Month: February 2014

Got an invite to Frans this morning and what a beautiful day it was sun shining

scones and tea and coffee and great company …Joan G  ClaireE Myrtle Fran and myself .

After our lovely chat and of course plenty of laughs out we went to see this wonderful garden …..

(Myrtle just paid a brief visit as she was busy being a glamourous gran…..)

Well after we roamed around this such unuasual  garden taking photos chatting  about how this plant got here , who gave it to Fran ….back inside the kettle on and sitting down again for a most welcome cuppa as it had been so cold outside ..and oh it was time ClairE had to go anf collect her daughter and that is it , it went so fast and as they say time flies when you are having fun..

Thank you Fran it was so nice to catch up you are the Host ….with the Mostest .

 

Looking for some advice please – I have a semi shaded area at the bottom of our garden where I have most of my hellebores, snowdrops , pulmonaria, arum italicum etc but I find that come the end of April I have very little bloom. I love lily of the valley flowers and know that it would probably be quite happy here but will it takeover everywhere to the detriment of everything else, or will the hellebores, snowdrops etc continue to be fine seeing they bloom well before the lily of the valley.

Would love to hear from anyone who has it in their garden as to whether it’s in its own dedicated area or as a succession plant as I have described.

 

Gidday all,

               Another damp start to the day,I,m loving it & so is the patch.

With the promise of more rain there,s finally some moisture back in the ground,alot of flower seeds have decided to start emerging & the few vegies I planted are going okay too.

I hope your upcoming weekend is fine & sunny.

The photos were taken at 7am this morning, the sun is usually beating down,the respite from that is a nice change & a good start for the first day of Autumn.

 p.s. The photos do,nt portray the dark in the cloud cover.                                                                                                                              regards roofy

Yesterday, I got more dahlias potted. To day having been to a few meetings, I took out the lawn mower and decided to give the lawn (1/4 acre) a mowing. I got half of the lawn done, then changed the oil. I didnt get it all done as time was running out. I finished that much about 5.45 p.m. What has been done gave in all four box fulls of grass. There has been quite a lot of moss growing so within a few days I hope to finish the mowing and give the lawn a feed of CAN and ferrous sulphate. Tomato plants should be potted on withing the next few days. 

Today, I was taking a closer look for frogspawn in  the Greenhouse Pond, which is a wild life pond ie. no fish. Two mating couples.

I left them to it. Happy Days!

Well I missed out on January but just caught February – Got out for a few glorious hours this morning before the rain hunted me in early afternoon. I took a few pictures and have just uploaded these so hopefully I can catch the remaining months. The woodland bed is starting to wake up with Hellebores, snowdrops and the foliage of daffodils and bluebells as well as primulas just starting to emerge. I am happy with the cyclamen as well I only put this in last March and it has spread reasonably well so hopefully it will continue to thrive – it should like the conditions. I hope we will  all get a bit of better weather in March to enjoy our gardens  

pulmonaria and anemoneHellebores

Is it safe yet to talk about Spring 2014? Have we seen the last of the storms? And will the normal garden year now get underway.

Two trees fell in the gale on the 12th February. An old apple tree fell on the house and put a hole in the roof. Also a large evergreen fell but did no damage. Both are largely cut up and the smaller branches are shredded. There is lots of fresh wood chip mulch around the trees and shrubs at the moment. It looks good. Also the galanthus is in flower along with iris, hellebores, and of course the heather so already there is colour and interest. That is what keeps a gardener motivated and constantly looking forward.

There is still some cleaning up to do but once it is finished I will move on to building a couple of new raised beds and then plant. Lilies, dahlias and nerines are planned. it should spread the flowering season. Irises are everywhere without rhyme or reason for their placement at this stage. So some re arranging will be necessary.

I am planning a visit to Dublin Zoo on next Wednesday afternoon. Over the years Stephen Butler has transformed the place so that it is now a serious destination garden without ever looking at an animal.

On a sad note this Winter also saw the passing of Daisy, our brown jack russel.  so now we just have Buddy, a very serious fun dog who takes his football very seriously.

DaisyBuddyThe large apple tree to the right is now gone.

I did a few bits today but not too much as my son was home sick. I seem to have a blue theme in the seeds I am sowing this year, which is odd as I’m not mad about blue at all. But today ageratum, clitoria and heliotropium got sown.

And, I had the first result from the smoke treated seeds, when the Australian Black Boy Grass Tree germinated!

I potted up some dahlias and tender calla lilies in the greenhouse and noticed that the crocuses in pots are in flower.

Hoping that the sunshine will continue.

Crocus 'King of Striped'

was that kind of a day.

Spring View

Hello all, I have just posted an album of some photos I took in the garden today.

Last week Fran and myself went to Burtown House in Athy , Co. Kildare …and while we were in the The Gallery Cafe and Shop I took 2 photos of the owners paintings  so beautiful but so expensive ….first one is €1, 400  and the second was €1, 700…beautiful but you would want a lot of dosh.

 

The view fron Colin’s current bedroom in NZ,

he quite likes it LOL

This weekend i will place some of the companion names on the veg chart.As some of the different areas have there own liking,it will be important to keep to those most needing it.

Brassica belong to the Cruciferae family with all the root family withthr Umbelliferae gang.The Potatoes,Tomatoes etc are from the night shade family known as Solanaceae group.

Hope to get planniing for them later on today.

 

These little Anemone blanda are starting to open. They are great for spreading themselves about the place, without becoming invasive.

Anemone blandaAnemone blanda

My attempt at cloud pruning does not seen to be working out great. The ‘clouds’ are not really thickening up the way I hope for.

I will give it one more year, but just maybe Myrtle was not a suitably shrub to use.

Once again, time will tell.

Some of you will know of the small decking area in the corner at the end of the back garden here.

There was nothing else I could do with the area so I decked it over. It is a favorite place for me to sit on a summers morning.

Due to my increasing interest in tender plants, I am giving up my throne area. I picked up one of the Lidl €40 greenhouses. I fits on the spot just perfectly(after a slight trim of the hedge).

I will be fixing it to the decking nice and secure, and Clare kindly giving me some bubble wrap. Along with the wooden decking (natural insulator, shelter of the fence and hedge, I think I have the perfect spot of my plants for the winter.

And I can still just about get my seat there, but sadly no room for coffee table LOL

Saw this being done at the end of last month and forgot to do it but here it is feb about a week ago or so, not much to see really at the moment but i imagine next months will look a whole lot better. Can’t wait to get out in it and cut the grass, edging and a good tidying up to the beds.

Gidday all,

               ordinary old day here just enough drizzle to keep me inside.

Housework entered the mind & housework to me is taking a sweeping glance at the room. LOL

              regards roofy.

Tough morning physically, but not in the garden. ๐Ÿ™  So I chose not to venture out to do any chores. Instead I just took the camera on a stroll. Saw about 4 big fat bumble bees. And this one just couldn’t get enough pollen. You can even see it on his bum and legs. He lifted my spirits immensely.

Ive put up an album of my garden now in February. Like Claire there isnt much difference in the planting, except for the added areas of planting that I have acquired. Also the wall is half built but will be finished by tomorrow, hopefullly by March there will be a vast improvement and lots of plants and flowers in bloom……

Buds on shrubs are opening, snow drops and crocuses are blooming and I even see some dandelions rearing their “ugly” heads – Yes!, it’s that time of the year known as spring when everything comes back to life!

Growth is slow at the moment. While grass grows all year round once the ground temperature is above 5 deg C, conditions are too wet at present for cutting and you will only end up compacting a lawn and having a mass of grass clippings stuck to the underside of the deck of the mower. However now is a good time to get your mower ready for the coming season. Anyone with a small degree of technical aptitude can learn mower maintenance.

 

Tools required: Socket set, spark plug wrench, screwdrivers

 

Oil

An oil change is necessary every 50 hours of use. Oil lubricates a machine and without it, an engine would rapidly seize up. Lawn mower engines generally require 500 to 600 ml of oil whose viscosity and temperature spec is SAE30 or 10W30. Changing oil basically involves running the engine until the oil warms up and becomes more fluid. After disconnecting the spark plug lead and removing the plug for safety reasons (to prevent inadvertent starting), oil can be drained into a shallow biscuit tin after removing the drain plug located in the underside of the engine.

Blade

Lawn mower blades can be sharpened with a sharpening stone or a file. If the blade is chipped and dented from stone impact, it can be ground back with an angle grinder before sharpening. Try to avoid removing too much material (which will unbalance the blade), and don’t allow the disk to rest on any one spot for too long as this will overheat the steel and cause it to lose its temper. A sharp blade will shear blades of grass cleanly rather than tearing them, and in theory should also save on fuel. This is because there is less resistance (known as drag) as the blade slices through the grass. A blunt blade attempting to cut through long grass will cause a mower to struggle and demand more fuel.

How to Start a Mower


Set the throttle control to max and turn on the choke (if it is separate)

Press the primer button several times

Pull the starter cord until the engine starts. If it doesn’t, press the primer button another few times and pull again.

Once the engine starts, turn off the choke (if fitted)


Is your mower difficult to start? – Troubleshooting Carburetor, Air Filter and Spark Plug Issues

 

Spark Plug

Check that the plug lead hasn’t become detached from the plug and that it is firmly pushed on. Ensure the plug is tightly screwed in, but not too tight.
You should always have a spare plug which you know is working ok. This can then be used to eliminate problems due to faulty plugs. When the plug is removed, you can check that the ignition system is working ok by holding the plug with a plastic clothes peg so that the threads make contact with the engine body.  Get an assistant to pull the starter cord and check that the plug produces a good spark. 

Carburetor


If a mower is left over winter with fuel in the tank, this can cause gum deposits to form in the carburetor. The function of a carburetor is to mix air and fuel together which then gets burned in the engine, providing power to spin the blade. The carburetor has lots of narrow passageways which can get clogged up over time. Ideally you should run your engine until it stops due to lack petrol, before storing it over winter. Dismantling a carburetor and cleaning it is probably beyond the expertise of the amateur, however fuel blockages can occur in the float bowl. This component behaves much like a toilet cistern. Petrol gravity feeds from the fuel tank, via a fuel line, down to the bowl. A float in the bowl rises as the bowl fills, and cuts of the inflow once the level reaches the top. This is similar to how your toilet cistern fills when the toilet is flushed. If you have a vice grips, gently squeeze the fuel line closed and remove the bowl by loosening the bolt which attaches it to the carburetor. Hold a can or jar under the carburetor to catch fuel and slowly release the vice grips. Petrol should start trickling from the inlet valve on the bowl. Gently press upwards on the float and it should cut off the flow. If there is no flow, there is likely to be a blockage somewhere along the fuel line. The carburetor jet can also get blocked and this can be cleaned with carb cleaner.

 

Air Filter

Air filters remove dust from an air stream so that it doesn’t damage equipment. Paper air filters should be replaced every few years, depending on usage. Foam filters can be washed in washing up liquid and hot water. Squeeze the filter dry in a cloth and then rub a teaspoon of engine oil throughout the foam. The function of the oil is that dust sticks to it as it passes through the foam. The symptoms of a dirty filter are lack of power and difficult starting.

 

All images and text © Eugbug

Air Filter, Carburetor and Float BowlTesting a Spark PlugOil Drain Plug

Was looking forward to heading to Aldi this morning to see what goodies they had….but have to say was very disappointed. They had a few bits and pieces and some primroses and some daffs but nothing that took my fancy at all. ๐Ÿ™

So I headed to Lidl and I wasnt disappointed. They had some perennials for €1.29 each! not sure how good they are although I only picked the ones that had roots on them…I got Kniphofia x2 , Astilbe x 2 a pink one and a white one, Phlox, Echinacea purpurea x 2 , Alcea (holyhocks mixed) Aquilegia mixed x 2 ……..hopefully they will do well but if not they werent that expensive, but Ive always had success with what I buy in Lidl….also bought a 4 more packs of Gladoli again a mixture…..looking forward to planting them all up ๐Ÿ™‚

So not a bad mornings therapy for somone who was a bit disappointed at the start ๐Ÿ˜‰

Pictures are a reminder of what is to come!

I won’t lie and say it’s been a great month in the gardens. To put it mildly would be to say ‘It’s been challenging’. The seemingly non-stop storms have wreaked havoc through the grounds and gardens and we have lost a large number of trees, as well as having more minor damage on literally hundreds. What I will say is we have been very lucky. Nobody was hurt, there was very little damage to property, and the trees seemed to fall in all the right places (in general).

On a positive note spring finally seems to be here and the increasing numbers of flowers throughout the gardens are testimony to that. The daffodil avenue is a sea of yellow at the moment.

Obviously the cleaning up work has caused significant delay to our usual work schedule but we finally seem to be getting on top of it. One particular area in our lower rock close has suffered the most. Our planned woodland garden was all but ‘clear felled’ by the wind so we now have a rather different space to work with. Plans are underway for a whole new garden in this area once the waterlogged soil dries out and we can begin work.

Operation Transformation came to Blarney Castle during February, and over 3000 people converged on the estate. It was a great success and we received many positive comments about the gardens which is always great to hear. Hopefully some of these people will return for a proper look around.

Despite the clean up, there is still other work going on in the gardens. We recently replanted the bed by our coffee hut with a selection of rhododendrons to add spring colour to the area and our new Azalea beds are finished and give a better sense of balance to the mansion drive.  We are lifting and dividing many plants in our herbaceous border, we have just pruned our roses and as soon as the ground dries out we will be starting grass cutting.

We have many seedlings in the glass house now and at this time of year it’s one of my favourite areas. I always get huge satisfaction from watching the seedlings emerging, especially if it’s something rare or unusual. I’m quickly becoming a bit of an obsessive collector of rare trees, and there’s nothing more satisfying than having grown it yourself from seed. The problem is finding space in the gardens for them all!

Jobs for the next few weeks include, pruning your bush roses and feeding, general tidying up and re-edging of beds, moving and dividing herbaceous plants, plant potatoes as the soil dries out, sow seeds of bedding plants, tomatoes and peppers and plant out onions, garlic and shallots if not already done. Pollinate peach, nectarine and apricot trees with a small paint brush. Ours are just coming into flower now.  Pruning of apples and pears should be finished now. We are starting off our begonia tubers in the poly tunnel. They provide a mass of summer colour to our tubs and baskets around the entrance, and are remarked on every year.

One very important job after the recent high winds is to check all of your plants for wind rock. A loose trunk or stem should be heeled in and staked up if necessary. We have had to go through all of our newly planted trees and shrubs and many needed a little steadying.

Enjoy the start of spring! I look forward to seeing you in the gardens. Adam

Daffodil avenueHelleboreCrocus at the Castle

I do love arisaemas. I would have a lot more only some of them are either very short-lived, or they just don’t like our weather too much. I have lost a couple of real beauties over the years. Quite unusual garden plants, and that suits me. You either love them or hate them.

Here is one that just keeps on popping up without fail. Can’t wait to see this baby again with its beautiful markings.

Arisaema speciosum var. magnificum

Over the years i have grown a wide range of veg etc for the garden here.So now i have started growing some of my own bedding plants etc for same.

One that stands out to me are the Impatiens.They develop well,after been started on the seventh of february.I checked over them as with the rest the seed trays.

The seed was given to me as a gift ((in an envelope) and left to one side.Not any more.I have started petu,als,night scen stock,nas,etc.Now to hope for the best.