Month: September 2015

From previous journal this is the same border from the Lawn side

My wife Mary arrived home some days ago with these two little planters bought for €15.  They contain mostly annuals I think, but begonias and dahlias too . No idea what these other two plants are. 

Are they worth minding over the winter I ask ? 

Good to see the sun still shines this part of the world! I finally dragged myself away from the laundry and got out in the garden for a while.

Got some photos while the sun was shining – and I am so amazed at the amount of growth in one short week! The new Tropical Garden has exceeded my expectations completely! The Ricinus are well over 6 feet tall and are matched by the Solanum Laciniatum – they are towering over the Tetrapanax which hasn’t reached its full height on account of being moved …. but wait till next year 🙂

The Melianthus recovered really well from the late frost and I have found the perfect home for the rather messy Persicaria Campanulata. I really like the white flowers on this plant but when I had it in a more civilised border it just flopped down on top of its less exhuberant neighbours but in the Tropical Garden it is supported by its neighbours and is standing up well even after all the recent rain!

And that lovely little Rehmannia Elata is little no longer! It is about 60 cm tall and would probably be taller except it is under the more vigorous giants around it but it is really pretty and there is another flower on its way too!

Workwise in the garden – I’ve learned a new activity “Breasting a hedgerow” (well, by name anyway!). Kevin did a serious breasting of the hedgerow behind the compost bins but there is a lot of junk left behind so I started the tidy-up of that area today. I’ll do a full journal on it when its done!

in the patch at the moment,the last couple of warm days has got alot of the patch interested in starting to bloom,Iris & Rhodo,s are getting close along with the tulips,love in the mist plus californian poppies too so all,s going well here.

I,m hoping the chooks do,nt take aliking to any of the above,all a learning curve with them running free around the patch.

Got these beautiful lilies at Bloom this year, in shades of yellow, orange and red. Was looking forward to them adding a bit of late colour this year to my hot border. With all the rain we’ve had over the last few days I was worried that they would open in my absence and get washed out of it. But no. They have only just started to open. But not in the colours that I had chosen. Thought I had kept the names of them in my computer but I must have deleted them by mistake. However, they are planted in a planter and just snuggling in between other plants. So I’ll just move them to a more suitable spot for next year.

Disappointed that they are not what they said on the tin. But delighted that they’re beginning to open for my homecoming.

After all the rain it was pleasant to get out in the garden yesterday afternoon, especially as I have not been gardening for some time.  It is an interesting time with autumn leaves about to colour.  I have put up some photos of common plants, but I think they are of interest just now.

These two plants from Myrtle (Eucomis Sparkling Burgundy) and Fran (Rhodochiton) are just fantastic right now. The eucomis is in full flower even tho with not the straightest stem but looking great and the rhodochiton is just getting better and better and starting to trail downwards now which is making it look a lot fuller with a fortune of flowers.

Lastly my Ensete, not the greatest of photos but has come on so well in the few months that i’ve had it and the leaves are getting a good size now aswell. Fingers crossed it will overwinter well in my greenhouse.

I havnt had a journal up for some time, a combination of busy and holiday! We were in Kerry for a week and got great weather only one wet day! What a beautiful part of our country, the scenery is just stunnning and we had a very relaxing week. Well I should say it was a bit hair raising around some of the mountain and coastal roads but Ron did a great job of driving!And he did stop for me to take a photo of the montbretia!

I’ve never had any luck with Begonias but having seen the spectacular ones in my sister Elizabeth’s garden last year I was tempted to try them – so having persuaded them to appear above ground and seeing a first timid red flower just befroe my holidays i was delighted to come home to at least one flower on each of the 6 plants – and different colours too! They certainly provide a bit of vivid colour at this time of year. I might just become a fan! Do I have to lift them or just bring the planters into the greenhouse?

Picture Two is just three sedums I think make a good combination.

Picture Three is the lovely rose I gazed on having my lunch the other day!

grew these from seed this year, but i think this may be the only one that made it. Still it has lots of buds coming on. the other photo is Chrysogonum, which I like against the Physocarpus, Diabolo.

 i havent been on the site much but i have been doing alot of work on the new area. when i have it finished it will be a japanese area. the tunnel has been cleared out and refloored as the old floor was in bad shape. it is now ready to house the tender plants for the winter. my neighbour made me 2 new doors so it will be extra cosy and secure, the old doors were falling apart. 

the new area is almost complete. a bit of light weeding and getting more bark for the beds and stone for the ground around the beds and add some box and rocks put in something that resembles running water   then it will be complete. planted the two grass beds yesturday with miscanthus and strippa aurences  two different phormiums the one with  the varigated yellow leaves is a phormium i had for two years in a pot and it finally found its home yesturday, i had to break it out of the pot, the pot was cracked anyway but the broken bits will come in handy for bottom of pots. 

it has taken a long time to get this finished but very happy with it now. i have an idea for a type of arbour/ summer house  for this area in between the two grassbeds this i will make myself with trelis.

looking forward to seeing the two spotlights light up. these change colour.

Rio the dog has found his own nuck in the beds so will have to leave that free of bark for him or he will tear up somewhere else.

i am putting up an album of the new area so far. i will start of with pictures of when it was first planted up 

i took some new photos today of new area and this site wont upload them will try later what i did put up is of the new area during the big clearout and getting ready for planting. it is extremely frustrating when you take ages to put up an album and it wont take.

here are some photos for now 

here are a few more photos of the new area. i painted the boxes black so the plants stand out more 

Had plans for taking the last large grass out of the grass bed this morning, adding leaf mould and compost as it was a poorish dry soil to suit the grasses. All this went really well and then started to place plants around.

I have to say, words from Deborah’s course at Terra Nova really started to come back to me and some serious decisions were made about matching plants together and thinking several seasons ahead. In no time I was planting, I had not planned on this at all as I really wanted to think about it all, but somehow it all came together and while not finished, I’m really delighted with the effect so far.

Then the rugby, two super matches, and still watching France and Italy.

My perfect kind of day 😉

i’m sure you all have to agree that this picture depicts a really happy Moya. And Seamus is there too.  Now that bed is quite unique in her garden.  So much unfilled  space.  BUT she has plans for it. 

The area of Kilmacrennan is quite cold in winter (and even at other  times!) and just look at those eucomis. Truly wonderful. 

Well, what do you know?  They are all upside down!

Moya, its your turn to get a light head and cold feet! 

Just a few from the early part of the month. The first is of a cooled down hot bed.

That fine tall Rudbeckia is Rudbeckia Goldstum “Prairie Sun”.  I had never seen it before. I wonder how it will behave? Has anyone grown it?

The shorter one at the front is Rudbeckia fulgida Goldstrum. 

Crocosmia Solfataire is my favourite and is beautifully behaved.

A few more early September pictures. 

The 1st picture shows Lobelia Queen Victoria which today is much taller and beginning to show its lovely red flowers. Inula magnifica at the back. Crocosmia Solfataire, and Geum Dolly North contrasting with the Agapanthus.

The yellow gladioli are at least 5yrs old and would need to be replanted deeper as the corms have worked their way to the surface. Are they happier at that level?

Crocosmia Maori Sunrise may well look stunning and shimmering, but I think it is going to be a bit of an invader. This is its 4th season and all the bits at the front were removed last year (and passed on to new owners!) When you lift a few pieces, you can see that there is a string connecting one corm to a new one. Bad news.  Remiscent of Emily McKenzie. Another lass who is fleet of foot.  I just prefer to stick to my Solfataire and Mazoniorum 

The garden is really beginning to show definite signs of Autumn now. I’ve already done a bit of cutting back and collected some seeds. But only collecting seeds that I know I will need for next year. 

Clematis ‘The President’ and  ‘Bees Jubilee’ are on their second flush now. But I was delighted to see that Nerine bowdenii is starting to appear now too. I also have a white one tucked in there (I think). And this cute little Dianthus has begun to open up too. It’s been a very dry and still week. The calm bit is ok, but I think I’ll have to water a few parts of the garden, especially planters, today even though I know a bit of rain is forecast for the next few days.

The last grass to be taken out of the grass bed was one I bought at a street market years ago, no name other than ‘tall decorative grass’. It was one that was to be kept as it’s a beauty, amazing seed heads, but it is a bit of a runner, be them on the surface and easy to control.

But to keep it in check to some extent, I dug a hole and placed a section of plastic ducting into it and back in went the grass. This should keep it in it’s place for a while and any runners that do make it out will be easily spotted and removed.

Once all the planting is completed and soil covers the edges, nobody will even know it’s there.

I bought these lilies in Bloom this year to extend the colour in my ‘hot’ border. Supposed to be orange, red and yellow, but not what they said on the tin. But it’s still great to get a bit of late colour and fragrance to die for at a time when most of my other lilies have gone over. Some of the buds are huge.

i got this poppy ‘harvest moon’ in april or may of this year, it flowered in its pot and that was it i thought it had died off as the leaves went on it but when i planted it in to the new area it took off again and now it is attempting to flower and i think the other two will follow this one has a fine big bud on it, the colour will be orange which fits into the colour scheme in this bed. i really hope it gets to flower again before the winter 

i got 2 solar spot lights in woodies for 5 euro, these change colour and look really cool in the grass beds, i must pick up a few more this weekend coming 

Although there are very few roses in bloom in my front garden, the ones which are in bloom are generally very scented. Some of the earlier roses are beginning to show blooms again. Speaking of roses, the roses which I had slipped a year ago are well rooted and potted. They will be planted out in about a months time. I have taken cuttings of some more and put in the ground to root.

Well, what a thoroughly miserable day here. No time in the garden except for a few photos before the rain started. My rose ‘Sheila’s Perfume’ is coming again. And it does have a lovely scent. But it is a gorgeous rose without the scent. 

Two blues that I captured today were my Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and an annual that I grew from seed sent by Margaret, Nicandra ‘Splash of Cream’. Both flowers are quite similar and are the exact same shade of blue. I’ve collected lots of seeds of this for next year. But I’ll be more watchful as the lovely variegated foliage, which had attracted me to it initially, had been munched by something throughout the whole summer. I never got to find out what was the culprit.

I got the planting of the new area finished this morning. Two more things to be done, the edges along the path need to be finished and Spring bulbs need to be planted.

I only noticed when I finished and was tidying up that all bar two of these plants were bought. Everything else has been divided, swapped or donated by the members on the site here. So I need to say a big thank you to you one and all, the garden here would be a much sadder place without all your generosity.

From my garden ”Thank You”.

I had to rise early this morning, ….. Well early for me.  The first thing that struck me was that everywhere was bathed in a golden light. 

So I reached for the iPad and went out (bare feet) to take a few snaps.  It was about 7.10 am .

the sunshine lasted quite a long time.  I caught the 1st ferry across the Foyle to Co Derry and had such a lively drive along the coast on my way to Co Antrim.

Well, it has happened again! More gymnastics required.  Is this a virus or a bacteria or a system malfunction? If JoanG could not sort out her picture, then I sure cannot either.