Month: December 2015
Congrats Rachel in your book launch . Will it be for sale in the shops or just online . I feel like treating myself for Christmas .
The January/February issue is printing soon and will be out immediately after the plum pudding has gone.
A subscription, at €46, makes a great Christmas gift …so make a note …or drop a hint now!
www.gardensubs.com or call Kim at 01-2947712
The other half suggested a trip to the Aboretum tomorrow ! Think my Christmas present hint may have stuck . On the lookout for a Monkey Puzzle Tree . Hope Iam not too disappointed if none there. Iam sure I’ll adapt .
Finally, after what feels like months or rain, we got the two Alberic Barbier roses on the trellis arch. Plus the leucojums which had to come out to get the arch in, and 3 packets of Narcissus Actaea (Pheasant’s Eye), a Christmas bonus from the garden centre where I work Mondays.
Al’s also deep-bedded the rhubarb, which has never done too well here. So we’re hoping a good soil depth, and a few more plants, will give us a good supply. I also got 3 tayberries. We got one from Lidl last year that just withered and died, but these are good strong plants so hopefully it’ll be another berry for summer breakfasts. I can just taste them now!
We’re just crossing our fingers that we don’t get Arctic conditions before the 30th. It’s my birthday, and my granddaughter told me last week that she was going to come to my house for my birthday to ‘look at all Nanny’s beautiful flowers’. So hopefully there’ll still be a few for her to see!
And now the so-called updated Windows has eaten the photo I just took…. oh well better luck next time!
arrived home at 3pm and took a mad notion to cut the lawns. A quick run of the hand througj the meadow confirmed the grass was dry enough . kept the blades a setting higher than normal and 1.5 hours later I was feeling very smug. Looking much better now with a seasonal trim .
To day 21st is usually the shortest day. One might say for that reason, Mid Winter. Now we can look forward every day, for more daylight. Of course we usually get it colder in January but the length of the days will make up for it. Surely the amount of frost has been minimal. On the other hand they will tell us that December is usually the wettest month and it has been like that this winter. In this part of the country it has not been bad. I normally treat my rhubarb about November 1 as they will tell us that it should get some frost. How different December is compared with December 2010? Remember that year. At the end of November the snow came that year and remained until St. Stephen’s Day. That same year, my Griselinia was destroyed and unlike my Hypericum hidcote (St. John’s Wort) which was burnt to the ground but resurrection came and it is as big and strong as ever. If you were to look at my Liquidambar which was multicoloured even up to the end of November, now it is bare but will show great colour again. There are still a few roses to be seen. I added some more that I propagated from cuttings. Now I have over 100 bush roses. Next month, I plan to prune them depending on the weather. Happy Christmas to you all.
Wishing you all ahappy, healthy and peaceful Christmas. I don’t know yet if I will be at Johnstown but if not I’ll meet some of you somewhere during the year.
Wishing all my dear friends a very happy Christmas and wonderful 2016.
I was reading again the famous reply, to the query of an 8 year old in 1897, from the Editor of the New york Sun and thought I would post it
.DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? VIRGINIA O’HANLON. 115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET. VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You may tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. Share – See more at: https://www.newseum.org/exhibits/online/yes-virginia/#sthash.iOWMMoRE.dpuf
It was only when Jackie posted her October and November albums the other day that I realised I hadn’t posted albums of my garden for a while.
So two are now up if you’d like a look at the front and back gardens this autumn. What a great season for colour and flower it was.
I think the first photo is a Leucanthemum (from Terrishoos) that’s only opening now. And the little poppy is out in the front garden, with my geranium ‘Wargrave Pink’ still in flower. But I forgot to photograph that.
Just coming into flower now. I took a chance the other day and raised them on upturned pots without turning them at a different angle to the light and so far they’re fine.
Platic bag caught on my flowering currant. I managed to free it and it will do fine to line the kitchen bin!
I was down on the beach for a walk yesterday morning, as I was walking back to the car something caught my eye that looked familar.
A plant label, there’s no getting away from things at times LOL
Lost my car keys yesterday and had to walk to the shop “Oh, no”! Well, occasionally I do leave the car at home, purely to have a nosey on peoples front gardens. This one had a whole little corner devoted to some lovely heathers that are in full flower at the moment. Hmmmm! It’s got me thinking about my own front garden for next year.
I have this for a long time, 3 were free with the Magazine, just pay postage. One never did , but this and another are still going strong. I know Fran came up with the name some years back, but of course I’ve forgotten aagain. I actually looked through my archive but couldn’t find it. took the photos yesterday by the way, at least it was only windy not wet like today.
Got out the other day to do a bit of judicial watering in the greenhouse, and to ventilate it. Surprised to see that my Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’ is still in flower. Most of the Pelargoniums that I took up are also showing buds, or flowers.
My window box out in the front (which is also filled with Pelargoniums) is still looking good, and I fed them only once this year. Maybe it will have blown away altogether today. Almost afraid to check. 🙂
A bit sick of being cooped up indoors now. We could do with a break in the weather.
gardener is getting abit of colour about him too.
My indoor Hyacinths have gone over a while now. So today it was time to dead head and think of planting them out the front. But look what I discovered. Another flower on its way.
Only a few berries left on Viburnum opulus, the birds obviously like them! It had lots this year, I started a painting of some, not quite finished I’m afraid.
I had a visit from a thoughtful friend today and she brought me this pretty Kalanchoe. I thought this was particularly thoughtful as I’m trying really hard not to munch my way through all the cakes and biscuits that other visitors brought 🙂
I thought it was interesting the difference it made when I used the flash to take the photos – I was using the phone so there isn’t much fine-tuning but the flash turned the flowers a completely different colour!
The true colour is the pink!
Almost 2 months since I have been on here! I use my phone now to put photos up on Garden.ie Friends on FB and find it much easier than trying to put up photos on Garden.ie. However I do keep up with journals as not everyone is on FB. My laptop has become very slow so I dont take it out that much either.
Another example of my neglect is this plant which sits on the floor in my hallway. I forget to water it! It is very forgiving just as I hope my friends are on here !
This time yesterday morning – I pushed back the curtains and there it was outside – SNOW. Not expected so was a bit of a shock. Still on the fields facing our house. Very cold here. Thank goodness we weren’t affected by the floods but in Westport town there was some flooding. I feel so sorry for all those people not that far from here who are having to deal with the aftermath of severe flooding in and around their houses.
A little early this year for flowering is Galanthus ‘ Three Ships’, a snowdrop found in the garden of John Morley. A lovely strong snowdrop that has bulked up for us in a short time. An I nteresting article in this months ‘English Garden’ on John’s garden and his snowdrop nursery, North Green. Beautiful photos of very desirable snowdrops entices you to order some more drops.
Love Summer but not to keen on the near 40*C temps,it,s a job to keep the garden alive.
I noticed acouple of different flowers in the Californian poppies is it usual?
No gardening done in the last few weeks due to the dreadful weather that has afflicted all parts of the country. The past week the drizzle has only stopped for heavy rain and the grey skies seem to be stuck on top of us. This morning there are gale force winds blowing and of course the drizzle and the grey skies remain. However, the snowdrops are making good growth and a few early ones are blooming away in the garden. The slugs are having a feast on a lot of them and the only way to enjoy them is to bring them into the house before they are decimated. I just noticed the snowdrops are up in the grass and some already showing signs of white, which seems way too early.
