Month: November 2013

I love this little Geranium ‘sanguineum’ all year round. But when it is finshed flowering I love to see it change colour at this time of the year.

I have it planted in a tall planter where I think it catches the eye all the easier as I pass it by. 

I divided a plant of Aster horizentalis earlier in the year, gave a piece to Rachel and was about to ask for a small piece back as the replanted plant died for some reason.

At the weekend as I cutting and clearing back the border in the back garden I spotted this piece in full flower. Cannot remember planting it there at all, but very happy I did and to see it flowering so well.

There really is a lot to be said for the way were share plants around, you know you could always ask for a piece back if anything happened the main plant.

Tought i would start this trend off again this year as not much happening in the garden at the moment. I think Fran started this off this time last year and was great to see people’s favourite photo of the year and if i remember right quite a lot of ye shared great photos so hope the trend kicks off again. I am going with 3 this time as i couldn’t decide but each very much pleasing. the first was my shake and rake as with the great summer i had an oustanding show. The second is this daylilly i got from a .ier at johnstown that i tought on this day in the sun just looked to perfection. And the 3rd was my display of tulips which came out better than i had expected.

Hope some more of ye post the same. Enjoy.

I think Scrubber after the last few days has leaf blindness! Apart from putting in a few more callicarpa and scratching a little around a rock (I left it there!) He has been doing nothing but raking and raking and raking and dumping and dumping and dumping!

When God made leaves he made a lot of them but I am not complaining. -It would be nice to actually even do a bit of weeding for a change but better to get them while they are nice and dry and crunchy and collectible! Scrubber just stands in the middle of the pile and rakes in all around him, then goes on and makes another pile and when he has a few he lands them all into the tarpaulin and lugs them down to the bottom of the scrub to the ‘compost heap’I think the second pictures shows the two little heaps in the centre of the rest.

And the colours are sumptious! Ill try to put up a few pictures. It will take me the best part of another week to have them all collected and brought to the ‘compost heap’ which is getting higher and higher by the day!

….. why I have this lovely willow in my garden!

Hey, what do you think of the bottom drawer of my fridge?

It’s full of pleiones.

I received eight more types in the post today so the drawer is quite full now.

Any more and I’ll need my own fridge.

These new Pleione bulbs include some new varieties by a private breeder.

Roll on spring!

I was waiting for a bright day to photograph these, but it doesn’t look as if we’re going to get one. I sowed these wallflowers in June 2012, most flowered last spring 2013, all except 2, which are now covered in buds and look set to flower for weeks. Mad or what – though they’re very welcome! Tidied up this bed at the end of last week and even managed to edge it. We’re currently waiting delivery of the rest of the mixed native hedging so that will be all the hedges in. 

Had a very welcome parcel of Japanese Anemone roots from Heather (Fraoch). I’d found a couple of pink ones in the local garden centre, Heather’s are white so I’m looking forward to seeing them all coming up. What a great idea Garden.ie is!!

Pampas

I Was in Woodies during the week and Pampas was €29.99. So decided I’d pick one up at the weekend. 

Was in there yesterday and they were reduced to €15.99. So picked up two!!

Happy days…love Pampas 

I have just uploaded some photos from this beautiful garden …it was a fantastic day with the sun shining and not many people in the gardens .

The best part was a look around the shop and of course a wonderful lunch…as I was 2 hours walking and taking photos so was hungry….hope you like them.

I was at Mount Stewart gardens today which is in North Down area near Newtownards. Its a stunning large garden owned by the National Trust and well worth a visit. I have some snaps here from todays visit.

Clare I know you told me the name of this Primula and I even said it was an easy one to remember,

evidently, not as easy as I thought ;-)))))

Got the Dec 13 issue of the Irish Garden yesterday and noticed that you have 30 pages of reading, pictures, tips etc and then that same 30 pages starts over again. Now if you took one of the double copy of pages out the magazine would be quite small. Has anyone else noticed this with the issue they have purchased and will i email someone or simply return to the shop?

There are a few hardy geraniums that go wild in this garden (and probably in everyone else’s as well!) and as you know control is not my strong point.

Today I steeled myself and started pulling out great wads of Geranium phaeum and G. macrorrhizum and then I thought that maybe some friends on Garden.ie might like some of the G. phaeum album. I potted up about 7 plants, so let me know if you want any and I can bring to Johnstown or our get together this year.

I haven’t got any photos of it in my garden (I find it a bit straggly) so here’s an internet photo of it- it looks quite good in it.

Rachel gave me this plant ages ago. I felt I was keeping it in a pot for too long as it never really looked the best (after I got it of course) LOL

I only got it planted in the ground this spring when I planted up the Bend area. To say the very least it has thanked me no end for the big move. It has easily trebeled in size since then. Looking fantastic and hoping it continues to trive, really like the foliage on this one.

Thanks Rachel ;-))

It’s such a pity these are purely ornamental. They look sooooo delicious.

Can’t believe this day next month is Christmas Eve!!!!   Oops, am I STILL not allowed to mention that word. 🙂

Where has that year gone!

The insulation job is now done. The greenhouse is bubblewrapped.

We had too few clips and too much bubblewrap. But we used tape and made some double layers with the extra bubblewrap.

There is a double paraffin heater and a single in operation as well as an electric heater. We got an outside supply fitted and a weather proof box.

We went for our walk to Powerscourt on Thursday and I was so luckey with the weather a beautiful bright sunny day again for this time of the year …..We parked the car in the village of Enniskerry as you are not allowed to park the car to take photos on the avenue …there were 5 photographers and there tripods just waiting on the grass verge for someone or something as they were near the hotel…which has changed hands it is now called the Powerscourt Hotel which was the Ritz..must be someone very special arriving …but I just took my photos as I could while we walked …I will put up an Album of the gardens soon but here are some roses that are in ffull bloom at the moment.

I was in new Ross yesterday and popped into the garden centre there ,for some pots.I noticed a beautiful epiphyllum growing and asked was it for sale.The owner said it was not ,but produced a secateurs and gave me a piece to propagate.When i got home i googled and it says to leave for two weeks to callousc .Has anyone any experience of propagating?

After lunch i got out in the garden for the first time in weeks and started a general clean up and cutting back with a vengeance.I noticed a lovely sunset and went to get my camera ,but on the way i noticed my solanum needed staking When i had finished the staking the sunset had disappeared ,so you will have to do with some photos of my orchids

Up at five this morning ,got my house work done .NOw patiently waiting to get back out in the garden

Hoping for flowes on this next year, but autumn colour like this I can’t complain.

Following on from NoelFitz’s recent journal about leaving dead or dying plants to let nature take its course, I am glad now that I haven’t cut back my Cynara cardunculus (Globe Artichoke). Don’t know whether or not it will be beneficial to birds over the winter months, but it’s sure looking good right now.

I do hope you all will be able to attend the ceremony of awarding a medal for bravery to this Fuchsia microphylla. It stands erect covered with flowers and ignoring the frosts of the past nights.  None of your odd flower here and there for this lad as it bids farewell to Summer oh no this is one plant with attitude.

On our visit to Jimi and June Blakes garden back in the summer Jimi had a fantastic looking plant in a pot on his deck, Senecia petasites (California geranium). Commenting on it Jimi snapped a few pieces off and handed them around.

Due to the hot day and the time I got home at it was totally wilted. I cut it into sections and stood in water to try and freshen it up.

Two cuttings seemed to do better than others, but I planted all five up. These two have survived and one seems to be stronger than the other.

Would love to get these plants to grow into what I saw in Jimi’s. 

A fantastic looking plant, I’ve added a few photos from the web so you can see what a mature plant has to offer.