Month: December 2013

I couldn’t resist putting up a few more orchid photos before I finish using the current orchid album. The album is here and covers more than a year of orchid growing, if anyone is interested…

My Orchids

These three photos were taken today.

I as you can see, for anyone who took part in the competition, Cattleya noid Betty Boop is the third cattleya to open.

We had a nice walk around Cabinteely Park this morning. The walk was planned yesterday, and we had arranged to meet friends there, as the weather forecast was good. What a surprise this morning when opening the curtains to see all the rain! But by 11 it was dry, so the walk was very pleasant and Cabinteely park is a lovely place any time. We bumped into Myrtle and Dorothy also out for a walk, it was nice to meet you both!

Is the flower in the last photo a daphne?

Not that I’m in any hurry or anything. But I’ve been watching some of my Galanthus over the last few days. Writing on all my labels have washed off. So I’m hoping Paddy will be able to id them when they open. This one is nearly there!

I love this photo of my daughter sniffing The King of Taiwan.

He is 15cm wide and has a lovely scent.

The photo isn’t mine, or the camers, but I am lad to have it.

We thought the weather in Glasgow was terrible but it seems it was just as bad if not worse here. A lot of stuff had got blown about but the only damage was to the freezer – our power went on the 17th so the frozen stuff all slowly defrosted.

Incredibly the leaning variegated sycamore is still leaning but no worse than it was. This morning was still and sunny so we had an amble round the garden looking for daffodils – and several were indeed poking their first shoots up along with crocuses. The hamamelis we bought at Johnstown last January is in flower and there are buds on the new hellebores, so there’s life in it despite the storms. 

We were going to go to Tescos and fill the freezer but it was just too nice, and anyway it’s my birthday so we bunked off to the beach and had a lovely walk instead. 

 Some of my seeds i sowed before christmas has germinated 

I was eating an advocado for lunch yesterday and decided to have a go at germinating the stone!

Imagine i could have my very own advocado tree in years to come 🙂

Terrible night here with wind and rain again!

I made 5 raised garden beds from an old water tank& it,s worked really well so far. Flowers or vegies both are loving there place in the patch.

Gidday all,diferent view.

Are Christmas cactus the new amaryllis on garden.ie?

I ask this because I’ve seen much more Christmas cactus journals this season than amaryllis/hippeastrum.

This is my second Christmas cactus. It was my mother’s and I can’t give it enough light because it is so big. It did well this year after a stint in the greenhouse and produced loads of buds. Unfortunately it has re-absorbed most of them due to insufficient light.

It’s the downside of too many house plants! But at least I’m getting a few flowers.

I was very lucky in the garden visits I managed to get into this year.

The trip to Englandwas the highlight of the year and Merriments garden was the best for me. I had been there before and was not disappointed in any way. I was a liittle worried about recommending a garden for others to visit but all was well as both Deborah and Rachel loved the garden also. To date this garden has to be my favorite garden.

On the home front the best garden visit is harder to pick, but I think I have to go for Periwinkle’s garden in Donegal. After all I had seen and read about it I was trilled to finally get to see it. It was fantastic to hear the history of the garden, the family connection and to see the wonderful setting the garden is in.

I will be lucky if I manage to see as many gadens next year, but here’s hoping.

Frankly, I wouldn’t take on this lad if he came looking for a job. He’s far too fond of extended lunch breaks and tea breaks, has a loo break every five minutes and he dozes off for long naps at the drop of a hat. But with the amount he eats I’m sure he’ll soon put on a bit of muscle and acquire his first spade! 

Welcome to the Shoosmith Family Tree, Aaron Samuel Vernon. Born 17 December, 7lb 3oz. 

So, who still has their name badges from last years’ get-together? The more the merrier.

Today I chanced upon a gardening programme ‘Love your garden’. I thought it may have been a repeat and wasn’t going to watch it. But now I’m glad I did. Hadn’t seen that episode before. 

I have no name for it but it has shown to be very reliable over the past three years. I bought it in Avoca garden centre in Bray. Not yet in bloom but seeing all these buds it should give a nice little display in the next few weeks. This year I have cleared around it so it’s more visible, otherwise it tended to disappear among bigger plants…

We had a lot of gales here over the christmas period which brought down a few trees, but its now more settled. In the garden we have a young which hazel in bloom, and a fatsia that has been out for a while now. Also in bloom is a fushia which Jacinta gave me as a welcome gift when I first came to garden.ie. Thanks Jacinta, and your fushia is growing well. A happy and peaceful newyear to all at garden.ie, and keep up the gardening.

I arrived back in Carlow yesterday(Saturday) after just over a week in my sisters place in Dublin for the Christmas. I was looking forward to doing some work in her garden but all I got done was pruning her roses. She had done some pruning before that but as the proverb says “If you want your roses pruned, get your worst enemy to do it” Of course we are not enemies but while Joan did a fair bit of work on them, i went further. Some would say that it was a bit early for doing that work but i believe they will be ok. That particular day was very mild but about the only day to be in the garden. I was looking at the weathar forecast for some days and decided that Saturday was the best day for travelling home. She has had nine grown children, all married and seven of them were around. The presents I got, it took some time to get through them. One present was a Magnolia stellata, from one of my nieces, another a Bonsai tree, something I never had before nor did I dream I would have something like it. I remember Gerry some years ago on his programme, Room Outside showing these trees. I had never heard of them before. I also got a multitude of bulbs and my hands will be full planting them. One item I got was two Amaryllis or Hippeastrum. Also I got a mighty hamper and all kinds of everything in it.

I think it’s time to get cracking on the arrangements for our get-together in just 2 weeks time!

Venue: Johnstown Garden Centre

Date: Sunday 12^th January

Time: 1 pm – 5 pm.

Plant Swap: 11 am to 1 pm

 The day includes some lunch, a Raffle, a Kris Kindle, and of course the chance to meet up and do what we do best – talk plants!

 Raffle

 The Raffle is free for everyone – and I’d like to ask anyone who wishes to donate a prize to let me know.

 This year we have a really special prize for the Raffle – a short holiday break in a beautiful modern self-catering house in Co. Clare – more details later!

 Kris Kindle

 If you want to participate in the Kris Kindle please bring along a wrapped gift – (husbands and wives can bring two if they wish!). The gift should not cost more than €10 as we want to make sure everyone can participate. It is of course optional to take part, but it does add to the fun!

 Plant Swap

 This year we are trying a new idea for the Plant Swap – We plan to meet in the Left-hand car-park as before but BEFORE the lunch instead of after! We are suggesting 11 am as the earliest people should arrive – and by 1 pm I’ll be shepherding everyone in to the restaurant for the main event!

Fran suggested that if we had stuff not promised to anyone in particular they could be put together and people could help themselves.

 So make sure if you are bringing plants along to label them – with your own name on so people will know who they came from!

For not being in touch or not commentingon what I’m sure were brilliant journals. The storm has knocked us sideways down here and internet only comes back intermittently. Its not as if i wuz ignorin, yiz!

Well Christmas is almost over and normality returns. I must confess that I enjoy both te buzz and then the respite! It was great to get out for the whole day on Saturday even if all I got done was sweeping all the leaves off the patio and steps and then re edging the ‘Chives rill’. I have to weed it out but I see parsley , flat leaved, there as well. I raked the top off the smaller veg beds and will get to grips with them and i dumped lots and lots of leaves in the compost mountain.

Oh and I realigned yet another  ‘Birch stone’! A small one but pleasing to behold! As Sr Thomasina said of my ‘Marla’ Mushroom that I modelled in art class one day when Sr Josephine was out with the ‘flu. Mind you Tom Dooley sniggered and said it was like…well I wont repeat it, but it was anatomical and he was wrong!

It was good to be out and already anticipation is setting in. There are daffs four inches high in the lawn and there are snowdrops just coming through. There will be aconites and hellebores and snowdrops and daffodils so lets leave 2013 behind us with its joys and sorrows and focus on a wonderful new 2014 and as a young poet I know once wrote

   ‘And that I never may

Even to the last page of my day

lack courage in questioning

futility’

what a lovely late christmas pressie. hubby and my next door neighbour put my poor battered coldframe back together after the storm on st stevens night that nearly had it been dismantled and pulled away for good but hubby said he could fix it and fix it he did, it is now i can put my seeds in there once i have tied around and take the pots of bulbs out i can put all my seed trays in it. so happy with it and it is easier to access and only takes seconds to open and close unlike the cover that was on it that took ages to open and tie in place and then the reverse in the evenings

i finally got around to do the seed sowing, last sunday i filled the trays and left them aside, yesturday i finally sowed the seeds, these are just the seeds that need the cold other stuff wont be done until mid march pending on weather, a very enjoyable evening was had at the kitchen table. here is what i sowed 

acontitum carmichaelii, crinodendron hookeranium, crinodendron patagua, magnolia sovlangeana, magnolia sieboldii, digitalis alba delphinium mix, primula vulgaris and primula auriculas primula godl lace and loads of denticulata colour varieties, i also sowed the tree fern seed which was very powdery dont know if it will grow as i have it for a year or so sure nothing ventured nothing gained. i have a few other bits to sow but ran out of compost and room so will get more and finish it off soon. i got paoenie seeds but they seem a bit complicated according to the packet you put them in a bag with some vermiculite and tie the bag and leave it somewhere warm for 3 months, wonder if i put them on the mantal piece the sitting room is warm, have to read the rest of the instructions yet. if anyone has any experience with them i would appreciate a bit of advice. some of these i could be pushing a zimmerframe around before i see them mature in even a small way, it is the fun of it all. i have had great success with the bottle brush plants last year i can t seen a bloom been on them for an other two or three years but the fact that i got them to grow is good, they will need repotting in spring and a feed 

I saw Acanthus mollis somewhere and could not wait to get one for the garden here myself.

The plant was bought and duly planted, but as so often happens decided to move it. Someone on the site here told me one time that you will never be ‘without this plant’!!! how right they were.

I have since found out that this plant sends down very deep roots, that will re-sprourt from the smallest piece.

It is now three years since I moved this plant and still it comes back.

Maybe it’s time to say the ‘plant knows best’ and leave it alone.

I do love the shinny foliage on this plant.

I have bought lots of plants and what not over the years in Lidl and found them to be of great value. You can’t beat them on variety for bulbs, getting all sort of shapes and colours and variety too. 

Since we came to this house last year I’ve been able to get some more plants and flowers that I could never have before due to space. 

One of the plants I bought during the year was Geum……didn’t have a clue what they were until I came on here. They were a pack of 6 ‘jumbo perennials’ which is what it said on the label. For only €3.99. All red, so I bought a couple of packets and planted them up. They flowered their socks off all through the Summer. And I deadheaded as I went along. 

Well here we are 29th December 2013 and I still have a couple of these Geum flowering in my garden. Unbelieveable!!! Must look out for more next year. 

I did buy two yellow ones in Woodies for €8.99 each and didn’t get the same result at all. 

Now  thats what I call value for money 😉 

ps ps last two photos are Anemones just starting to raise their heads too. Exciting. 

At this stage I’m literally chomping at the bit to get out into the garden and tackle a few small jobs. Lots of untidy bits are looking even MORE untidy now, as a result of the recent storms. And I’m very thankful that the greenhouse is still standing. I have left the door wide open this year so Holly can take refuge there. But I went in yesterday and a few of my prized plants have been toppled over and broken. But it’s not as bad as I had expected.

Having been incapacitated recently, I am thankfully on the mend well and truly. Yesterday I just ventured out for a few photos, but ended up cutting back and tidying up. Before I knew it, my hands were pretty much frozen. But at this stage, I’m ready to go out and do a little bit each day. Enough of pampering myself!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.