Month: February 2014

Just popped out to have a quick look at the polytunnel before I start work and I’m delighted to see things growing. First peas are up, and even a potato is coming through. The lettuces I planted out at the weekend (with organic slug pellets) are thriving. Lots of things waiting for a bit of warmth and drier soil – a new red polyanthus rose that Alan got in Aldi and a buddleia globosa, which I trimmed back. I took cuttings from the trimmings, it’s the wrong time of year but nothing ventured! 

The ‘Jemo’s Johnstown Bucket’ lilies are starting to show and I’m especially pleased to see the sweet peas ‘Captain of the Blues’ germinating in their Lidl propagator. Last year the sweet peas were a very poor showing, my fault because I soaked them for too long. This year I soaked them overnight and then sowed them and it seems to have worked. 

I’m really pleased with the way the Fern bed in the front garden is developing.

Primulas self seeding and popping up here and there where they like. All the sping bulbs are bulking up nicely as well.

Had an idea yesterday about moving some of the Bluebells into this area for next year. This will extend the colour interest while the ferns unfurl their magic.

Eurphorbia ‘humpty dumpty’ is in full flower and seems very happy in the corner. I was not sure how it would tahe to this spot, but it seems fine.

Old news now I guess, but on Friday 14th February we had an amazing snowfall right out of the blue.  I left for town around 10am in lashing rain.  An hour later, snow was falling thick and fast and I had difficulty getting back home!!!  It was chaotic in town and I was so glad that I was on my way out, difficult though it was. Just shows what the weather throws at us and there I was thinking ‘Spring was on the point of arriving!!!   Couldn’t get up lane off main road so parked in a neighbour’s driveway until Saturdary morning when snow had cleared!!

Deadlines that is, but so are my seedlings. I must scrounge a minute today to pot on the tomatos. A friend send me a few seeds of 10 different varieties, not all have germinated yet but I’m looking forward to a German Red Srawberry and a Hungarian Heart in my salad!

When Geoff Hamilton was in his heyday we didn’t have a telly, and when we did we only had RTE for years so I only ‘discovered’ him recently when I borrowed a book of his from the library. I liked it so much I bought this DVD series so we’ve been enjoying it and getting lots of inspiration. I love the range of gardens that he shows, especially the woman who just dug a border because her garden was boring, had read nothing and knew even less, and ended up with a glorious garden. 

It’s a shame that Geoff has gone but his gardens are still going strong and we can watch the videos. He must have inspired an awful lot of people. God bless him!

Meanwhile the new apprentice is starting to shape up…. 😉

Here is one of my Mr Sunshines……I have three of them around the garden and they do bring a bit of sunshine even on the cloudiest of days. 😉 

I was walking one of the dogs yesterday morning around at the green at the back of the house. Our wall backs onto the green. The lady that lived here was an obvious lover of ivy!! It’s everywhere, so much so it had grown over the wall and down the other side. The thing is it’s also growing through the hedging that we had pruned recently and strangling it. 

So I took out my shears and rake and went around to the back wall and took it all down. Then I came into the garden and completed what was a monstrous task of taking the ivy out of the hedging. It’s quite bare at the minute so it was easy to identify it. 

I had cut the ivy at the base back before Xmas so it was easy enough to pull it off the wall. Then I took out my loppers and cut off more of this hedging to give me access to the bottom of it. As the amount of debris which has built up over the years is amazing. Bottles and cans to name a few. I did this last year too but the hedging wasn’t as far back as this so it was great to finally clear it all. I’m really toying with the idea of removing all this hedging and putting up trellis for privacy and growing my own climbers up it. Will see!!!  There is a lot of maintenance on it plus the debris falling down on my flower bed too is a nuisance.

It’s a great spot facing East so quite sunny. I’m thinking of using this space for Shake and Rake and also planting some Gladoli and lilies to ‘cover’ the bare look of the hedging until it re-establishes itself. 

So another place for planting. Won’t get anything done today or tomorrow as my grandchildren are here

Knock at the door this morning got me off to a good start on the most Spring-like day we’ve had here.

At the door was the delivery guy from Bakker completely hidden behind these boxes! Parcels from Bakker are always very impressive, but by now I’m not fooled – a large part of the parcel will be strong brown paper keeping the precious contents safe.

Parcel One contained some Freesias and two free gifts. The Freesias have been potted in the new ceramic posts from Dealz and are safely ensconced in the greenhouse. I look forward to their lovely scent later in the year!

Parcel Two contained another free gift, a tub of their Slug pellets and some herbs and pots. The herbs are still waiting to be potted, and I tried out the slug pellets in the greenhouse – Ugh! They smell of garlic! Very organic no doubt but I’ll be using them outdoors only from now on 🙂

Spent the rest of the day working on the arches.  I’ve reinforced the original arches with my latest solution – plumbers piping! The only purpose the original arches have is to keep the “arch” shape for me – and the bits of climbers are still attached!

Then I tried another experiment – making an arch from scratch! Didn’t actually get it completed and no photos because the light was failing ….

It felt really good to be out in the lovely Spring sunshine but it got very cold later on and I’m not surprised to hear the rain pelting down once more – rain that keeps off till after dark is the kind I like!

Omphalodes cappadocica ‘Starry Eyes’ is about to open. Let’s hope the weather stays with us for the next few days.

The first is Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’, which I found in the list of 10 good March plants in Gardens Illustrated. It’s not a fancy one but apparently the blue flowers look great in March. I bought this one in Woodies last year and it’s just beginning to bloom, let’s hope it will live up to what the article said!

The second is one of those primulas that are everywhere at the moment, bright and happy colour for February…

The third one is the Barnhaven Brittany Blue double primrose. My parents bought it for me last year at the Barnhaven open door week-end but by the time it arrived here it had nearly finished flowering, so I’m eagerly waiting for this year’s flowers!

I added earlier a bunch of February pictures taken between yesterday and today to my 2014 garden photo album.

Although at “ground level” there are lots of things happening, and a lot of growth has happened over the past month, it’s not really visible in the February pictures. The fact that the beds have been weeded is not even noticeable!!!

A few spots of colour but no big change really. I will definitely need more early narcissi, would also love to add some of the very blue irises to add colour at this time of the year, and some white against the back wall. More hellebores and snowdrops among other things. I need to write this down in a to do list for the autumn otherwise I will forget!

It’s amazing how often unbeknownst to myself I buy a plant that ends giving giving such pleasure and enjoyment.

I can’t remember who’s garden I saw a large planting of this plant in, but I like the look of it.

Shortly afterwards I bought this plant, it’s tiny flowers are lovely but the foliage is just getting better and better all the time. The weather seems to have no effect on it at all.

Hoping to take a small clump or two off this one as I would like it in a few other areas of the garden.

Yes, Camellia ‘Berenice Perfection’ decided to perform as she was jealous of C. ‘Margaret Davis’ opening only yesterday. So many more blooms to open too.

Our son Greg loves his day of and is up at 5.30am on Tuesday Morning and himself and his friend head off to take some photos and this is what he was at down at the Harbour in Bray ….and we had no bread for breakfast but we got a great photo …..

I took most of my ornaments in for the winter but left a few weathered ones out. Here are just two. The sun is to provide a bit of cheer on the North-facing wall of the Boiler House. The other one I got from a garden.ier the year before last at the get-together.

Tomorrow I’ll be dusting off all the rest and letting them fend for themselves come what may.

Very happy today to have seen 3 of the 8 Ricinus Gibsonii i sowed have germinated. Hopefully the others germinate too but i won’t be bothered as i will prob only use the two but if more germinate i will just give away as long as i can keep them alive.

Hail, rain or snow I was out there with the intention of giving the grass its first cut of the year before the rain that has been forecast for later tonight. A bit squelchy, but I managed to get it done. The lawnmower sucked up a lot of the muck and debris that I had left on the grass since digging up the spireas and giving my North-facing border the recent change.

I normally leave the cutting of the grass for Steve to do, but hey, he was in work. And you know what it’s like when a woman wants something done immediately. The sun shone all day, so it was a great opportunity to get it dried out a bit. It looks a bit scaldy right now, but once we have a bit of rain, it will bounce right back. I love the way grass puts up with such abuse.

Did more tidying up, and cut away dead or dying leaves from a couple of phormiums. 

Got all my geraniums sprayed against whitefly. Planted a few Watsonia bulbs that I think Paddy gave me at the IGPS Plant Fair last Autumn.

The garden is finally taking shape and I hope to keep up the good work tomorrow.

Oh my I’ve just had a surreal telephone call from Helen Dillon, my gardening idol, during which she told me that I need to get on and write a garden book as it was about time I did so. This was completely out of the blue and I’m stunned. But she’s only telling me something that Martin has been rattling on for me to do for the past ten years. Maybe it is time…… but would anybody want to read it I wonder?

We had a lovely sunny day here so it was more pruning for me. I now have heaps of wood around the garden, waiting to be shredded.

The tree lupins needed a lot of pruning after wind damage and there are many plants that now need stakes. I planted two shrubs to replace the buddleias recently lost to wind.

I noticed some dahlias had worked their way to the soil surface and were exposed. So they had to be dug up and buried deeper. That was quite a job and unfortunately some got sliced in the process.

But mostly the pruning was what I did and my muscles are telling me about it now. The photo is from yesterday.

in my garden, thanks to Jurgita.

She gave  me a present of this sun face, it has been moved out to the garden now that the weather is picking up.

Jurgita, many thanks ;-))

I have been busy with seedlings of the human variety recently ! we are delighted to have a new little grandson! We thank God for grandchild No 7 and we are looking forward to the safe arrival of No 8 in about 6 weeks!

My phone and computer were hit during the storms that came round mid Feb.  Soooo annoying.   Good to be back.  I have to say that I got lots of bits done like clearing out old paperwork etc!!!!  Got my computer back yesterday!!!  Photos attached.  I’ve been trying out different labelling and find the one with the stone identification has turned out to be the best.  I used waterproof felt tip pen and it has stood up to all the weathers including heavy snow!!!