Month: May 2013
There it is, all open now!
This one could grow on me!
Could anyone help me with my not very healthy looking Aeonium. The outside leaves have gone soft and shrivelled while the centre of the rosette is fairly healthy looking. Could it be not enough water? what could I feed it ?
Well as you know Im minding my grandchildren…so thats a full time job in itself…
But the weather has been very nice these past few days, so much so, we have had our lunch/picnic out in the garden twice this week!!!…so the children were delighted.
When the little one goes for her afternoon nap, I take the eldest girl, Cara, out to the garden and we have been having a ball.
Ive been showing her how to plant out some bulbs and some little plants…and she is obsessed with watering what child isnt !
As I cant get much done with the children, Ive had to wait until they are gone home, about 4pm….to get out and do anything, so today I did little bit.
I took a chance and planted out three Dahlia’s that Ive grown in the greenhouse. They are fairly big now so they should be ok…..
I also planted out some Sweet Pea that Ive had growing in the greenhouse too from seed……
Ive noticed at the back of the greenhouse and the wall beside it what looks like SWEETPEA!!!!….I do remember last year when we viewed the house that there was Sweet Pea growing through some of the shrubbery at this side of the house, but to be honest Id forgotten about it…..and the other day I pulled what I thought was weeds….but on closer inspection I see that it could be Sweet Pea….so Ive put up some trellis as its all intertwined in itself and see what produces.
I can see a real growth spurt in the garden and its lovely to go out about 9pm and have a wander around….I love that time of the evening and the smell in the air.
I hope that after the rain is gone we have a great Bank Holiday Weekend…..and lots of gardening…..IM SOOOOOOOOOOOOO looking forward to that ! 🙂
Unfortunately Ive no photos as my own laptop is broken :(….have it with the shop hoping they might be able to do something with it, and the iPad doesnt upload……I will be gutted if its kaput!!!
My cousin’s garden has been infested with these little blighters for the last couple of years.
Has anyone else had any experience with them. Any ideas on how to get rid? Have they damaged your veg? Anything?
I am very pleased with the way the grass has advanced in the lawn. This is the third mowing. Weeds and moss are not showing up much, as I gave plenty of nitrogen to the system. The lawn was ready yesterday one week after the second mowing. However I was not ready then but was to day and the lawn looks good after mowing 3. Over the last few days, some edging was done on the rose beds, roses were sprayed with Nimrod. That should keep down the black spot. To day. I sprayed grass and weeds with Hytrol, same composition as Roundup. The tomato plants have made great progress and would you believe, some of the grapes are ripe. I sampled them over the last few days, how unusual.
Aubretia and gold dust re-seed everywhere in my garden. Just love this area at this time of year!!
Last Sunday I met up with my friend at the Castlebar car boot sale. Bought these luscious Primula auriculas – 3 for 10 euros and they were in big pots. I’m so pleased with them, especially the purple/black one. Buds ‘n’ Blooms are hardy perennial growers from Co. Roscommon. Looking at their card, they don’t appear to be on the internet. They come to Castlebar car boot sale and also to Westport. They are in Ballaghaderreen every Friday – this info for people in the West of Ireland. From another stall I bought a good size Pelagonium with buds on – I was told it is white with lilac edging – that cost 1 euro. They also had Primo cabbage plants (10 in a pot) for 1 euro!!!!
My favourite of all the Kennedy Primroses opened yesterday. Isn’t it a little dote!
So today I finally bit the bullet on planting out some sweet pea, four pots in all and look what I found in each of them……..bear in mind there are 3 plants in each pot. Really strong healthy looking roots indeed looks like they’ve been looking for a way out for a the past while.
Jurgita gave me this nice low growing euphorbia last year and it has come into flower now. Does anyone have a name for it please? It’s about 8 inches / 20 cms high at most.
Thanks Jurgita, it looks lovely in my garden.
I bought this last year as it was just going over, so I never got to see it at it’s best.
Really pleased with it, and the fact that it’s evergreen is a bonus.
Another great day but very little time for gardening!
But I just had to take a picture of this Clematis Alpina that I have scrambling through my Albertine rose on the arch that leads to the Lower Garden. I gave Albertine rather a severe cutting back and the poor thing is struggling to put on any new growth in this cold wind, but it does mean that this “delicious little thing” (to use a phrase of Helen Dillon’s!!) is seen to best advantage.
As if fully intended Aldi run a special on Herb plants just as I’m in the market for some to plant up the Herb Spiral, tomorrow (officially), but just before 9 pm this evening I picked these up for 4.99 – Sage, Parsley, Chives, Mint, Oregano and Thyme, add to that an Echinacea from the tunnel for stock gathered so far, now I better get crackin’ with some others from seed.
I believe these are called both but either way love them and wish i had more. Anway this is the second of 3 plants i got from Johstown a few weeks back the first was Primula Black Lace and now this one is in flower, the other one is awhile away yet from flowering.
… but Camellia ‘Donation’ is strutting its stuff now.
Lovely day today for May Day. Hope everyone enjoyed it.
We’re very busy these days getting all set for re-opening this weekend. The weather has not been great, but there’s hope after the past few lovely days. Here are a few photos from the garden this week.
Got this little plant at the Johnstown get together from a member of the site, well two actually but one is in flower at the moment which i absolutley love and didn’t expect. There is a label but the writing has worn off so i don’t know the name and don’t know who gave it to me SORRY : ( but also whoever did give it to me thank you. So if anyone could think of the name i would be grateful
I am new to Silver Birch. But today I was in awe of little growths from individual branches. They looked like catkins growing ‘upwards’. Is this normal? They are sooo cute.
Scrubber had a funny day, as in curious rather than ha ha, yesterday. Anna needed two arrangements and we had got some special flowers the day before. So spent the morning doing them and they turned out very nicely. One with irises and a very frothy blue delphinium couple with some of the twigs from the tree Anne gave me-well not hers but an older one and the other using kangeroos paw! yellow roses and a white flower which looks a bit like a campanula and is very delicate but surprisingly resilient in oasis. Ill try to put up the pics.
But then in the afternoon I went down into the bottom of the scrub to find the steps of the squelchy path. They were overgrown with bog and moss and black ooze so the strimming was quite an adventure! heavy wet going and scrubber emerged looking like the Monster from the Blue Lagoon -if it were boggy and black! The funny ha ha thing was I had to bring the arrangements into town so of course had to wash change deliver and then back change and out again. Thid time I did the paths in the Scrub and revealed all the stone edgings i put in years ago-I must have been a very energetic young man!
Today I determined to take up all the daffs that were growing in the middle of paths! As my paths are earth there were lots and then I had to rehome those bulbs. Also did a lot of strimming on banks and every bone in my body is reminding me of all the bending and swaying and stooping. Did a good bit of cleaning of steps and general tidying and dont have to worry re flowers asForget me nots, primroses, bluebells, Rhodos, tulips, magnolia.are all out in masses without my lifting a finger. All I have to do is enjoy it.
Last thing I brought out my sixteen pots of dahlias from the garage and watered them. Will this be the year I successfully carried them on? Ill be watching for frost! Hope everyones garden is blooming. May for me is the adolescence of the year and the lovliest month. Full of promise.
What a gorgeous evening – my bleeding heart is finally out and the light on Dublin bay is stunning. Hope everyone is enjoying it!
And feel like a murderer. I dug up the first batch of wild Primroses and flung them over the ditch!!!There are loads more to dispose of and it won’t get easier but there is no alternative. Well I did consider Round up but could not bear to watch them die. Many of the clumps are huge , you could get at least 20 plants from one such clump. Wish there was a refuge for Primroses. There are some times when Garden decisions are really hard.
Got stuck in to digging a bit of the greenhouse border out to accommodate my Acer ribesfolium. It’s the only free space left for planting at this stage. Steve had dug a square out to plant the Magnolia last weekend, so the most sensible solution was to just continue with this flow and create a space for the acer. It has resulted in a small extension in the greenhouse border, and giving me an extra 18 inches depth of planting space, but the length is about 12 – 18 ft, which, in a small garden, is a fairly worthwhile extension.
Great day here, a bit cloudy in the morning and one or two brief showers. But once midday arrived things just got better.
Got to plant some ‘in waiting’ stuff like Caryopteris ‘Worcester Gold’ over the cave. Looking forward to violet flowers in August or thereabouts. Also Santolina, Erysimum (two types), and Hebe ‘Baby Boo’ in at the back of the shrub border.
Spent a while transplanting primroses from the shrub border, down to the end of the garden. That area is really beginning to bulk up, and looking really colourful at the moment.
Also planted a brunnera from Paddy and Mary, and it just emphasises all the different shades of blue in this particular border.
Made up two hanging baskets for His Lordship with bedding Begonias. He does love his Begonias. But these baskets are a pain in the tush!!! They have eight holes around the edges, and begonias are not the easiest to coax through the planting pockets without breaking them. Gave them a good watering in, and fed them with tomato feed to bump them up a bit. Staying in the greenhouse for a while until they start to put on a bit of growth.
It’s not quite open yet, Kristina, so I’ll try to remember to snap it again in a few days time.
I hope the plant grows some more leaves after flowering because there’s not much of it there at all.
Lucky there are no slugs about this year because I remember this plant’s leaves being murdered by slugs in Huntingbrook!
1st of May today, – nearly summer… ! (Have you seen the Spring? I didnt…)… sun shining, temperature rising, but only in the green house…
I put my Pelargonias and tender Fucsias outside today, -the sun looks promising… will see, will see…. Clematis cant wait to show off with milllions of blossoms…
It seems like only my Wisteria playing games,(and makes me mad… ) if it will not blossom again this year, Im going to dig it out! Is it something wrong I do with it, or what? Its about 6 yar old… and not one single blossom on it again! ….
Uploaded today new photo album April-May 2013, so you are welcome to visit my virtual garden… 🙂
Happy gardening to all! 🙂
