Month: January 2015
Today was spent prepping for some serious work next week. Paths , edging, slabs , gate s and a pergoda to go in. Looking forwRd to the planting up come March too. Circular bed and some pathways dug out today. You’d be surprised how some people can’t use a shovel !!!!! Anyhow I grabbed a selfie for my course book during a break. Unfortunately due to the digger costing extra some small changes have been forced upon us . Financial cutbacks .
i am very inspired by what i saw on great british garden revival with diarmuid gavin on wild gardens so i am going to put in a wild flower area near the pond and on the way to the woodland area. if it turns out the way i want it to look i will be a very happy girl
i picked up some seeds yesturday. TEASEL BOUQUET, SCABIOUS FARNA BLUE, FLOWER BIODIVERSITY MIX, COTTAGE GARDEN CHOICE MIX. I would like to pick up a couple more like prunella and nigella, forget me nots etc. these will be sown direct except the teasel i will sow that in a tray. now all i need to do is start digging and clearing so fingers crossed i get some work done tomorrow and that the sun shines all day.
i also picked up some echinacea and dicentra in woodies so must pot them up.
i also enjoyed the piece on paeonies and a favourite is the bowl of beauty that rachel recomended i was so happy as this will be flowering in my garden in the next year or so
I read Fionnual Fallon’s article in the Irish Times last Saturday with interest. It was about Thomas Rainer who will be one of the speakers at next month’s GLDA conference.
One particular paragraph really resounded with me –
“..while agreeing that the internet and in particular social media can have a dark, sometimes superficial side, Rainer argues that for gardeners, it has also been a powerful force for good. “For the first time in history, what has been essentially a private endeavour – gardening or designing -can be shared with like-minded people all over the world. That to me is the alchemy of the internet: transforming a craving for connection, or a burning curiosity, into a real-life relationship”
I couldn’t have said it better myself!!!
I thought I would make this post to give you all a giggle.
The photo shows some notes I’ve been making on the ancestry of one of my cattleya orchids. I kid you not!
Amazingly, with orchids their ancestry has all been completely documented and can be easily researched. This is because orchids were hard to propagate and never hybridised by themselves in cultivation because baby plants require myccorhizal fungus to survive. This is not something that was understood until modern times so making an orchid cross was a whole song and dance and therefore always 100% documented.
With ordinary plant hybrids, mostly we have no idea as to what went into their ancestry as no human intervened in that process.
So, amazingly I can trace many of my orchids’ ancestry back to the 1800’s, as shown for Blc Young Kong in the photo.
Now, if only my own genealogy were so well documented!
Cold and foggy here to day, so no gardening. In the afternoon, I went to Woodies. They have promotion packs, ant three for the price of two. I bought Lupins Dahlias and Begonias. I also bought Parsnip (Improved Hollow Crown) and Tomato((Beefsteak). The Hollow Crown Parsnip seed is what I had grown for years but not available for a while. Yesterday I tried to dig the parsnips , sown last spring but they were not worth digging out. I remember having parsnips in the past and stated that they were like sugar beet but of course while sugar beet was abundant around Carlow in the past, now as you all know
Well this morning it looked like a good gardening day so out I went to move loads of Bluebells from where they cannot be seen to a new spot. It was a little misty but all of a sudden the mist seemed to thicken a lot. Then I heard a machine and across the ditch was a tractor thingy spouting out volumes of white powdery stuff. Then I felt funny taste in my mouth so went indoors. Later when I went back out all the plants near the periphery of the garden had turned white and those nearer the centre grey! I am assuming this is lime of some sort …??? Anyway I decided to hose down everything which of course now means a good deal of lime has gone into my neutral soil.
End of rant. I live , literally in the corner of a field with nothing but ditches separating me from the surrounding fields….so I suppose putting up a fence would protect me somewhat but far too expensive. So my plants may suffer but don’t see why my lungs should. The fields are rented now but I will head towards the owner and ask him to request the renters if they could stop by my house when they are on the way to spray and tell me so I can stay indoors.
Really end of rant.Mistake just heard them again and went out there it was spewing out a thick mist now really really thick. It seems to be blowing from the south so my hot borders should be white again soon………………….soooooo mad.
Cannomois grandis, given to me by Bruno and with out doubt will be the high light of plant aquisitions for this year.
It’ll sit and blend in on the decking perfectly and will only add to the whole new planned area extending from the decking.
Thanks again Bruno.
OK! Haven’t been in the garden for long time. Weeds abound and grow up through
flag stones. A very sad place. I have succumbed to chest infections sinus etc and wondering if I have any energy to do something about it. Even the house plants are neglected. fortunately most of these are generous about it and have perked up with
cleaning, tidying and little watering. Unfortunately one plant (a gift) I need advice on.Guzmania ‘Switch’. It needs very little watering on the soil but needs to have water between the leaves all the time. Top leaves of main stem are not green anymore, seem dried out. Shoots have grown from the base and are are catching up with main stem. Can I divide and transplant these and what can I do about main stem. Would be so grateful as I would hate do kill it. It has beautiful dark green leaves with part of them a rich dark red.
Will try to upload a photograph tomorrow if this will help.
Was getting depressed tonight so rather than sinking further decided to come to the jounal and make a start. Spring is on the way and I need to dress up warmly tomorrow and go down to bottom of the garden to check for snowdrops. Maybe a daffodil?
Was pleasantly surprised in the Autumn when venturing down there. The trees have filled in so much that the grass had not grown high and it has turned into a little woodland area completely cut off from the rest of the garden. So peaceful, me the cats and Buttons (dog).
When it comes to winter and seeds I am a seedaholic. Between seeds I have collected from magazines, the garden, friends, from rachels competition and mostly the worst thing from online shopping I have loads to sow. but in saying that I am looking forward to what I will get from them all going well as in the past I have been know to kill so many seedlings but a bit more experience and care this year I should fair better (fingers crossed). After watching Rachels videos I decided I better start with my barnhaven seeds so I can throw them out while it’s still cold. As for the rest as I have no greenhouse whatsoever I will be patient this year and not jump into it too quickly or more importanly too early.
On another note looking forward to the weekend to get out in the garden and is to be a bit milder. Also will be happy to see January finished it must be the longest months ever, I really have cabin fever bad at the moment.
I reckon l got a good bargain, 3 Salvia pots @ €2 each reduced from €8.99 each in Woodies. They were cut back but hopefully they will trive!
I would be most interested to hear how you all germinate your seeds. I get good results from cuttings but am downright bad with seeds. When I saw Dick’s tomatoe seedlings it reminded me I have seeds waiting to be sown and how may I get better results. I use all purpose compost and grit, should I get seed compost? One year I used a heated propagator and yes they bounced up……..and died down. What in your opinion are the essentials to having reasonable results. I think of Kitty, Rachel, MaryJoe , Dick and I am sure many others so spill the beans please!! Oh I do well with Peas and Beans and sow them in the deep rooter trays.
I was lucky enough to win this lovely Camellia ‘Dr King’ recently at one of the garden clubs. I like it’s open habit.
You may remember that the tomato seed had germinated just over a week ago, actually the day, I met so many of you in Johnstown. Well here they are again looking even better. Seed leaves are open and in a few days time the true leaves will be visible.
Philip Hollwey is speaking at Foxrock Garden Club next Tue evening. I have seen his garden near Bunclody and his talk should be very good. I hope to go so it would be nice to have a few .iers for company!
is another welcome addittion to the patch,this one is Ivana.
All,s going well here unusual amount of rain has helped & although it,s been warm no 40* days so far.
I,ve added few more pics to the January album,it,s good we can add the the pics again.
‘Was it, do you think, very wise of mr. Scrubber to go out today ?’asked Cherub Cymbals anxiously. ‘I mean with his heavy cold and his sore throat and his runny, very runny nose’. ‘Well’ said Cherub Lute with a sigh, ‘Mr Scrubber is sometimes not the wisest of men—-even if he is among the kindest! He seems to have made friends with our new visitor Percy the Pheasant and Percy takes no notice at all as Mr. Scrubber goes by with a load of leaves!’
‘But he was very pleased as he managed to weed (roughly) a good bit of the side bed beside the house and he cleared the bed beside statue scrubber of all the leaves and then carted two tarpaulins of leaves down to the bottoms’. ‘Percy’ as Cherub Lute observed above has become quite used to Scrubber passing by. He is a beautiful big coloured cock pheasant and moves around the Scrub in a very stately progression!
So even though the Scrub denizens are a little worried Scrubber is o.k and pleased to be getting things done. Its cold but the sun helps and the leaves are easy to shift as they are crispy enough. As the leaves are cleared the plants underneath emerge. In the side bed there was a lot of nasty old grass but it did protect plants as well as nearly smothering them!
There was a very nice programme on Lillies tonight with James Wong and a nice one on woodland plants. Lots of ideas! Once the place is tidied up I can think about filling it! In the meantime-hot drinks, Panadol and a supply of tissues!This too shall pass!
‘Was it, do you think, very wise of mr. Scrubber to go out today ?’asked Cherub Cymbals anxiously. ‘I mean with his heavy cold and his sore throat and his runny, very runny nose’. ‘Well’ said Cherub Lute with a sigh, ‘Mr Scrubber is sometimes not the wisest of men—-even if he is among the kindest! He seems to have made friends with our new visitor Percy the Pheasant and Percy takes no notice at all as Mr. Scrubber goes by with a load of leaves!’
‘But he was very pleased as he managed to weed (roughly) a good bit of the side bed beside the house and he cleared the bed beside statue scrubber of all the leaves and then carted two tarpaulins of leaves down to the bottoms’. ‘Percy’ as Cherub Lute observed above has become quite used to Scrubber passing by. He is a beautiful big coloured cock pheasant and moves around the Scrub in a very stately progression!
So even though the Scrub denizens are a little worried Scrubber is o.k and pleased to be getting things done. Its cold but the sun helps and the leaves are easy to shift as they are crispy enough. As the leaves are cleared the plants underneath emerge. In the side bed there was a lot of nasty old grass but it did protect plants as well as nearly smothering them!
There was a very nice programme on Lillies tonight with James Wong and a nice one on woodland plants. Lots of ideas! Once the place is tidied up I can think about filling it! In the meantime-hot drinks, Panadol and a supply of tissues!This too shall pass!
This is just starting to flowering here for the first time. I first heard about this snowdrop on Seamus O Brien’s couse a few years ago. I was interested in it straight away as my father did a lot of decoating work in Staffan House when we were kids.
This snowdrop dates back to 1858 when the head gardener at Straffan House spotted it and noted that it produces a second flower per bulb which prolongs it’s flowering interest.
I know it’s a very wide connection but it will be a talking point here for years to come. I also have a letter here from the Lady of the house thanking Dad for all his work over the years at Straffan House.
I thank the doner of this plant most sincerely. It will be enjoyed for years to come.
The Great British Garden Revival is on now BBC 2
A reminder to everyone that Bruno’s garden is featured in the episode of ” Show Me Your Garden” to be broadcast on Janurary 30th at eight on Sky1. Set the record button now or find someone who has Sky 1 to let you in to view it.
Anyone interested in visiting Burton House for the talk and tour of the garden on Ferbruary 22nd next. The talk and tour is been given by Assumpta Broomfield. I have read that there is also a vast planting of winter aconite in the gardens.
On a grey day like today would it not be just wonderful to be lucky enough to be the owner of this.
Cold but dry with a little sun today. Walked around the garden and decided I was a very very untidy gardener. There were empty plant pots all around the place on grass , in borders etc. Then there was Meg’s large contribution of empty Coke bottles half chewed, i give her treats in the bottles for her to shake out, and a fine array of chewed yogurt pots as every night I give her my yogurt to lick the dregs!! The socks make a good show. In the mornings herself usually pinches a sock from my room and brings it to the garden; I now have the one and only Sock Tree as I hang the socks on the branches when they are found. They are too torn and dirty to recycle. I feel better now the confession has been made! I will try to reform.
Delighted to see this Hellebore opening again, It is now in it’s permanent home in the front garden and is doing very well. It has really clumped up well this year with 5 flowering stems compared to one or two the last two years. One of my favourite Hellebores and last weeks and even when the flower starts going to seed it’s still a green looking flowering so still looks good for weeks after.
Hope the photos worked in the journal
Yup, that’s me. Lazy, cheap and proud. I’m always looking for easier ways to do things and ways of cutting costs. Here’s one of them.
Over the years I’ve had several indoor watering cans in various designs. Some fancy, with others being less aestheticly pleasing but more practical. Yet, when it comes to house plant watering, out comes old reliable, a 1 Litre plastic bottle with sports cap.
No spilliage, easy to pour the desired amount, safe for watering plants up high, and you can easily add a bit of dilutable fertiliser. My favourite part is when you’re finished, and you still have some water mixed with dilutable fertlizer left in the bottle, just clip the top back down and store your bottle away for when you need it next.
Any other tips you guys have to make things easier and cheaper?
