Month: January 2016
Happy New Year to all @ Garden.ie. Just a few plants for Sat..
Persicaria ( Red Dragon) x1 Moya
Lychnis Coronaria (pink) x1
Foeniculum Vulgare (bronze) x1 Hazel
Ophiopogon Nigerscens x1 Jackie
Pelargonium Sidoides x2 Jackie
Hesperantha Major x1 Doreen
Aeonium x1
2 small Echeveria (Pearl of Nuremburg)
I was watching a nature programme earlier and this Orchid was mentioned.
But the truth is, it’s a Praying Mantis that looks like an Orchid. It was truely amazing how the live footage showed it catching it’s prey.
Nature is a class act, that’s for sure.
Well, we finally got the boards to construct our new Blueberry Bed. It’ll go the full width of the greenhouse and free up the bed they’re in. I am planning on shifting most of the plants in what used to be my Acid Quadrant. And it’ll be great to give the seven blueberries a home of their own.
Hopefully they boards will be treated at the weekend, and then we’re ready to go.
Very messy garden. So much to be done.
I’m more excited over Johnstown than Christmas! Maybe because it doesn’t involve cooking or washing up….. Just hope it stops raining today so I can sort out the plants. Looking forward to seeing everyone!
Spring has spung, see you all tomorrow 😉
While I enjoy all outings with garden.ie friends, there’s something special about our annual get-together at Johnstown. The anticipation, the build-up, and the day itself, the ever-generous plant swaps, catching up with friends not seen during the year, kris kindle fun, the chance of a raffle win (yes, I was at the lucky table and won a prize!) and maybe a little shopping.
And what about the entertainment? Scrubber, you excelled yourself!
I enjoyed every minute, thanks to our wonderful organiser, dear Hazel; to Jim and the Johnstown staff for looking after us so well; to Myrtle, Ron and Dorothy for offering to transport me and my plant swaps and for company enroute; to those who gave me plants, and to all of you who came from near and far to share the day. You were great company and I’m still glowing.
And, as to what I bought … well, you’ll have to wait a few days to see.
People are very kind in attributing the success of our annual gathering at Johnstown to yours truly – and while I admit to a bit of organising, the real heroes of the event are the volunteers who do all the work on the day!
This year we were honoured to have a renowned poet in our midst – tipped by those in the know for the position of Poet Laureate any day soon….
enjoy the hot Summer pics & thanks to you all for sharing your get together,loved the pics alot of happy smiling faces so good on you all.
Frans album said it all lol.
Reading a couple of recent posts where the lack of perfume of hamamelis is referred to, gave me the nudge to put up these 2 pictures of my sarcococca, which I purposely grow in pot. It has been flowering for the past 2 months, but I had to leave it out of doors until after the Christmas decorations and tree ( all clutter) had been cleared. So in it came to the conservatory. I went off for a week to visit “daughter dear” and when I came home, I was greeted by the ever so pleasant fragrance (woody, would you say?) of this lovely green plant. The flowers that had just been so insignificant, now actually had petals and so were producing their perfume.
We need warm quiet weather for the perfume to work.
The question is : how did Laetitia Churchill Beaumann’s husband grow his?
I have a lovely potted aeonium simii x zwartkop which I got as a cutting from Rachel several years ago. It stays outside all year at my doorstep. It has sent up about 4 long stems recently and now I see that these are flower buds. This is the first time it has flowered.
Any advice about letting it flower at this time of year which does seem strange?
Think I will sow next years parsnips later in the year as they grow huge in my garden. One per dinner usually suffices !! A row of rose cuttings look healthy and will stay in place until at least mid 2017.
I only bought one plant at Johnstown this year. Wasn’t I good?
It was delivered yesterday 🙂
I know, I know! You have heard all about it and seen all the pictures and videos days ago!
SO! I wont bore you with more of the same. But I simply want to say that, having missed the last two years, I really enjoyed the get-together and meeting so many of you again. As the badge I was wearing indicated, I have been a member from the beginning and attended the very first get-together organised by Gerry at Belvedere.
My chosen picture of the day shows the lady who put the whole thing together! Thank you Hazel!
But I couldn’t omit our very own ‘Scrubber’! Thank you Peter for the entertainment!
I was expecting it to be much colder this morning in the garden when I went out. The frost was setting hard last evening, but cloud moved in over night and it was quite pleasent this morning is a little on the cool side.
It was a a real case of cut, slash and clear. I’ll be returning to each area of the coming weeks to do a final clean up and whatever else needs doing on the day.
It was just so good to have the old ‘mojo’ back and really get stuck in fully. The body is telling me I did a bit too much but the spirit is still glowing with the positive effects of a decent start been made.
Happy gardening to you all for 2016, enjoy.
One great thing about gardening as you all know is the surprises we find without fail when we’re out and about.
Yesterday’s main delight for me was seeing the flowers on the Kerria open. This is a super shrub and if anything like last year I’ll be seeing it’s lovely strong colours for the next few months.
Grocery shopping is done, washing machine is on the go, dinner prepared so it’s time for a few more hours in the garden.
Cool, calm and cloudy here, enjoy your day 😉
Sorry photos don’t seem to be loading properly, not going to waste time figuring out what the problem is, I’ll try later on.
Peter I smiled when I sawyou comment about getting a Melianthus in your delivery today. I had planned on oposting this journal of Mischanthus, Melianthus and a Fern that are growing happily in the revamed Grass bed.
I think in time the conbination all three plants will look great together.
This young root cutting has survived when the parent plant died. As it was one of my late mothers potted plants it would be nice to is it. I remember s large gangly plant with 2-3 almost tree like stalks and long pointed leaves at the top . She had it in an outdoor urn but since her death it was neglected . I managed to get one root cutting to t and this is it. Would it be a Yucca of sone sort?
well certainly not in January. Spotted this poor loner last Saturday in the garden. It was really only when looking at the photos that I noticed just how much the branches I used for the border edging have so nicely been covered with moss.
I had my granddaughters today, but while they were at playschool and school I took advantage of an hour and went outside and cleared another little area. I can only do a bit at a time so I really enjoyed it.
It was very mild here, 14C at one stage, dull, but lovely being outside. I even went for my walk later on without my scarf and gloves.
The garden is very overgrown with all last years bits and pieces, so getting it done bit by bit is really changing the look of the garden, but its slow. I dont mind Ive all the time in the world. Its lovely to be out again though, cant believe we are nearing the end of January already!
Here are a couple of photos of the shaded area of the garden at the end.
What a difference an hour can make!
Aren’t the seed pods of Nicandra just so pretty!
No chance of me gardening this weekend as I’ll have the pleasure of my sister coming up from the country.
It’s lashing here at the moment. But no doubt the sun is shining in Blanchardstown. LOL.
Thought I would just throw up these two photos of the weather for today.
Dont you just love when it rains overnight and by the time you are getting up its just clearing off.
Well it looks like that’s what about to happen today too. Rain to clear East coast early, not long now, then sunshine to follow with mild conditions. Now that’s something to be grateful for isn’t it. And it looks like the rest of the country will be clearing up and looking good too.
So enjoy your day whatever you do, but try to get out in that fresh air at some stage.
Thats your weather forecast for today, Friday 22nd January 2016, Jackie reporting for Garden.ie. LOL 😉
Ps ……when uploading these photos they were sideways, I’m using my iPad. I had to edit the pictures 4 times, so basically I turned them all the way around again 4 different times, exactly as they started out, before they would appear upright. That’s the issues we have with photos!!!
Its been lovely to get a couple of dry mild days or at least hours! I got some tidying up done today, cutting back dead stems where I could reach them from the path. The ground is really too wet to stand on. But it is just lovely to see the first yellow crocus blooming and the odd blue flower showing on Lithadora. I moved a couple of bergenias.
I took this photo of Acer Sango-kaku/Senkaki, it looks good in winter with its bare stems which this mild winter are still holding on to a few leaves. I have this Spring photo taken 4 years ago when I got it.
Despite their size, don’t snowdrops have an amazingly big impact on us.
All this plant needs to burst into flower is a little bit of Sunshine. But looking at the forecast for the week ahead |I don’t think that will happen.
Great to be discovering plants that will flower outside the main flowering seasons.
FYI This plant was renamed last year, Roldana petasites. I just remembered this after posting and had to google new name.
Eilish kindly gave me this lovely plant at Johnstown.
It is still in its original pot but it has almost doubled in size in the past two weeks!! I love the markings on the leaves and I’m sure the flowers will be magnificent too. It is sitting on the windowsill in my kitchen and seems happy enough
So thank up you again Eilish. I do hope I can keep it alive!!
