Month: March 2012

In the current issue of The Irish Garden, it was interesting to include nominations from Garden.ie Club members as to their favourite annuals.

In the April issue, we are planning a feauture on favourite SPRING BLOSSOM TREES and I would like to invite members to nominate their favourites.

Be as specific as you like, for instance, in terms of flowering cherry varieties.

For you, which trees really say …. SPRING is here!

At your own preference, put your real name, or site username, on your message!

Yes a beautiful day here and much work done. Also had my grass cut and lots of strimming so all looking tidy. Hope you all have such a great day.

My two favourite Camellias are in flower , Adolphe Audusson with the amazing golden stamens and Brushfield Yellow . Where the well that serves my house is sited it was covered with stone slabs when I came. Now there is Ivy covering the area and a great big clump of Heather. Clematis armandii has totally covered my shed and is now trying to invade the Lilac tree. I  have put these plants in an Album.

Someone posted a comment about buying steel rods 2 m X 6 mm and bending them into plant supports as Monty Don demonstrated on Gardeners’ World. I just can’t find the comment – I think it was Bruno or Bill.

I ordered 30 today and paid €35 so was just wondering if I got good VFM. Was that about what you paid?

Have you been able to bend them like Monty?

Quick query – I received some seeds from Airfileld during a vist last Summer ( legally obtained !!) As you know this garden is now closed so I thought it would be nice to have some of their poppies grow on in Cavan. I set the seeds last Autumn in the polytunnell and they are now about 1ft high Can i plant them out into the Borders now or do I need to wait for another few months until all threat of frost have passed ? I passed around some of these at  Johnston I hope they are doing well for you

Can you hear it? Listen hard ah now you can hear it. What is it? My shoulders showing resentment of the work yesterday. I did do al lot I admit and while I feel 28 it will come as a big shock to you to hear I am older than that!!  Anyway it is a cold, dank sort of day not like the glory of yesterday. So today reluctantly I am abstaining from horticultural pursuits. This evening I am going to my gran nieces 16th party where there will be lovely cake and all the sort of titbits loaded with calories that I love. Will be a lovely family affair and I am ever so fond of Ciara so glad to be there. So here I am on the sofa with big furry Maisie, (she is a cat!) curled up next to me. BUT  big hairy Meg, yes a dog, will soon be pestering me to launch tennis balls into the sky so I will just enjoy the moment. Hope you all have a good day.

Hi Folks, due to weather conditions in the past few months plants have advanced well past their normal growth for this time of year.There is severe weather forecast for the next few nights which could severely damage plants so cover them up with anything.Its amazing how light a covering will protect plants……:-(

well, actually two days ago!  put down pockets of wild flower seeds in the grassy areas and also took out a cold frame and assembled it.

its enormous, at this rate i will be feeing all of my area!

so bit problematic where its going to go.

maggie mai got through the fencing into the next door neighbours and this eve i started chihuahua proofing.

i spent the day in A&E today after an awful night.  i have gall stones, plenty of them i am now told, wonderful!

twin goes for her cancer surgery on monday and she got a copy of her design drawing for her garden, its lovely.

its gonna cost her quite a bit but it looks really good on paper, she will have a sort of patio garden with raised beds etc.

so the world doesnt stop yet it seems as i lurch from one crisis to another.but still in one piece! 

A and I thought that with the birth of our little peanut, we’d plant something in the garden to mark his/her birthday.

It’s for our back garden, which is by no means large, but big enough to take a small tree I think, as it is a long rectangle. It’s technically north-facing, but gets a good deal of sun for at least half of the day. The only possible ‘problem’ is that the area could be exposed to wind (is there any part of Cork that isn’t?).

I’ve narrowed the list down to a) magnolia stellata ‘Leonard Messel’ b) a cherry tree c) magnolia ‘Yellow River’.

I’m leaning towards ‘Yellow River’ because I think it’s unusual and pretty, and I recall a couple of people on Garden.ie have it (but can’t remember who for the life of me). Does anybody know where I can get it?

What do you guys think? Any comments or suggestions? 

looking forward to the return of monty on friday 9th march, bbc 2, 8.30 pm. wish there were some more irish gardening programmes, really enjoyed Dermot O Neills programme in his beautiful garden at Clondeglass.

Got bulbs of this in Lidl , had never heard of it before. Seems to be a lovely blue. Anybody grow it?  Think I may be late in planting the bulbs but will wait and see. By the way my Whatsit plant of yesterday about which a certain gentleman from Limerick with a tendency to say Gosh was so dreadfully rude even scathing, cheek of him, I was thinking might be a white Omphaoides?  Has anybody grown this from seed and if so does it look like my Whatsit?

Do you remember me writing a journal about Arum with purple spots on the leaves? Well there must be an outbreak of it this year , unspotted, because since then i have found lots of it in my garden. And in a friend’s garden today , big one, garden not friend, there was masses of it and she said it had increased and multipled this year. Watch out for it and please say if it has arrived to live with you. Thank you.

What a lovely day it turned out to be! Arrived at Bellefield and first people I saw were Martin and Deborah – had a lovely chat and that was when I nabbed the double stemmed variegated Tree Mallow  and a lovely healthy Lamium. There weren’t as many stalls as at Birr last year but I found it much easier to see what was on offer. Wandering round I bumped in to Paddy and Mary – well, while I was talking to Paddy, Mary was quietly putting her latest treasures into a bag – so I left them to it and wandered a bit further. Next I spotted Klaus – my Willow Man – he had a stall with some beautiful willow baskets and some pretty pots all made by him and his wife. We had a good chat before I headed on. Next thing to catch my eye was an eco-friendly slug deterrant  made from sheeps wool. I meant to go back to get some later but I forgot. Has anyone tried this (fairly) new product?

Mary and I went for a wander in the walled garden – Paddy’s photos really capture it very well. I have no photos because I forgot the camera (Grr!). We arrived back at the house just in time to hear Paddy waxing lyrical about his favourite topic – he was very entertaining and I particularly liked how he had a little story about each snowdrop!

By this time I was wall-fallen with the hunger so I headed to the little coffee shop and when I was there Mary (Keego) caught up with me. Thank you so much for the Sedums Mary!

So Peter was wondering what we got at the fair – well my haul was quite modest – however it will have to wait till tomorrow as it is too dark for me to go check the labels and I know he won’t be happy without the full titles 🙂

From my last journal, all will know I was giving out about the crows and magpies raiding my bird feeders. Well the other day I was shocked by what I saw. I had filled the feeders and was working close by in the garden. The birds seem to ignore me and come to the feeders, as long as I am a small distance away. I love watching the birds on the feeder and on the ground. I love the way they fly in and out, hover, and swap places on the feeders with each other. it is like a dance in mid air.

I was not paying much heed, when I spotted a flash of brown zip thru my line of vision. There was a screech of birds, a scatteration of wings and bodies, and a speedy exit of birds to the hedge. Only I saw with my own eyes, I would not believe what I had seen. A sparrow hawk had made a raid on the birds that were feeding. I am still amazed at what happened, annoyed at the raid on the poor defenceless birds, but actually thrilled at being a spectator at nature at work.

hi all happy sunday… what a great day it was, wow the weather was fab. i planted some snake and swan gourds a while ago there nearly 2 inches in height in the room now. cant wait till they grow. doesnt the sun bring the best out in people, i just wish my nosey neighbour would bugger off and go and get some sun!!!!

Hi Everyone,

I have had a major set back with my gardening, over 6 weeks ago I had a bad horse riding accident and fractured my thoracic 8 vertebrae in my back, I am in a brace and not able for much  physical activity, doctors won’t allow me to go to school, Dept of Education has supplied a home tutor for me. 

I am hoping I will be back to normal soon, have to see what hospital have to say this week, going crazy at home all the time never realised how boring it is not being able to do anything.

Mam helped to sow some seeds and I’m sure it won’t be long until I am out and about in the garden again.

But only did a little bit cos my shoulder is hurting real bad…..moan.

So I have an appt. at 9am tomorrow to get a steroid injection and hopefully I will be able to return to garden work as I get grumpy when I am denied the privilege. But on the bright side my Brother started to paint my new wall this morning and it is looking really well. So silver lining once again. So will be back tomorrow all bright eyed and bushy tailed with reports of all I have achieved in the garden as I plan to resume work tomorrow afternoon, all cured! 

just wondering has anyone used the site gardens4u, to purchase any plants. been on the site but not familar with it. any advice or imput would be appreciated 

Starting the clearout in my shed in preparation for the move later this year.   If anyone wants any of the following items let me know:

2 Brackets for Hanging Baskets

2 lots of 4, 24 cell seedling trays

Collection of seeds: polyanthus, Coleus, Primula Alpicola, Primula Florindae, Ferulago Sylvatica, Melanoselium Decipiens

Small collection of garden magazines

Collection of soft string (great for tying things to trellis or canes).

Also, does anyone know of where I could recycle my collection of black plant pots?  Would a garden center take them back do you think?

 I will no doubt have more stuff shortly, this is really just the start.  

5 days on germination taking place already . 5th of March

Just saw this on RTE Player if any1 is interested.

https://www.rte.ie/player/#!v=1139182

someone put a stop to those jumping tulips at last…..yipeeeeee

Picked some rhubarb to day. After trimming i had 1 kg of rhubarb to make some jam. I will be using 1 kg of rhubarb and i kg of Sureset to make 2 kg of rhubarb jam.

well i am preparing about 6ft by 4ft for a small veggie patch.

its sort of inching along!

the ground is pretty hard and the soil not wonderful, but its going well in many respects.

i have started to dig in manure, its very mature manure too so it should do some good, i also have a wonderful compost bin which i have inherited on moving here.

its fun but slow.

i think i may have been better to have bought in a raised bed soil and all!

i have bought me seed pototaoes (home guard) and also two shrubs today… i went for Hibiscus and Philadelphus, and only cos i liked the picture on the boxes!!! yep seasoned isnt in it.

also on advice here i plummed for some hosta plants, also Dahlia varieties as follows – Mystery Day, Star Elite, Quartz Mix and Liatris Spicata, so heres to watching pictures turn into the real 3d versions.

i have no ideas of the behaviours of these plants and all comments on this would be fun and useful.

finally the twin is over her surgery and is doing well but has to return to the hospital on friday to make sure that they have caught all the cancer cells, (i think), as for me i am a bit worried as i need surgery too to remove gall stones, i was in A&E about a week ago.  i am led to believe that i may not be suitable for keyhole as i have had crohns surgery but a meeting is booked with the surgeon.

i also have mrsa so thats a worry that it will enter the blood stream, maybe in anticiaption buying a raised bed would not have had the same therapeutic numbing as digging rocks and stones out of very dry earth.

what more the pleasure of lying on the swinger this even if freezing temps wrapped up in blankets and hot water bottles and chihauhaus was bliss after hard graft.

next on the list is to get the half whiskey barrel up and running…i just gotta have them water lilies i wanted well over three years ago.

i am lunatic in the garden at the moment and rosy cheeks too will help on the way to the theatre methinks.