Month: June 2012

Having looked at AndyF7’s journal about yellow lupins I decided to take a photo of my Lupin "gallery white" which is a strong plant and if deadheaded it flowers obligingly all Summer.

Greenhouse border is producing some nice hot colours. This Hemerocallis opened up fully today, and looks very nice beside Rachels Anthemis, and Trollius.

I looked up the definition of Copse and it’s a thicket of underwood and small trees; the underwood of a wood or forest. Technically this may be true of what I used to call my little copse of trees as there was a lot of sallies growing among the birches, alders, ash (both mountain & common) sycamore and pine. However, I got all the underbrush removed including the roots; brought in top soil and seeded the place. Now I have a Grove!! Again, I looked up its meaning which is a small wood or group of trees for providing shade, forming avenues, etc.
To my surprise, my helper found these great slabs of sandstone lying around and added a Stonehenge effect. Very often its best to allow the creativity of someone else run wild on your garden and create a brand new look.

Very clean look now that the ground has been cleared and seeded.

Not the same bit that was blue and then pink. This was actually more or less planned. I decided to put the yellow and orange Viola from a mixed lot together and then put the Coreopsis there to keep them company. The Wallflower and nasturtium more or less did their own thing.

Bought this in a ‘dry pack’ in Dealz (a new shop open nationwide where everything is €1.49) a few months ago. Yesterday it wasn’t looking too spectacular. But today it opened FULLY, revealing a flower very much like Tradescantia ‘Blue ‘n Gold (Sweet Kate). Love its colour. Will try to hold on to this over winter.

This bush Rose is about 7 feet high. Some may think that it was not pruned this year. If you think so you are mistaken.

Tomorrow I’ll have to get cracking on the garden – edging, moweing etc.

But for the moment, I’m pleased with this 🙂

For my final June photos…

Douentza, June 2012

Well, it wasn’t exactly what one would expect from the last day of June but then our expectations have been lowered somewhat which made today a "good" day in the garden. Some rain in the morning, followed by dull dry weather, followed by very breezy weather and then more mizzly rain. It was dry for the most part which is something to be grateful for.

I spent most of the day on the veg – which I have been ignoring of late  – fed the tomatoes and peppers and weeded the roots, the onions, the brassicas. Also planted out some more beetroot and sowed more carrots.

Then I turned my attention to the patio which is as usual full of weeds between the cracks. The patio is local slate laid in a "crazy paving" pattern as I couldn’t afford cut stone. I have found that the cracks between the paving have increased over the years and attract moss and weeds. I don’t know if there is a solution to this – with the wet summers the weeds are hard to control so it is a matter of getting down on hands and knees with some weeding tools. I have used a weed burner in the past but the wind put paid to that as well as the idea of spraying with glyphosate. I only got a small bit done but it is a start. The trouble is that weeding takes away some of the mortar which makes a bigger gap, which means more weeds….AAAAAAAAGH.

This finally got planted into the front garden on Wednesday. Thanks, Dick.

My sister-in-law, Mary…R.I.P now since yesterday 🙁  gave me a present of the original plant last summer. It was a beautiful boisterous plant, and I took many cuttings from it in the hope that at least 1 or 2 would take. Did I ever believe that so many slips would grow….no ! But all slips did grow and now they are all over our garden…you all know that I am more of a veggie freak, but these have amazed me !!

And stealing my peas and eating the pods too, will make me laugh for years to come too!

Thanks, Mary, you will always be here in Carrigrohane. Rest Easy Now 🙂 

I think this is going to be the only Peony flower I will have this year as all the others were either broken by the recent wind or rotted due to excess rain.  But this one opened today and I’m glad it survived the weather.

This is one of the roses.

Got this during a talk by John Lord of Ratoath Garden Centre last year. Looking tops today!

This is where Rita is already and Mary is getting ready to join her sister here!

You may have noticed the beautiful hardy ginger in the Coolaught photos I recently uploaded. That one is called ‘Wisley Amethyst’ and is just amazing.

But the one I had on my wish list for absolutely ages was ‘Red Gurkha’.

And, can you believe it, Elizabeth saw it in my Wish List Album last autumn and when she was going to buy plants at a talk in Cork, with a UK seller, she saw that they had ‘Red Gurkha’ for sale in their catalogue and offered to buy it for me. Such incredible thoughtfulness and kindness!

I gladly took Elizabeth up on her offer and she bought the plant and sent the it back to me via Jimi Blake who was also at said event.

Well, I received a pot of compost that autumn and it really took a leap of imagination to believe that this plant was in there.

And look! Whaddya know! Here it comes.

Thanks a million times, Elizabeth, and sorry for all the trouble I caused you. I feel quite guilty now 🙂