Month: July 2014
I do love begonias all types…they work their socks of flowering for months…these have done very well this summer…
It was getting dark so I only took 1 photo…
These are the plants you gave me not to long ago and by gum have they put on some amount of growth in such a short space of time…I think their nearly ready to plant in the garden…ta Fran…
Spent the whole day up in Dad’s today. He is not able to maintain the garden any more so I had a skip delivered, and we cleared out his whole front garden – plastic window boxes that had become brittle over time, his whole main flower bed got levelled and skipped, plus garden bench, planters, and old hanging baskets.
But before the two men came to load the skip, I was out there digging up Dad’s gorgeous tulips that he planted years ago. No attention ever given to them, and they never fail to come up. Got a whopping great plastic bag full. Front garden almost done. Saturday I will get my hands on an industrial weed killer and blitz the whole place.
Another skip arranged for Saturday, when the two men come back, and then the back garden will be tackled.
So my payment (not that I needed any) for todays work was a big bag of bulbs, and three lovely paving slabs that I now have leading into my glasshouse. I needed to replace the decking tiles as they were rotten. Muscles are aching tonight, but it was good to get so much done.
I spent hours in the garden to day. It was somewhat overcast but warm early on and then out came the sun. Philadelphus was pruned, the portion that gave the flowers this year. The new shoots are making progress. A number of cotoneasters were cut back and blackberry briars as well as blackthorn was pruned. I got at the rockery. About a month ago it looked quite good, not so good now. Some plants in particular geraniums have grown so much that the alpines which were attractive are choked. Perhaps late in September, I will have to remove them and take them to some other part of the garden. In the greenhouse, I have picked a fair amount of tomatoes, some consumed by me and one pound for the Country Market to morrow. The grapes are delicious, bigger than last year, perhaps the next time they could be better. I noticed on a few occasions, that a blackbird got in through the vent and of course he/she had to be told to get out. Watering plants is a chore and the lawn has not grown for some time, perhaps burning. A few days rain may make a big difference. The potted Hydrangeas have made great progress. While I have Hypericums rooting(I hope), I took cuttings of Potentella to day and hope that before long that will also root.
………….. is so difficult to attain 🙂
I bought this little tiny Sedum sieboldii at Hampton Court Show the year we went (will have to check the year, yes Peter if you read this I have forgotten:) There was one on display which looked fantastic, the full of a shallow pot. Now I must admit when I was handed the tiny little plant that I had bought, I thought “this is going to take some time”.
Over the years since, it has been in the ground, eaten by slugs, in a pot dried out, left out in all weathers, so it didnt get any real care, and every year I was disappointed with it!
So this year I decided that I would put it in a pot similiar to the one in the display and maybe that would nudge me in to taking more care of it and I must say it has paid off, by next year it will be up to Hampton Court standard:)
Looked at the diary, 2010, it has reached its 4th birthday 🙂
I’ve just found out that I’ll be heading to Dublin tomorrow (Friday) and will have a couple of free hours in the afternoon so was thinking of heading for a snoop around the Dillon Garden. I was thinking of trying to be there around 2PM when it opens.
I realise it’s incredibly short notice but was just wondering if any of you east coasters (or North, South, West or Midlanders of course!) fancied coming along if free?
Weather looks like it won’t be too bad, maybe the odd shower of rain.
I keep saying that I won’t grow roses any more, but there are some that I just can’t get rid of, ‘Munstead Wood’ is one of them.
It’s one of David Austin’s, and I think is my favourite with such dark, deeply coloured and scented blooms.
It’s a phone picture so the colour isn’t as good as I’d like but if you’re seeing colours like blackberry, wine and deep purpleish velvet you’ll be along the right lines. 🙂
Don’t ask me why, but until this year I have never grown Sunflowers in the garden here. I have to say there are only a few of them dotted here and there, but don’t they just add something lovely to the garden.
Their height seems to be what does it, the fact that you can see them through and above everything else and from across different areas of the garden.
And all this because JoanG won a Sunflower plant on a vist to Terra Nova last year LOL
Joan, yours is the biggest and best in the garden, you need to tell me your secret.
This is the first year for this Hosta in the garden here, so first time for them flowering. The plant is a big one and the flowers match in size.
I have placed my hand beside the flower for scale. The flower is in no way fully open as yet.
I read that if you want to make sure your sweet peas continue to flower, cut all of the existing blooms off every week or so and the plants will respond with more blooms. So tonight, armed with the secatures, I went out. With each cut I made, ‘all off’ kept going through my head. It comes from a scene in the film ‘Roman Holiday’ when Audrey Hepburn wanted her hair cut. The barber cut a bit and another bit; finally agreeing to ‘all off’. In the film, once the job was completed, a beauty emerged. As my cutting job was completed, I can’t in all honesty say that a beauty emerged. Quite the opposite – I looked in horror as the plant stood devoid of all flowers.
In the meantime, I have a beautiful vase of blooms, giving off a wonderful fragrance. I suppose that is the immediate beauty. I just hope in a few days time, I shall see a new beauty emerge when loads of new blooms on my plant.
The first of the new Dahlia’s is just opening.
I know someone post this one recently, so if I could have a name it would be great. I was not sure about it then and seeing it in the flesh I’m still not sure, but Aoife seems to like it so it’s staying for now. LOL
This Cautleya is flowering at the moment which I didn’t expect to happen this year. It spent the winter in a pot after being lifted while we were building. Then when I was replanted it, I divided it so thrilled to see it flower.
is my motto with everything in life.
I really though by Banana plant was dead and gone for sure. But rather than disturb the plants around it I left it in the planter where it was.
Trilled to bits this afternoon when I spotted three new shoots showing themselves.
I was one of the lucky ones to get some of Frans bulbs, now if he had only given me one and it turned out like this I would be thrilled! It is a stunner!
Sedum ‘Frosty Morn’ is so wrongly named. I mean, why mention frost in the middle of summer, especially when it is looking its best now!
Hi All 🙂
Another beautiful day here in Waterford – sun’s still free & this year theres been plenty of it TG
Got talking to a prize winning pumkin grower today and he told me exactly what to do to get my pumpkin plant to succeed – I’m delighted !
Now, heres a link to a page with something to make you smile (you might need to copy the link and post it into your browser)
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/29/freaks-garden-planet-sale-music-video_n_5413207.html
Love this one as it was hiding until now ….Fran won a lot of bulbs earlier this year and very kindly shared with some people inc…me .I love this colour…
Thank you Fran will be watching for others to come through .
Steve was involved in a big clean-up in his job yesterday and brought me home a present that was getting thrown out in a skip as the buoys are all being replaced. This will add nicely to our nautical theme in the garden.
He is just sooooo romantic. LOL
I got some Michaelmas diasies at Periwinkle’s open day a few years ago and they have spread and make big clumps.
Well, this evening as I was clearing some spent flowers in one of the borders I noticed that those in that border have developed mildew.
I pulled some of them out as they have been spreading too far anyhow. Now, tell me please, do I chop the rest of them down, dig them out or leave them to flower and hope for the best?
It might not be to everyone’s taste but I really love this combo…the rose is flowering for months…
Another great Dahlia here in it’s second year and i think is unusual but in a good way. It didn’t do great last year but looks much better now so hope there is plenty of blooms. By the way on the topic of feeding i decided i’d start doing it the other day on some of my plants with just a cap full of tomato feed into a full watering can and away you go.
How come I never noticed how beautiful Montbretia looked beside Physocarpus before!!!!!
to day was the turn of the hedges to be cut back before we had visitors to look around the garden. our good friends from garden.ie came,we hope they liked what they saw we had a good gardening chat and susan and her friend brought lovely plants Im afraid we only had some grasses ready to go hope they liked them. The flowering pots are looking full now and the veggy garden is full to bursting point.
Hi Peter I was out this afternoon and passing near Carewswood G.C when I suddenly thought ‘ They will have Happy Flame’ , don’t ask me why. I wanted another one so in I went. Only a few Dahlias but about 6 very big healthy Happy Flame so I bought one. Then remembered you had mentioned you were looking so got a second one. Now if you want it you are ever so welcome but if you have got one , no bother at all there is certainly room for another here! I will leave it in the bag until I hear from you:)
I want to grow Berries – strawberries, blueberries, gooseberries and rasberries for next year
1. I have 1 rasberry planted in ground, first year, very small amount of fruit
and 1 gooseberry planted in container, first year, very small amount of fruit
I think this is the right time of the year to do this am I right ?
2. I read that for successfull berries I’ll need 2 varieties of each fruit for good pollination and to ensure good yeilds – can anyone advise me on this ?
3. Also, I’ve seen the fruit bushes trained onto horizontal wires – Love this idea as it saves so much space & looks pretty – can anyone advise me on this ?
4. What strawberry, blueberry, gooseberry and rasberry varieties are best for the South East Ireland climate ?
Sorry for asking so many questions but if you can answer even one of them that’d be great – thanks in advance 🙂
