Month: October 2012

I was dying to show you all my prized acer that I got in Ratoath G.C. last year (Acer palmatum ‘Red Pygmy). Each day I have been going out after work to see if it was yet at its best. As with all acers at this time of year, every day makes such a difference. 

Today, almost all of the leaves have dropped.  🙁

But I’ll show you another nice one that’s looking great right now. And this one has lovely dark stems which are a great contrast to the green summer leaves.

We went to see the Country Life Museum when in Mayo and there is a green house with some nice plants. This was a real beauty. I think the name started with tib……… ?

Well I’ve give you 3 letters this time LOL!

Maybe Rachel has this one.

Over the last few weeks there has been a lot of comments about people not liking this time of year in the garden.
Plants dying back and looking unsightly, leaves falling and leaving trees, shrubs and plants bare. Coldness, dampness in the air, daylight reduced etc. etc.

I personally love this time of year. I tend to look at it from a totally different point of view.

No matter what the year has brought us weather wise, the garden has done it’s best to please us. Also do not forget, how our gardens have made us smile with all kinds of surprises with out of season flowering this year.

Our gardens, are going into sleep or rest mode and rightly so. We should allow and help it all the way.

But if we look very closely, we can see signs of next years hope and pleasures already waiting for us.

Today I spotted, the lovely red buds on a Mountain Ash, the buds on a Sedum waiting to burst open with new life next year, and best of all for me was the buds on a fern that will wait all winter to reveal their beauty as the new fonds unfurl in the Spring.

So as you tidy up your garden for another year, take a closer look and see what Mother Nature has in store for you in just a short few months to come.

Finally if you can, take a walk somewhere where you can walk and kick your way through a blanket of fallen crisp leaves, there really is nothing to beat it.

And remember in just 51 days, the days will be getting longer. Enjoy.

I collected a lot of the seeds of this plant today. They were nice and dry as it was growing in the tunnel.

If anyone would like some, let me know and I can keep them aside for you and bring them to Johnstown.

My order from Mr Middleton arrived yesterday, and I just about managed to plant this one today in between various Halloween preparations, costumes, make up, pumpkin soup, etc.

I’ve never had one of those in the garden so I hope it does well and that we will get lots of blueberries next year!

I also planted some garlic, but didn’t get around to looking after the Amaryllis or the tulips, it will have to wait for the week-end as I’m back to work tomorrow.

HAPPY Halloween everyone 🙂

I have never had a Christmas Cactus bloom so early, the only thing is it will be finished by then.  I repotted it two months ago and it has gone from strength to strength since!

No this was not a programme on TV back in the late 1960’s. Actually a certain teacher was doing his H Dip in Ed and one project given to the boys in the school was their favourite TV programmes. At the top of the list was The Invaders, relating to people from outerspace. This was different. It related to certain quadrapeds that had made their way from outside into my greenhouse. Naturally, I suspected one or more large rodents. It was no Mickey Mouse game but something bigger. I had a box almost full of rodent controllers, big blue rings which would eradicate the whole family as I thought. However from day to day, they were disappearing. Then I decided to get another packet but instead bought a trap, quite a strong one. Yesterday, I set it and after some time reentered the greenhouse . The trap was gone undone so I set it again. To day I entered the greenhouse. What did I see but one of the biggest rats I have ever seen. This rodent was dead. I dug a big hole and gave him/her a good buriel, covered him/her with soil and then part of a roof tile in case he/she would be exhumed. Now I am partly pleased but wait in case there is a second one. Looking at this animal one might think he/she was still alive. Note the size compared with the fork.

Luckily the frost that was forecast for last weekend came to nothing so everything is still looking relatively good in the garden, that is if I avert my eyes and ignore all the tired looking wind battered foliage.

This Dahila was very slow to start flowering as it was purchased late in the year from the reduced section.
It’s supposed to be ‘Black Narcissus’ but I’m not so sure, as it seems too purpleish in colour, where as it should be a very deep dark red.
Still it’s nice to have the spikey misshapen blooms still coming at the end of October, so I’m not complaining!

Had a little time in the garden this moring.

As soon as I went out I snapped a rainbow, luckily that was the last of the rain.

Persicaria ‘red dragon’ tends to put on a great autumn colour show and it’s not failing this year.

When we visited Sallysarah last week, she had this houseplant in bloom. I have a vague idea of the name and think it begins with H :))

We had a wonderful afternoon enjoying a lovely garden in a great setting and as usual Sally and Peter made us feel so at home, I’m hoping I can return the pleasure by them coming up to The Big Smoke and visiting my garden next year, but I cant replicate the beautiful views:)

This is what I love about orchids….

Just when the garden gives up the ghost for summer, the orchids start to flower. Putting aside Phalaeonopsis, which flower 24/7, this is my first orchid of the season to flower.

It is a Dendrobium kingianum, probably Berry ‘Oda’, and it was given to me a long time ago by my dear friend Myrtle. It is not the first time this year that this reliable and easy orchid has flowered.

But back to Phalaeonlopsis, which I do really love, but I read a quote by Christopher Lloyd just recently, which I thought applied very well to them…

We are naturally grateful (though gratitude is a terribly exhausting virtue) to those of our plants which keep on flowering, on and on and on, but is there not a kind of relief bordering on the vindictive when we can at last get at them with shears or secateurs and wipe the smirk off their silly faces?

Just some autumn impressions of my garden.

I was given this plant by a friend towards the end of august, she had grown it from seed. I planted it in the Outer Circle and was delighted to see a flower bud form but didnt think it would ever get to open this year! It may not be the perfect white swan but hopefully it will grow into one next year!

I saw this plant in Bay Garden last year and was well impressed.

Needless to say I came away with a pot of it. When I went to plant it, I was able to divide it in two. They have come on great and about to put on a great show.

Rhodochiton

If you need more leaves I could send you some packages for your next “leave competition”. It’s perfectly possible that my supply of fallen leaves contains one or two further different leaves. 😉   

This day last year I had plenty of Achilleas still in flower, plus hardy gerberas, passiflora caerulea, Mitraria coccinea and a whole host of others. Looking out at the garden this morning it has far less colour. 

I was at a course in Woodies in Tallaght this day last year, and had a browse around their garden centre. Everything was neat and tidy. There was also a  nice display of Ornamental Kale (which I hate) and Carex. Nice having it planted ‘en masse’.

This is very special Quiz.

The prize is knowing that you know your plants.

Can anyone name this plant. It has been flowering here for about 3 months.

As tomorrow is halloween myself and April decided to get pumpkins to carve. the big ones were all gone so we got 3 small ones and worked away. We will put them out at the front door tomorrow night for all the trick or treaters.

Don’t know about you but leaves are falling fast and furious in my garden at the minute.

It‘s quite cold here. The first birds are looking for feed at my bird feeders. 

I was reading Dick’s journal yesterday about him having dug up his Dahlias and stored them away till next year.

Today as I was deadheading mine, in an effort to extend the flowering for a while yet, I was thinking how the location of your garden can impact so much on your gardening year.

Unless we are struck with a heavy severe frost, I am hoping to enjoy these blooms for a few weeks yet.

The wind and rain over the weekend, knocked over this Aster (from Drumanagh). 

Most of it fell into a Kaffiir lily beside it, I think the combination works very well.

Once again mother nature knows best  ;-))

Had an hour to spare this morning and divided some of the Candelabra primula from the edge of the stream and got 11 new plants for the bank.

Picture taken with the iphone as too lazy to fetch the Canon.

The best camera one has is the one that one has with one :-; Try saying this quickly.