needing topping and tailing. The beet root reported recently by Dave & Maggie looks good. My own should be ok after this rain.

I am suffering badly of lately, the head is spinning. I have come up with the seeds of a great idea for the feature I want to put into the front corner.

I am not looking for much.

Just ideas of an ever green climber, small flower would be acceptable, and has a compact growth or will tolerate been trimmed and kept in shape.

See, told you I was not asking for much  ;-))

Thanks as always.

Talking to a neighbour today and she was very upset at Moths getting into her house as she works and only opens the windows at the weekend.

She noticed a few moths in the house one evening last week and sprayed some fly spray, the next night they had multiplied so she was worried and asked about them to another neighbour so they both started to look at where they migh be getting in so she decided to call a company who deals with the problem, they arrived at her house and said she had to take all clothing and take them to the cleaners and have them washed at a certain degrees (cant rem. what ) they said they needed to fumigate the entire house and she had to go and stay with friends,    the carpet in the bedrooms under the beds were all munched and completly covered with larve the same with the sitting room carpet.   Total cost was €900  and they have to make 2 more visits before she can return to the house.

Cant believe this day and age the Insurance company do not have any insurance with insects.  Now all  the carpets have to be replaced as her Mother is in Hospital so just thought I would pass on a very sorry story.

Sorry but am not a very good writer.

Just back from at talk given by Dermot O’Neill at Rolestown Garden centre, Swords.  It was a lovely evening, sitting under a roof but still outdoors.  Dermot has a sense of humour, considering all he has been through.  It was a lovely evening. 

For anyone around the area, he is there all day tomorrow until about 4pm.  There is also a barbeque and wine tasting.  Any money raised is going to the Irish Cancer Society.  

 

Yes tracked one down in Hillside Nursery, Glounthaune, Co. Cork.  I have asked them to put it aside for me until Monday. They have only one. So will I get it and keep it until there is an opportunity to hand it over ? Don’t think they do mail but can ask them. Then of course you could come here and collect it, now that would be good. !!

wasnt it a good day today to be out gardening    got lots of weeding done  after all the rain…    deadheaded the roses and removed all the mushy rose buds   did they get a hammering    all was good until i tried to deadhead my finger as well…..   I thought my secauters wasnt as sharp as it used to be and was going to do something about it……    its not that blunt   i take it   back   ouch.. lots of blood and bandage     but    i ll live

Didn’t realise that I had fallen off the face of the Earth so long ago.. Garden ticking along…eating our 1st earlies, still looking after the 2nds & main crop spuds at school. Lettuce, shallots, spinach and spring onions all doing well. The suger snaps are swelling but the hurst green shaft peas never came up!! Instead some very beautiful invaders have prevailed in their place…a photo tomorrow will reveal more on that!! Nature throws up some lovely surprises 🙂 Hope everyone is well and that your gardens are blooming marvelous 🙂

 

On the 2nd of July we had a lovely visit from Skeheenarinky Garden Club, a new club finding their feet and what a lovely bunch they were. I’ve posted some pics of their visit and of the nursery display and waterfall looking good in the sunshine.

Every year I buy bulbs.They allegedly are the easiest thing to grow. throw them at the ground and hey presto, a beautiful border of perfect colour, and all arranged into perfect patterns and designs. A floral display that will impress the socks of any gardener. Well that what it says on the tin and thats what you get, well that is if you are not me.

I in my lifetime have spent enough money on bullbs, so much money I could certainly buy this country out of its finanical woes. So I hear you say I should have acres of beautiful floral displays, but alas no, as a matter of fact nothing. The only bulbs that grow for me are daffodils, and I am grateful to them for putting in a display for if they did not, I might as well give up. They are the excetion to the rule. no other bulb puts in an appearance. I later find them in the flower beds the following year, hollowed out shells or rotten masses, a far cry from the beautiful display I was hoping for.

This year I decided to give them one last chance, I planted Irises, Dutch iris to be exact. Well lo and behold one after another they started to put in an appearance, well three of them did. Three out of Twenty five bulbs, a complete disaster. Now the three that grew were beautiful, and at one stage gave me hope that I was about to break the curse of the non growing bulbs. When the first one put in an appearance, I began to hope, when the second appeared I was delirious and when the third appeared I was celebrating. After That I waited with anticipation for the rest to appear and i am still waiting. The bulbs had the last laugh, filled me with hope and then cruelly crushed me, forever turning me against bulbs.

From now on I am a seed man, bulbs are for those who love and understand them, not for me, where their sole aim is to become a rotten mass in my flowerbeds.

This morning I pruned the branches that gave flowers this summer. It was one of the best years yet.

We should see some gardens on Wednesday, in Nationwide.