Month: August 2015

This is developing into a fine sized plant. Fantastic foliage colour and leaf shape, with unusual flowers just starting to open.

Giant Knapweed (Centaurea macrocephala) opened today and the bees were having a great time.

Love this plant.

I’m adding an album of some of the Ferns in the garden. I’ll quote MartinB here and often think of him when he said to meone time, ”there’s always room for another fern”.

Hi All,

I have a big problem with that green skinny grass, its growing up through lots of my plants, i have dug out plants over the years, pulled away the grass bulbs and leaf, dug down well, and here i am its back again as bad as ever, i am so so sick of it, Does anybody, even Jerry can help me with how to get rid of it, is there a spray that i can use to kill it and not affect the plants etc etc, attahed are just a few of the areas Thanks ever so much for any answers

Two plants of many that Fran gave me where really ones on my wishlist and cannot thank him enough for them as I just love them. First is the Rhodochiton seeds which is now flowering it’s socks off and today noticed the proper flower on it which I never realised looked so good.

Secondly is the bamboo which was a huge surprise called chusquea culeou which is truely fantastic and is now planted in it’s permanent home and tought it just looked so good againts the cream wall.

If you have been on the site here for a few years, you will remember a young novice gardener posting his first journals of what really was a blank canvas.

It has been a real joy watching Peter learn and create what is now a stunning garden.

I’ve been meaning to post this journal for an age.

Well done Peter, we have learnt every bit as much as you have in developing you piece of heaven.

Well done.

Not the easiest of colours to get a decent photo of, but worth the effort.

From Seaview Garden in Donegal, an old plant with history 😉

Thank you Dorothy.

I’ve grown these fleshy annuals on a number of occasions. This year I have a variety that I got from my local vegetable man that has sprawling stems. No name, but a real zingy colour. They usually need lots of sun to perform so these particular ones aren’t very colourful at the moment.

But these ones (Portulaca grandiflora) are looking quite zingy, regardless of the weather. And they flower again very soon after they have been dead-headed.

Monarda ‘Cambridge Scarlet’ looks a little scruffy in all honesty, but you’ve gotta love them.

If that reminds you of a song from your youth, you’re getting on a bit! I’m enjoying the gladioli, they are steadily increasing every year and the colours are beautiful. I can’t remember who gave us the corms, but thanks! 

When we spotted ‘Absolutely fabulous’ it was standing beside a couple of pots of verbena rigida, and the colours were so lovely together we bought those too. It’s a spreader, but too dainty to be a thug. 

Back to the gloom and rain after a lovely few days – but the poly needs weeding and it’s been too hot lately, so it’ll be good to get that done.  

There’s a nice airy feel to this mixture,

Sanguisorba, Veronicastrum alba and Thalictrum

Finally got one. 🙂

In the September issue of The Irish Garden magazine received today, it mentions that many maples have taken on their autumn colour early this year.  Of my two Japanese maples, Acer ‘Orange Dream’ in the back garden is still delightfully green while Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’ out in front has already gone crimson and is looking quite fiery.

A few feet away is the icy Pittosporum ‘Irene Patterson’ which I planted last year and has come on really well, with a little touch of fire from Crocosmia ‘Saracen’ popping up in front of it. 

Well heading towards the end of August hard to believe.  The Garden is still looking good but the empasis is on the hot area. Sometimes I wish I had more visitors to share this area with at this time of year so if you are coming this way do call!! The two photos here show the bottom of the hot area. I have a mini Throne here and one photo shows what I see looking left  , the other to the right. It is a sort of enclosed area and though unseen the path through the hot borders is sort of to the top of the pictures….Anyway I am going to put up an August Album to share 🙂

Since finishing the last pond I noticed the level of water going down each day. Obviously there were parts that were missed when Steve was applying the bitumen. However, we left it to its own devices and let the level fall, however low it went. When it had stabilized, we knew roughly where the leak was. 

So today, Steve pumped out a further 6 inches of water to be safe. It was back to melting bitumen over the homemade stove, and applying it in a thick coating. Bit of a problem figuring out how Steve was going to hold onto a big pot of boiling hot melted bitumen, while standing in the remaining water, and applying at the same time.

I had a brainwave – doesn’t happen too often. Used David’s old paddling pool when he was a baby. I had stored it behind the Norway Spruce at the back wall. One half of it had become brittle over the last few years. But the other half was perfect. Put the Lifebelt in the centre of the good half, covered with plastic to protect the lifebelt, then placed a metal plate over that so it could take the boiling hot pot of bitumen. Now Steve could have it floating in the pond and bitumise to his hearts content.

Filling up to the original level now and looking good. Fingers crossed. 

What a day!!

I offered Margot to help out with her open day and when it came to the day (today) the only cloud on the horizon was that my own garden is in rag order and needed attention from me very badly. I was a bit torn leaving it as I haven’t had a full gardening day here for a couple of weeks but boy, am I glad I went.

The garden was looking amazing; the welcome from Margot was second to none; the other helpers were all wonderful; the weather was warm and dry and the garden visitors were just great! It was great to meet Dorothy again as well. I haven’t enjoyed a day as much in a long time.

There was lots of colour in Margot’s garden provided by phlox, dahlias, lillies, lythrum, hydrangeas, zantadeschia, veronica, hebes, heathers, rogersia, geraniums, clematis, echiums, penstemon, herbaceous potentilla, gheum and more. I forgot my phone and camera so have no pictures.

Thank you Margot for a wonderful day – I loved every minute of it!

PS – Don’t know if I helped out much….. 

3 of the dahlias I planted this year have not flowered yet. They have healthy leaves and are in pots. I gave them some tomato feed and watered regularly. Am I missing something? One has a few buds so I live in hope.

A number of members of our Donegal Garden Society had a most enjoyable day out yesterday! 

One of the highlights was a visit to Margot Caldwell’s (Fluerette) garden in Shroove near Greencastle, Co. Donegal. What a treat! A most beautiful garden. planted with an eye to detail. 

I have put up an Album just to give you all a ‘taste’ of this very special garden. But it has to be seen ‘in the flesh’ to really appreciate the labour of love that it really is.

Thank you Margot for sharing it with so many.

Now that I’m here (computer playing up over past few weeks) I’m showing you a couple of photos of plants in my late August gdn.  The Clematis ‘piilu’ is putting on a second show of flowers, single this time.   My lillies (concar d’or) are only just coming into flower!! 

Here is how my Amorphophallus konjac is looking at the moment, after weeks of total neglect. It’s out in the greenhouse now and I’m not sure what to expect next.

There’s a slight difference between this area of the garden,

April 16th to August 22nd.

one border i dug over this year after dad sprayed it has so many selfseeders in it. i have been blessed with loads of calendula, and now teasel ( thank you hosta and joanne for menu_order i also have annual poppies, and forget me not and rocket………all in all a banquet and all for free, cant get better than that 

but may i also add i have also inheritated an all merciful amount of weeds….yikes, it will be head down bum up for the coming weeks to try and get on top of it.

i went out for a look around this evening and it is sooooooo cold brrrrrrr. 

Two different ones I think. Different leaf and flower.

This little gem is almost hidden away in the border and forgotten about. Yesterday was my first real day outside and it was really lovely to find these hidden treasures. Long may it continue now!!!! 

I got this plant recently as a tiny little plant, and was really surprised to have spotted it flowering this evening. Made my day.

Some googling leads me to think it S. microphylla cerise.