Month: May 2013

Does anyone know what the correct name of this plant is – I call it ” green Heuchera ” as that is what it reminds me of – it has put on a really lovely display in the garden this year and it self seeds everywhere. I gave a lot of this away in Johnstown and I got one  from Jurga (thought  I was getting something else so maybe Jurga has the correct name ). I also have it with slightly more purple leaves and the flowers have a hint of red on the rims – so pretty

Green Heuchera - correct name ?

Fran was looking for Orange Flowers the other day – I took a few pictures in the garden yesterday in the sunshine and have picked out the orange ones – I have Moya to thank for the lovely double poppy and of course the Orange Geum has featured in lots of journals recently – Calendula Orange King is another great orange plant that gives a great Zing all Summer in the garden really easy from seed

Double poppy from MoyaOrange Poppy
Geum

Here is the difference of what the supergarden winners garden looked like compared to the Bloom version as a lot of people are talking about this since bloom. MYself i tought there was quite a lot of changes and not tweaks as i tought what happens to these gardens. The boards covering the hedges went from what they called headboards to what i think look like headstones now and table and chairs changed which was there originally and planters by the main seat gone and a few other small things. As others are saying should it not have been shown the way they won and not changed. I still think the garden is nice but defeats the purpose of the show in a way and anyway after all the changes i think they just got a silver medal

SupergardenBloom

Clare (Clara) treated me to a lovely day out at Bloom yesterday.  We were a while getting there, as the sunshine brought out the crowds, and we felt so sorry for all the people queuing for the shuttle bus from Heuston Station.

It was lovely to meander round the show gardens in glorious weather.  We met Fran briefly, then Jurgita, Violeta and Liga and we all minded each other’s purchases while a few more trips were made to the plant creche or into the marquee for “just a last look round” πŸ™‚  Sorry to have missed the other .iers who were there and hope to see you at another event soon.

Clare charmed our way into the delightful garden designed by Erika (erikalovesiris on this site) for Cystic Fibrosis.  It was lovely to meet her and learn at first hand some of the challenges of creating a garden for Bloom.

For the perfect end to the day, Jurgita and I savoured a cuppa back at home with Clare and Greg and a chance to see her beautiful garden again, which is bursting with gorgeous plants so artfully displayed.   Home tired but very happy; thanks Clare for a great day in wonderful company.  I’ll post a Bloom album over the weekend.


The joys of summer all before us and all that hard work through the winter paying off.


 He and Mrs. S. have just come back from Bloom. It was a spur of the moment decision and we went up today and it was our first time ever. We went by train and shuttle bus and found that extremely satisfactory.

First into the big marquee and immediately Scrubber’s soul almost departed his body. He had NEVER EVER seen anything like it! There were fabulous displays of wonderful plants EVERYWHERE. Peonies that one would die for, Primula Sieboldii in all shades, Epimediums, Roses, even Gladioli at this time of year, and the ferns!!! And stand after stand left him gawping and grinning and oohing and aahing. The way the plants were set out, the quality and the variety and the artistry. And his appreciation and astonishment was shared by someone who says she does not know a daisy from a dandelion! We went our separate ways then and toured as much as we could and took in the craft village where a very dear friend was exhibitng her wonderful blown glass beads. ‘Cadenza’ (google it Ladies, and tell me is my friend not a wonderful artist and there are also fabulous  black cufflinks for the men ,each with a teeny tiny gold dragonfly contained in the jet black glass). This was a complete surprise for me as we had not met for two years,  and such a pleasant one.

On again and I visited as many stalls as I could get around to. I was very taken with some majestic Eremurus flowers, I think from Devine Nursery and I may yet order some from them for next year,

We lunched in the Bistro Tent and it was fine-good plain cooking and then we again separated and did the show gardens. They were very interesting to look at. Wild flowers and weeds and lychnis, especially the white one and grasses seem to be very in. We were neither of us bowled over by any particular garden. You could see and appreciate the great skills involved but I felt none had that heart-stopping shock of beauty that says ‘This is the real thing’. I was far more struck by the exhibits in the marquee. I did love the fairy garden as I thought it was very restrained and all the more magical. I didn’t think the crashed space ship although imaginative, fulfilled its brief as it hardly showed the ‘invasive plants’. The little Woodie gardens were well executed and suited their purpose. I really think the postcard gardens are too small to be any way effective-if they were doubled perhaps? But I so enjoyed seeing all the obvious talent and ability on view.

Purchases. I surprised meself. Id have liked to buy the eremurus but they were 50Euro for six roots to be sent on in Autumn so I may yet do that. There was a lovely peony Claire de lune but I felt I wouldn’t get it safely out the door! So over to Shady Plants. I do believe Headgardener had been there ten minutes before-sorry I missed him- and got me two painted ferns, a ruby red Spikemoss, a polypodium, a beautiful Ghost lady fern and a rosy red buckler fern-all here beside me as I write. Then back to the bus and on to the train and home. And here’s the sin!

In the beautiful calm evening Scrubber descended into the Scrub and walked around his own green kingdom and thought ‘Do you know it’s as beautiful as anything up there in Dublin and at times more so!’ And Cherub , who was sitting on a rock behind me said quietly. ‘That is because you love it so much Mr. Scrubber ‘ and we both agreed that must be what it was and perhaps it wasn’t such a big sin after all!

I just like this.Fresh ferns unfurling.
Statue Scrubber in the evening light.

One Wedensday morning I went down the garden and there were 4 heads of my lovely poppy ,so I took them up and put them into a little glass each and this morning I came down a little late to the kitchen as the Sun was shining in the kitchen window and one had burst open , A bird or something must have hit them.

This geum is really great but not sure if it is Mrs Bradshaw, if anyone knows please put me right πŸ™‚

My first two blooms came out on this poppy today, lots more to come πŸ™‚


This year my Oriental Poppies are magnificent and one of them has produced about two dozen flower heads or more, some have finished flowering and are now developing seed heads others are in full bloom  while more are pushing rounded heads towards the sky before flowering. I only have two colours, pale pink and deep orange. The deep orange ones are my favourites. Checking on them today I saw that the outdoor poppies are larger than the ones growing in the greenhouse. I presume that is because there is more sustenance in the soil outside the greenhouse. I do not use fertiliser so I think that the soil in the greenhouse is probably worn out feeding the poppies and other plants I have growing in there. 

I notice from some of the photos that the ‘headboards’were replaced by ‘headstones’!!!

What fabulous weather for the first day of Bloom! Lots to see – the show gardens provided plenty of contrasts from the funky 1970s Retro Garden to the African inspired Concern Garden, the elegance of the Giardino della Mostra to the 3 dimensional wizardry of the Cranberry Garden.

Lots more photos of the gardens and the people who visited them yesterday by visiting :

www.jardindesign.org

 

 

I’ve always had a passion for tulips – they may be transient but the colour ranges are superb. I recently visited the Floralia festival, just outside Brussels, where a million bulbs are planted in the beautiful setting of an old castle with moat. Really recommend it! Check out the photos in the album.

 

Well my 1st timae at Bloom yesterday and it didn’t dissapoint. We headed out there for 10 o clock yesterday morning and had just the best weather. After half an hour or so stuck in traffic just to get parking we were there and headin off inside and it was a lot bigger than i tought it would be. We just started walking towards some nurseries and stands and tents just didn’t know where to start so we decided to go to the show gardens. The show gardens were amazing took some very good ideas from some and plant combinations. I tought one of the woodies gardens was one of my favourite, it was nicely laid out and still pleny of plants. Then as we were going around we saw the wizard of Oz garden and who did we seeing following the yellow brick road>>>Yes it was The President Michael D with the main judge from super garden. Went around to all the stands, nurseries, food tasting etc and then onto the floral marquee i think it was called and they had such wonderful displays in there. Of course then i got down to the plants for sale and i got myself a nice few which i wil have to get names but all in all very happy with bloom and the weather and the plants, couldn’t have asked for more really. Unfortunately i didn’t see any other .iers but hoped anyway that went enjoyed it.

I have a Bloom 2013 album up

follow the yellow brick roadWoodies garden one of my favourites

Hosta ‘Orange Marmalade’ was spotted yesterday.

Got distracted and forgot to see if it was for sale.

Nice one.

Hosta 'orange marmalade'Hosta 'orange marmalade'

I hadfor had to buy a new sprayer yesterday as the old one cracked at the base.I also needed Roseclear as I notice some black spot here and there.I tried Lydl,Woodies and Dunneno with no success.However Woodies offered me a container of Roseclear in a container about the size of window cleaning liquid and a spray thing on top at €6.99.as it is already diluted it would probably do one spraying session.I googled ‘rose spraying And came up with a homemade receipe which I,m going to try:

1. Gallon of water

1 tbsp. baking soda

1tbsp veg.oil

1tbsp washing up lliquid use this one a week

I,m going to add garlic infused in the water also.

Its definitely a cheaper alternative to the Roseclear.

They keep showing me things I can’t afford! I really want one of those lovely “Pods” – the perfect seating area for my windy garden! It even swivels around so you can always face it away from the wind!  Unfortunately I didn’t have the winning ticket for that big Lotto so it will have to remain a dream!

The other problem was when we went to have our annual “posh lunch” in the Bistro they had decided not to serve wine by the glass this year – this was a MAJOR problem because Terry likes white and I like red! However we badgered them so much that they went into the other section and got us a couple of glasses of Prosecco which was probably more suited to the sunny day πŸ™‚

My dream Pod

arrived at mid day due to other commitments, but its the only chance im going to get. the traffic was slow to say the least, as it was single entry bridge in the red car park, it was 2 last year. the place was buzzing even at that stage and very hot in the crowds. it was the usual lay out in the plant tented area’s, and the usual ones outside along the food area, the gardens were interesting and was glad that the garden i liked won the woodies contest. i had to go at 3, but i enjoyed the experience, when you enjoy any type gardens and plants, and the sun is beaming. its all good :-).

follow the yellow brick road.

When last you heard from Scrubber he had been promised a lot of stones. That was on Sunday evening. Up early on Monday morning and in he went to check. The ‘stones’ are mostly cut granite!!! Most are too big to take in his car but he picked out some smaller ones and staggered across to the boot! Then made another run and another… There were also a lot of concrete blocks for which an idea struck him so they went as well. Very busy man buzzing up and back down the road! The bigger ones are to come in a bucket on a tractor! There’s about five of those.

Now in the 25th of May journal he explained how he had put steps into both banks so that ‘when old’ he could strim more easily. (Actually the running up and down said steps hundreds of times in their making has aged Scrubber’s legs considerably!) Anyway the steps had to be done again as I had better stones and there was one section of the bank that was broken down. The rubble went in there and was topped with clay and I hope when grass grows again it will look natural. The important thing is it gives him a firm level and even footing. That was the lower bank.

Next day more runs with the car. Then more work on steps. Then the filling in of a big gap in the upper bank with rubble.  Then the digging out of the top of Elizabeth’s corner and the putting in of a lining of concrete rubble and then recovering of same with earth. This will have all the horizontal lines of the banks on a level and of course as they lead on to Elizabeth’s corner , that was the most important bit of work completed. Oh and in the showers which were scarce but heavy ,Scrubber tidied up the garage!

On Wednesday hewas invited to view a garden near here and it was superb. A wonderful expanse of well -maintained lawn set off by lovely planting and generous curves. Some wonderful stone walls  and a carlow fence effect that fitted in perfectly. Elegant, graceful, stylish yet never precious. It’s a complete contrast to Scrubber’s haphazard  garden but one with which he could immediately identify and appreciate.

After that he just had time to set up the little stile steps that started the new hunt for stones and also another set on the other side of the wall. These he cemented (in a rush as he had to go off) just enough to hold them in place and tonight when he got back he brushed off the surplus cement and dug a hole and set one more stone in (in his GOOD CLOTHES!)

So now after a hectic few days there is a new area in the garden called ‘The Banks’ and NAMA is not getting them! And they have nice rough handy stone steps and when the grass regrows they will be very impressive and tie in with Elizabeth’s corner and most important, look as though they have always been there! And NOW Scrubber can get back to weeding all the beds and looking after the veg and being a very proper gardener like you know who! (There are so many of them!)

 

These are the BanksThis is how the rubble fills look
This is a shot from further back

To day was great., ideal for gardening. I would say that it was not quite as warm here to day as yesterday. Temperature was good but sky was not as clear. I planted out 45 Pelargoniums. Many of them are quite big after last year.About the same number are left and I will find a place for them. The third Rose bed was edged and now all three beds look good. The spraying of the grass and weeds near the roses is now showing up. Edging was done to beds where the Pelargoniums were planted. You may ask about the Secret Garden. It was an area I tackled during the first week in October last year. I’m not sure if any of the iers who called saw it. For years, the area was neglected. It entailed pruning away blackthorns and other types of woody plant that grew up over the years. The first bit of work being done (pruning) was followed by digging part of it and then planting Daffodils which gave a great display during the spring. This was followed by planting hardy perennials like Geraniums and Geums. There was a lot of dead wood there during the winter and spring and to day, this lot of wood was moved a bit to make room for more plants. When this secret Garden is complete, I will be pleased and I will show a photo of it. By the time I was finished, it was time to look at Super Garden. I noticed that one entry was not included in what I had seen early in the series. That entry was in my opinion the best and was the winner. I was looking at the Irish Garden a few days ago and one entry referred to getting rid of flower pots. I thought that this was strange. For years it was a case of acquiring same, as flower pots tend to go either when I give away or sell plants. Fortunately over the last few years people have given me pots and it saves me quite a lot on same. Sorry no photos to day. I don’t think I will travel to Bloom. I get too much pleasure working on my own garden and it is a one man job.

Martin & I just gave a whelp of delight as we watched Super Garden on RTE player. We thought Lisa’s garden was by far the best and she well deserved the win. I’m not going to Bloom this year so I will have to rely on photos to see the interpretation  that Bloom put on it. What did everyone else think? Who was your favourite?

Here it’s called “Honesty”, and in France “Monnaie du Pape” (i.e. Pope’s money)!

I sowed it last year and only got flowers this year, and really like it, but have a question : now that it is in the garden, is it going to self-sow or do I need to sow some more if I want it next year?

 


Yes I made a list for Bloom, 

but somehow,

I ended up making a list at Bloom as well ;-))

Fantastic day, could not have asked for better.

Met Jurgita, Violeta, Liga, Clare and Joan. Short chats with all.

I will desist from passing judement on the gardens at this early stage as so many have stiil to get to Bloom.

Really pleased with the take home bounty,

Lamiun orvala,   Potantilla megalantha,  Trillium recurvatum,

Saxifraga rufescens,  Iris ‘Kilmurray Black’,  Fuchsia Lady Boothby,

and Convolvulus ‘White Sensation’.

Had to laugh, while talking to Violeta and Jurgita I nearly lost out on getting the Iris ‘Kilmurray Black’. I looked at the stall and there was about five plants, two minutes later there was two and I got the last one  ;-))

Great to meet you all, short and all as it was.

Iris Kilmurray BlackPotentilla megalantha
Lamium orvala

Yesterday saw the opening of my first poppy. Where the size of the blooms really impressed me, I wasn’t over-enamoured with its dirty pink colour. 

However, today was a different story. Another one opened. I prefer this colour as its a bit stronger. I like strong colours, as you will have gathered. I do have a gorgeous red one yet to open. But I will be patient!!!!!


Snapped this little guy having lunch on a cornflower in the garden   πŸ™‚

Hoverfly on cornflower.