Month: March 2012

Polytunnel’s arriving next Monday or Tuesday… at last! Can’t lay out the rest of the outdoor beds till it’s in, and the broad beans and lettuce will be about ready to transplant by then. Toms and aquilegia seeds seem very slow to germinate, I hope they’re ok, I saved my own seed and have never had a problem before.

some crocosmia, the regular common orange ones, have taken up loads to plant my new area and an area where i am putting my seat, do not need all i have taken out, so if anybody wants some there is loads going.

Things are improving every day. More and more energy coming back. I had the fork and spade out to day, the best day we had recently. A piece of ground which was under onions, had been tilled after harvesting the same onions. To day, I felt that I could get digging and that  I did. Now that patch of ground looks good very open and generally free from weeds. This was followed by digging out the parsnips of last year. While they are a bit forked due to the soil structure, i was pleased to get that far. I must thank the Lord and the doctor that I am on the way back.

Hi all gardeners world back tomorrow night bbc2 at 8.30.

Looking forward to it 

Yes this morning my Colocasia Diamond head arrived.  There was a hitch at the start as they forgot my order; the lady who sells them was very nice and apologetic. She worked for a number of years at Cotswold nursery and now has a home based Soap making industry but also sells 3 x plug plants of some exotics via ebay. !! The plug plants were quite large and the leaves look really lovely so they were potted on and I look forward to seeing them settle in and grow big. I also got a tablet of soap in my parcel.  They should look good in my embryonic hot bed.

Edit; should have asked if anyone has grown

PASITHEA CAERULEA

She also offers plug plants of this and it looks interesting a fabulous blue. Will try and copy a picture.

 

Dancing tulips are so happy,

But .iers think their crappy,

They send the eye’s into a spin,

When .iers are logging in,

We shout, we rant and all give out,

Now the team have sorted it out,

It took some talk it took some din,

But .iers just would’nt give in,

Without .iers where would you be?,

Remember team we love our site,

That’s the reason we give out,

We too are one strong team,

we learn so much, it’s our dream,

We’re all friend’s, we help each other,

With advice and tip’s there is NO OTHER!

We’ve seen the flowers swaying to and fro,

BUT dancing tulip’s NO!NO!NO!

Thank you for listening, your a honey,

We all know you need the money,

BUT .iers had to shout ……

DANCING TULIPS OUT! OUT! OUT!

Item image

Photo of Diamond head taken from web.

Hi  All

Hope the gardening is starting to go well for you all…….

Am so looking forward to getting out  ‘there’ again and getting the growing season started….

We’ve had a very mild winter in the East so not such  long wait for soil warm up this year…. we are also thinking of getting a green house…… would be great to start things off from seeds…

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 Look forward to putting up lots of photos later and of seeing yours….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big box of plants arrived from Future Forests while we were in Ennis, and I also bought some ferns and candelabra primroses for the bog garden. The garden centre owners seemed embarrassed to be selling scrappy-looking plants at full price so I got some 2-for-one and 75%off bargains, and they’ll come on as soon as the weather cheers up. So we had a happy, muddy hour planting, or rather sinking, plants in the pond and around the margins.

Alan’s turned the new compost heap, and we still have some of the old one left. It’ll soon disappear into the new poly! Glad we started the heaps as soon as we moved in, it’s been great to have it for setting in the trees. Miserable damp afternoon but perfect for planting water-margin plants and compost.

As a recent convert to Hellebore I have been very lucky to get pressies of seedlings from friends. These have arrived in pots and I will just grow them on for another few months before planting them in their  chosen place so no problem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have written this already =so excuse short re-write.

Got pressies of Hellebore seedlings in pots from kind friends. No problem will wait a few months and plant them in their final destination.

BUT to day I visited another friend who has seedlings growing all over her driveway. I took home about 20. Some were very small but others had good little root systems. It  is too late in the day to pot them so I planted them all in a very nice place sort of seed bed; they will not be staying there.  I gather they should not be moved( but will have to be) so how long can I leave them in the seed bed , hopefully until the end of Summer but please tell me if I should dig them up and pot them tomorrow. Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is the chances of getting a half an hour uninterrupted to enjoy Monty and gang??

that half hour flew tonight watching gardeners world, very enjoyable. during the week i happened to be in the kitchen doing dinner when how to create a garden came on, on RTE one, its a repeat of last years, didnt see it then, in my opinion it was the worst excuss for a gardening program i have ever seen i nearly threw the remote at the tv, instead turned it over. is it just me that thinks that or am i the only one that finds this program almost offensive to watch, they say that toby made gardeners world too simple, he was watchable. i am now watching the nations favourite blooms on blighty. hoping to see old gardeners world on it soon 

today after being working flat out all week i went into the greenhouse to find i have about 15 new lillies from the bulblets i planted last year, great news.

hi all anyone going today or tomorrow? only im working i would, i have 2 essays to do today and a trip with the children to the zoo tomorrow. i hope you all enjoy it, p.s. let me know if you seen anything nice……

I’ve just uploaded some pics of the woodland I put in over the past year.  For some reason the "from" pics are resizing very small.  You will get a better reminder if you click into "my future woodland" album from last march.

I just love the fresh lime green leaf on the dogwood at this time of year. 

My first tulip opened today! It is a deep red and I’m loving it.   Nice day for the garden – enjoy.

Thank you LadyG for all the seedlings you gave me and the Crocosmia too, I have planted the two hegdes, along the West-facing wall I planted the Crocosmia in regular intervals and then outside that again I planted all the Oxalis Deppei bulbs – 40 in total. Along the East-facing wall I planted Aganpanthus Africanus Albus which I divided up (8 in all) from a crown of one I had growing in another part of the garden, the flower colour is white so I’m thinking I’ll plant the yellow Allium Moly in front of those for contrast, both beds have been top-layered with the heavier bark mulch which already looks great against the vivid green of the Laurel seedlings. 40 bulbs done, 207 to go!!

 Later y’all……….

that a garden is wonderful, lovely etc . Sometimes one is disappointed and occasionally a garden is even better than anticipated. This is so in respect of a certain Waterford garden which Hosta,( Margaret), and I visited today. Paddy and Mary’s garden surpassed my expectations, and they were high! All aspects seemed perfect to me, the red brick edging of the lawns, a vegetable area where any veggie would be proud to grow and as for the compost area , well words fail me, you could move in and live there!  Yes there were plants too. What plants , Hellebores to the fore and one in particular a metallic blue one that is top of my must have list. I loved the way Primulas were grown in groups to make an impact, and could see how great the Snowdrops must have looked a few weeks ago.  Two big Birches stood guard in front of the house looking particularily well from the top of the garden. Look, I could go on for ages telling about all the plants and wonderful trees and shrubs!! Then as another visitor mentioned recently, you admire a plant and Paddy appears with a fork and digs up a piece for you, yes that is why we came home with two bags each of treasures.

But there is another Waterford garden we visited…this one fills me with awe for different reasons. We went to Ladygardener (Anne’s )garden too..This is a 2 acre site where Anne is making a garden. The work she is doing is amazing  . .She has many large beds in which planting has started and these are BIG beds. There are lovely wooded areas and of course the Pond which is truely a wonderful asset and will be even better when the wildlife moves in. I look forward to seeing Anne’s garden develop and don my hat to her for her achievements so far.

So sincere thanks to Mary, Paddy, Anne, Casper, Kimmy and Hunter for the welcome and hospitality. It was great to be travelling with Margaret and not just because she brings sweeties!

2012 March Report:

Seed Trays for early Peas, Broad Beans, Caulies, Leeks & Sprouts are in place and some have began to germinate (Indoors of course);

Greenhouse Project nearing completion, hoping to have Beds in by St. Patrick’s weekend;

Second Earlies for my Potatos are chitting away nicely, might get them in the ground by the 19th. 

2012 February Report:

All the raw materials to begin construction of Timber framed Greenhiouse and shed have been sourced and most even bought and on-site, so busy few weeks ahead sawing and hammering, some on the ground site prep to be done also. 

Most of my seeds have been purchased for season ahead and next time on my mind is my garden growing plan for season ahead.

2012 January Report:

Spent a very productive day in the garden on Saturday, repaired my storm flattened Post & rail and reinforced that which didn’t fall;

Dug over last seasons Onion, Sprouts, and Pea/Mange Tout Beds and covered with seaweed gather from the seashore down the road at Pigeon Point.

Did some general weeding around Strawberry and Raspberry Beds and mixed in some seaweed around the Canes and Corns, first time to use the local resouce of seaweed so expecting some positive results in 2012;

I have a second Strawberry and Raspberry bed coming on stream this year so 60 pots will hopefully break the 100 mark in 2012, we really love jam in our house and so do the visitors.

Storms ripped the cover off my Tunnel again this December so I think I am going to make a big investment in 2012 – a Greenhouse, researching Options and Costs at the moment, would appreciate any advice, the site is very exposed to the strong westerlies and that is my big obstacle.

My New Zealand Box Compost system should be presenting its first payload this spring so expecting monster veg in 2012.

Believe it or not some of my Rhubarb is already 2-3 inches tall and I actuall found some unripened strawberries too, the climate is very confused compared to this time 12months ago when you counldn’t even get a spade in the ground.

My Beech Hedge around the site is maturing nicely but still not heigh enough to give the required amonut of wind protection the site needs.

It is very much a work in progress and I know I’m very guilty of trying to do too much rather than concentrating on reliables but sure that’s half the fun and enjoyment that I and my two girls (4 & 6yrs) get out of it and of course Mammy just loves making jam, isn’t that right Boo!

In the process of updating my garden profile.

My multi-purpose compost got wet in its bag in the shed during the winter. Does anyone know please if I dry it out, would it be safe to use it to sow seeds or is it likely to contain diseases due to its high moisture content?

Thanks.

No, it has nothing to do with a programme on TV! In fact I never watch it or any of the soaps that take up so much time when we might prefer a programme on gardening. What I have in mind is that I did a bit of gardening in my own place and in the Hurling Club to day. Before lunch, I went to the Hurling Club and I have to confess that I had done nothing there this year until to day. While I had pruned the roses in my own garden as early as January and sprayed them last week, the pruning at the Club had not been done until to day. That bit of work was very easy as there are only a few roses there. After that I pruned the Hydrangea and disposed of the mop heads. A few more jobs are waiting to be done as there is one flower bed which is infested with weeds. A bit of digging is necessary here. Another flower bed with heather in bloom, a Yucca and Snow in Summer, is looking good while the daffodils which I planted in the Autumn are looking great. They are in rectangular flower pots outside the windows. Unfortunately I did not bring the camera but probably will take some pictures to morrow. It was now coming up to lunch time so back home with me. In the afternoon, parsnips were sown in a bed I had prepared last week. I had some more seed packets but decided to wait until to morrow as the beds prepared will be in better condition.  An other bit of ground was dug. I had a look at the lawn and feel that I have the energy to do the mowing this week. Thank God the health and energy are improving and am rearly as well now as I was in Johnstown in January when I wore that famous hat. The seeds are germinating by the new time and I hope to have tomatoes for the Country Market on Friday. The only other thing I did to day was to read about Cork’s win over Dublin, a game I saw on TV yesterday. While I was naturally shouting for Cork, I think Dublin were a bit unlucky not to have beaten the Rebels. Kilkenny can watch out when Jimmy Barry Murphy’s men are at their best this Summer.

spent most of the day in the tunnel potting on. got alot done plus more seeds sown. potted on tomatoes money maker and gardeners delight, melon, cucumber, parsley,corriander,sage, lemon balm, cabbages, brocolli, cauliflowers,pelargonium,and lobelia plug plants that i had got, brussel sprouts and lettuce, primula denticualta that i had sown months ago and also aquilegia. i also got beetroot,cabbages,cauliflowers, brocolli spring onion and more lettuce sown as some friends and relatives want some. couldnt have been happier out there planting away. after dinner i took a break from sowing and started trying to cut back and clearing some beds, took away the bulky stuff and fought and won the battle with a rugosa rose. alot to be done tiding wise but its a start,

time to relax with a mug of hot choclate and a garden mag

tomorrow is another day 

John Deere is flashing his lights at me!! Almost as bad as the Dancing Tulips cos you sort of wait for the next flash.

Today i was out in the garden as it was such a lovely mild day i got stuck in and planted all the plants i was so kindly given by you all in johnstown  at long last they are down , some others i potted up in large pot’s, i also put down Echinacea,Dahlia Quartz mix,Freesia mix,Nerine Boedenii, Allium purple sensation, Hollyhock aleca mixed, Dahlia decorative duet, Allium molly, Oxalis Deppei,  Sparaxis mix, Brodiaea queen fabiola,  Ismene Festalis, Dahlia Unwin mix,  Liatris Spicata, Phlox  paniculata david, Aster novi-belgii, Erygium planum,  Gypsophila,  and  Tricyrtis  i planted quite a lot in the large garden where i dug a few months ago it’s not a very big area but it’s a start in the large garden, in the front i put down big daisies and some other plants i dont know the name of until they flower my lillies are really coming up at the moment as  are the aqualeiga  i think i’ll move them as they are taking over the bed where they are and put them out in the large area my climbers are flying up my arch so i’m looking forward to seeing that covered when the time comes, tomorrow i have roses to go down and climbing roses to go around the door and the arch. I have a lot of pots to plant up as well so the next few days will be busy busy busy as we all will be in our gardens from now on, HAPPY GARDENING EVERYONE