Month: September 2012

Our first lot of Autumn/Winter bedding usually starts with 6packs of what are known as Yodder Chrysanthemums. And I hate them with a passion. They deteriorate so quickly once they come in. They don’t sell quickly enough and then we’re left to reduce, reduce, reduce, until they are looking rightly ‘shoddy’. I hate them. 

However, last year I was asked to plant some up in the raised gravel area in the garden centre for display purposes, and to promote sales of same. I usually advise customers that they will put on maybe twice their height at the most, after planting out. I left these ones in the ground over the winter, expecting to replace them when they started to go over. That didn’t happen. And in fact, this year they are like a small flowering hedge, about 18 inches tall. One of the managers wanted me to replace them a few weeks ago and I refused. Today they opened up, just like I knew they would. He was looking at them today, and I knew he was silently admitting defeat. Hee hee!

Soft and billowy. Miscanthus sinensis ‘Ferner Osten’ is one of my favourite grasses.

We have replaced our unfortunate buxus with Ilex crenata ‘convexa’

Around 320 plants were used and I have to say I’m pretty pleased with the result. Not quite an instant hedge, but not too far off.

Hopefully that will be the end of our woes with box, but I have a bad feeling about the other few specimens on the estate.

There are great happenings taking place at Ash Cottage.  It all started during the ‘’’Summer’’’when mention of my problems with getting rid of garden material was mentioned to Tony C .  A compost bin says he and spots a good position where it could be placed. Now this was not to be any ordinary compost bin but a spacious three bin arrangement.  During the following weeks 14 large and very very sturdy pallets were delivered courtesy of Tony. He then went away to muse about how best to put this together. Musing over, the plan was hatched.  Next to arrive were 28 steel bars  and sundry digging and clearing implements. So what was I doing to contribute to this mammoth project? Not a lot up to yesterday when  I started to level the area where the bins will go.  Tough work but it felt good to be able to contribute to the happenings. Better still while shovelling away at the ditch to clear the brambles etc I came upon an area of  lovely soil  and remembered that some years ago a heap of sods had been dumped in this part of the ditch. So into my big plastic bag went as much soil as I could carry and several journeys later I had a good heap to add to the Woodland area. To get any soil here that has not huge stones and tree roots obstructing the digging is most difficult so this was a wind fall.  Tomorrow a chain saw is due to arrive to clear some more bushes and make way for the installation. Then when time permits building will start. Once again Tony C is giving his time and all the paraphernalia to help me. I will keep you updated on progress. Thanks Tony.

Some non-gardening matters had to be attended to this week but I did get out there on a couple of days and enjoyed tidying up and cutting back spent perennials, gave the lawn an autumn feed, harvested some rather tasteless tomatoes (as lack of sun to sweeten them), marked out part of the lawn for a new planting area, and was happy just to meander and start making plans for next year. 

Then the postman brought the spring bulbs I had ordered, so I can look forward to planting them soon; first time I’ve bought bulbs this way and they look nice and healthy.   

Have started a Sept-Oct album.  Rudbeckia goldstrum is a favourite perennial of mine, in flower since mid-July and still looking great.

Happy gardening everyone. 

Had a great day in great company at the botanical garden learning about ferns and bought a great book called ‘Rare and threatened Bryophytes of Ireland’ It is only 30 euro and is so well worth buying. 

We managed to shift another ton of soil over the cave between the two of us. But in all fairness, Steve did the bulk of it. Most of my time was spent on top of the cave compressing soil, as much as I could, and weeding what was being thrown up. I admit I get a bit bored if the work in the garden isn’t more physical. But I’m off tomorrow, and Steve isn’t!!!!

We came up against a stumbling block – more foundations of the shed that was previously in this area. Steve managed to hack away a lot of it with lump hammer. But it really needs something more powerful. Hopefully he can borrow the relevant equipment in his job.

The soil was beginning to fall down into the ‘pond’ area as soon as it was being piled on top. So I came up with the idea of wedging slates in a stepping stone fashion (previously used a couple of years ago for the ‘paved’ circle before the greenhouse pond). I knew they would come in useful at some stage. 

I apologize if these journals about the ‘cave’ seem boring.

this poor little divil was well-hidden under a mass of dying peony leaves

What a rotten day here in Dublin. It was coming down in torrents at 4.00am when I got up and it let up for a mere 3 minutes during late afternoon. All good for settling the soil on top of the cave.

Early this morning I decided to get my bookshelves ready for some winter reading, tidied the whole lot up, and discovered a book lent to me early in the year by Rachel. Ooops!  Sorry, didn’t realize that I still had it. However, it’s safe, and I hope to get more of it read tomorrow.

And as I couldn’t get out much in the garden today, I decided to bring the plants inside by resuming my oil painting. Normally I would paint landscapes, seascapes or birds, feeling that flowers and plants in oil were a bit intimidating. However, in the last couple of weeks I have decided to bite the bullet and concentrate on flowers/plants alone for a while.

In the three minutes rain-free time today, I observed how well all my geraniums have done this year despite the rotten weather. It just goes to show that they really don’t need so much pampering in blistering hot sunshine.

It is a great feeling to get to a stage when you are fine tuning in the garden.

I had a feeling an arch would look good entering Angel’s corner. So I got stuck into making  the arch yesterday. Making it went like a dream and I even got it fitted in place.

Really pleased with the result and feel it divides the are off perfectly.

A couple of tons of soil will be coming in a few weeks. This is to level out the are where the lawn will be laid next year. I want to get the soil in now to allow it settle over the winter.

It’s been a busy last couple of months for different reasons hence I haven’t been posting diaries and I had to content myself with reading other members diaries. I cut out all the dead hedge from the last few winters which was quite a job, but it was well worth it. I badly need to get a load of weeding done for the winter, but will get to that over the next few weeks. Nearly all the shrubs are in great fettle except my Daphne pontica which has dropped its leaves and is a cause for concern as Daphnes are fickle at the best of times. I have finalised my autumn Rhodo order and will give details of it in one of my upcoming Rhodo diaries. Featured in the photos is a lovely shrub called Heptacodium, which I bought a few years ago on a whim as I knew nothing about it and I am glad I did. The flowers have a delicious scent and it has peeling bark as well which is a very appealing feature. It is deciduous and well worth its place in anyones garden.

I have a few of these growing down here in Roscommon and this year they seem to have done really well. Today I picked some of the flowers and put them into a jug with Persicaria and foliage from Smoke bush …very happy with how it looks…. Spent today in the garden cutting back and tidying up ..Graham is still not able to do anything because of his injured leg so it is going to take me twice as long this year to get it all finished… 

A friend asked for a piece of my Red Hot Pokers a couple of years ago. The clump have been in the orchard as long as I can remember so by now have developed a huge root ball that now has as much on top of the ground as underneath. I told my friend he was welcome to a piece so long as he dug me off a piece too! (I knew I could never do it myself). He kindly did so and I planted it up in the red corner of the Outer Circle.

Im so pleased with how they have come on. Its not a plant for a nice neat border as the leaves can be a bit straggly and take up quite a bit of space. But where I have it, it is perfect! Its leaves are partly hidden behind other plants and the trunk of the red maple but the flower spikes grow so tall that they stand out above everything else!

Looking at Kate and Graham’s pictures I think they have the same one – dont know if they are readily available in garden centres these days?

All is fairly good on the Rhodo front with the only disappointment being the failure of R.markeetas prize which I bought earlier this year. I know Sallysarah bought one at the same time and I hope that it is doing better tahn my one has fared. I finalised my Autumn order so for those of you who are interested, here is what I have ordered. Firstly there is R.cephalanthum, which is a dwarf species with Daphne like flowers.Next is R.oreodoxa var fargesii which will be tall growing and it has the advantage of frost resistant buds as it is fairly early flowering. Then there is R.pachysanthum, which is replacing one that failed for me as I had it planted in the wrong place, R.pseudochrysanthum, R.flinckii and R.recurvoides, all of these I am buying mainly for their foliage.The last two are the species R.makinoi and the hydrid R.graziella both which have narrow leaves. When they arrive, I will put up photos when I have them planted. Shown is the hybrid R.curlew which has decided to flower again this year, it’s flowers are large considering the leaf size.

Added 20 more hyacinth bulbs to the existing 40 bulb bed. Experience has shown that slug bait is needed as soon as growth appears.

Also made a new spring bulb bed and planted:

20 tulip Fringed Elegance

20 tulip Kingsblood

20 tulip Happy Generation

20 tulip Curly Sue

20 tulip Attila

25 Chionodoxa Lucilea

25 anemone De Caen Mixed

All part of Mr. Midleton 250 super spring collection.

Thes rest are earmarked for the bank of the stream.

So i noticed on facebook recently that Mr. Middleton a shop in Dublin had got his hands on some Black Hyacinths – Dark Dimension and only had a limited stock so stright away i had to get them so ordered 3 which cost a bit more than your standard hyacinth, but absolutley delighted with my buy

As you know form a previous journal i bought a load of seeds i was gonna try. Some Primulas, Aquilegias, Helleborus Black Beauty and some of my lupin seeds. Now they are growing away fine most of them have germinated but i am wondering what to do with them in the future as in they are in my Aldi plastic greenhouse but would that be too cold for them in the winter and also i can get my hands on a metal cupboard with glass doors, would this be good as a cold frame and would i need to insulate the inside of it?

This is a polypodium that I found growing on a wall of an old falling down cottage. I brought it home some fifteen years ago and it has grown happily in our garden ever since

This pic would not go up on the last entry. This is what you see when you raise the fronds, some wonderful developing spores. Never say that ferns are all alike 🙂

Here she comes.

I need ID on two plants please. Both are about to flower, but due to a strange working week, I may not get a chance to photo them in daylight.

The first I’m 99.9% sure came from Myrtle and will be white, the other looks like it’s going to be yellow.

Thanks as always.