Month: March 2016

If you have a Dealz store near you, make it a priority to visit occasionally. They’re starting to get their plants in now and you just never know what little gems you may pick up. I was there on Wednesday and got this lovely Polyanthus ‘Stella’. I’m normally drawn to strong colours. But these pastel shades were just calling out to me. Unfortunately there was only one left. But I’ll possibly be there again today. They may have gotten more stock in.

Now that spring is really here to stay, fingers crossed, a couple of the early flowering hybrid Rhodos have opened their blossoms. 

R.praecox lives up to its name and is an extremely reliable early bloomer. It has a fairly straggly habit which can be curtailed by pruning but i let mine to its own devices as the flowers are many and attractive.

The second flower shown is from R.cilpinense whose buds can be affected by frosts but the timing is perfect this year and the flowers are delightful.

To day was mild but not sunny here. A went for a walk in the garden to have a look at the shrubs which might be about to bloom. I noticed some yellow flowers on the Forsythia. I presume that very soon it will be quite good. The Corkscrew Hazel is looking good with the catkins. One flower is about to open in the Magnolia Susan. The grass in the front lawn needs a mowing and according the forecast I should be able to get the mower out. The roses which were pruned in January have shown a fair amount of growth.

Delighted to finally have a Corydalis in the garden having never grown them before and it’s all thanks to Margaret (Hosta) for this plant. Tought it was looking brilliant today in full flower. Thank you Margaret.

It was national Tree week, so what did we do but plant a national tree to replace the poor abies lasiocarpa, RIP. We got an Irish yew, Taxus Baccata ‘Standishii’, which should stay fairly short (if not I’ll keep in trimmed to reduce the risk of wind damage). It should do well as young yews are growing really well in the nature reserve over the road. We also ordered a quince tree (the fruit, not the ornamental), just for fun, but it hadn’t come in so it’ll be a bit late. Better late than never!

Decided to give this a go and see how I get on. I cut away the fruit and kept to be eaten. Cleaned it up as best as I could and have it placed it water. So fingers crossed I will get it to root.

What another lovely Spring day we had today. Sadly no gardening done but did manage to snap a few photos.

Well, it is March after all. And so far I haven’t been disappointed with the garden. But having acquired all the timber to construct the raised bed solely for my 7 Blueberry bushes, we waited and waited for the weather to improve so we could Creocote the planks before putting them together. The weather has definitely improved now. But it’s a bit late to transplant the blueberries as the dormant season is long gone. Lots of foliage on all bushes. So it looks like I’m stuck with the Acid Quadrant for a while longer, although it does still look well. But I wanted to bring that whole bed back to grass to open up that small area.

Apart from the blueberries in this little section, I have dwarf Rhododendron, Leptospermum, Myrtus ‘Butterball’,  and Pieris. They are going to have a bed of their own, together with one of my Witch Hazels from the front. 

The raised bed will probably be three planks tall and the full width of the greenhouse. It’ll be nice not to have to pick up Holly’s deposits constantly. And having the bed here won’t take away any light from the greenhouse as this side is West-facing.

They say a little knowledge is dangerous. But in this case I disagree. I’ve always loved birds, and things that fly and swim. I’ve always wanted to see birds nesting in the shrubs in my garden. It hasn’t happened yet. Or maybe it did and I was too blind to notice it. 

However a few years ago I got it into my head that I needed a bird box and set Steve to this task as he is pretty handy. I insisted on it being funky, painted in primary colours. And he nailed it up on the wall. It was put up so well that it will NEVER come down. Since making it, the bold colours have thankfully faded with the sun but will probably never house any nests as it’s south-facing. But the one in the first photo is one I got in Dealz last year. I thought it had a simple, rustic charm to it. It’s hanging out of one of the Oak Fenders but needs to be anchored to it for stability. 

Only since Steve made his one have I discovered that no. 1 – Steve’s one is sited in the totally wrong position. Should be on a north or east-facing wall to avoid overheating in hot weather. And no. 2 – to opt for natural materials and natural colours. If it’s brightly coloured, the chicks will be an easy target for bigger preying birds. Also if it has a metal or tin roof, the whole nest is at risk of cooking the chicks inside. So in this instance, a little knowledge is rather useful.

I did a walk today near the old head of Kinsale and it was lovely to see primroses in the ditch and also wild onion or garlic, the one with 3-sided stems? First time I put up photos from phone, and it worked!!

Home from Gretta’s now and have caught up on any lost sleep. 🙂  But just looking back on a few photos I took while there and want to share Gretta’s meandering pathways with you. Her garden has a very fluid feel to it, and there is nothing about it that would jar the senses.

I particularly love this mirror on her shed, producing a very nice trompe l’oeil effect when everything is in full growth. There was nothing at all in Gretta’s garden when she moved down to Meath.

Last Monday morning was a beautiful sunny morning, but a little cold when we decided to take a trip to Wicklow to visit Kilmacurragh and Mount Usher. I always try to visit both gardens at this time of year to see the wonderful displays of spring bulbs and this year we were not disappointed. The bulb lawns at Kilmurcurragh were just beautiful with a swaths of species daffodils and the crocus lawn was a shimmering blue in the Spring sunshine.

After lunch we visited the gardens at Mount Usher, which in my opinion, is the most atmospheric garden in the country. The river which runs through the garden adds both sound and also reflects the plants that are growing on the banks. Near the house the crocus lawn was just amazing with the wide open flowers of blue and white. The scillas that seem to cover the entire garden are a sight to be seen, just amazing. 

If you are free over Easter, a visit to either garden would not be a waste of your time.

Enterance to Kilmacurragh is free.

A  couple of years ago PeterW kindly gave me a Heron. It has been next to the pond since then. But a few days ago I had an idea which I think works very well. This Heron is life size so I decided to He does look very life like as he surveys the countryside and down to the water.

Got my first pelargonium order,for this season,today.Yea :))) Very pleased with new plants and packing.There is today’s blog  https://ligaspelargoniums.blogspot.ie/2016/03/newcomers.html

  All potted in organic compost what i ordered from https://www.fruithillfarm.com/,,added bit of worm compost,and little bit of perlite from same fruithill farm,,they have very good price there if you buy 100 litres.

  Around garden can see that all start to wake up,but i have lots of work there what to do,garden was bit neglected last 2 years,so today i did serious weeding until parcel arived afternoon.Yesterday Liam ploughed little field around polytunnels,there we will sow annual clover,to bring soil back to life,using green manure.

A day late but no matter . Two drills of Sharpes Express. I always kick off my garden year with the humble spuds … Onwards !!!! Oh and I bought a woodies shovel too … Very fancy one and nice to handle .. No pun intended 

Cold day today but it was dry so we had a comfortable walkabout all the stalls without having to contend with brollies. 

I shopped very moderately, only buying 4 plants. Finally got a shrub that has been on my wish list for at least four years – Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Grandiflora’. Original price was €30 but I told the seller that I had seen a much bigger specimen for the same price and he reduced it to €25 – and also threw in Narcissus cyclamineus as a goodwill gesture.  Also got an Auricula ‘Dusky Girl’ and Trillium albidum. Not many plants, but all plants that I’m very happy with.

The flower on the Edgeworthia was knocked off as I put it into the car, but luckily there are two more to come.

After three or four years the pheasants that come into the garden have started to take peanuts from Paddy’s hand. The hens are a lot more friendly than the cock who will come close, but won’t venture to near. This was the best I could do at taking a photo of them eating.

Some of the soil in my tunnel has become “infected” by something white attached to roots in the soil.

I suspect it is a kind of fungus and I have seen mushrooms growing near this area. I am planning to plant potatoes here and don’t know if it is safe or what I should do about it. I’ve dug out most of the roots but the soil is still white and a different texture.

The first photo shows the type of root that the fungus is attached to and the second photo shows the difference between the uninfected soil and the infected soil.

What can I do? Will I go ahead and plant and hope for the best or should I get rid of this soil and replace it?

Any advice welcome.

This beautiful little Erythronium den-canis ‘Snowflake’ has just started to flower within the last few days. All erythroniums are just so beautiful and delicate, but the slugs and snails just love them. I have this little one for many years now and it is so slow to bulk up. I bought four new erythroniums last autumn form Potterton’s  Nursery and the first one of them to flower, Erythronium den-canis ‘Lilac Wonder’ was eaten before the flowers opened. I was reading an article in the RHS The Garden this month about an erythronium, Erythronium californium ‘Brocklamont Inheritance’  found in the garden of Margaret Glynn from Co. Antrim. I wonder has anyone any idea if it is for sale here in Ireland. Paddy did track it down to Gary Dunlop’s nursery in the north, but he doesn’t have it for sale any more. Margaret is a well known snowdrop collector for many years and has a beautiful garden in Ballymena.

Daffs , Polyanthus, hellebores and Honesty. White splashes courtesy of the birds!

My good is my pot of pleiones which are opening their buds daily. Should have 15/16 flowers, from 1 original bulb! Happy:)

The bad is the state of the lawn with moss, Ron is doing a patch of raking every day, we always have moss but I think this year is particularly bad as the winter has been so wet.

This past couple of weeks has been wonderful and I have been busy planting up plants for Periwinkles stall for her open weekend. I also have been putting on some homemade compost on 2 of the beds. It has been a great opportunity to get ahead in the garden.

Can’t really say it’s MY Nicotiana out the front, as I had discovered it only when it began to flower last year (November). The product of a neighbours seed floating on the wind. It chose my garden to come to life. It has seeded where the dividing wall meets the driveway. I journalled about it on 30th November, but it must have been there a while before that. And it has been flowering constantly since first spotting it, even giving me colour throughout the Christmas festivities. I know that plants are behaving in a peculiar fashion these last few months, but this really takes the biscuit!

It’s flowering now just as well now as way back then. And we had some harsh frosts the week before last. Even in an ordinary summer, it would probably have gone over after about three months or more. But it’s still going strong. I chuckle at him every time I pass him in the driveway. This is how he looked yesterday. I’m totally gobsmacked by this stoic survivor.

David was going home the weekend before last, and to my horror he pulled up a bit on his way out. But it still bounced back. 

Very kindly got a clump of Declan’s Voodoo Lilies last year. Look how well it’s doing. I don’t mind one bit that the smell will be enough to knock me out. It’s planted well away from any seating area in the retaining bed behind the Upper Pond, and well away from the house for it NOT to be a problem. I just like its animalistic markings on the stems. Thanks again, Declan.

Delighted to see this flowering at the moment as I tought it wouldn’t being such a small plant. I got this off Fran last year which I have kept in it’s pot for the winter and in the greenhouse during the cold spells until I plant it out later on in the year. The flowers really are beautiful on this plant and is def an added bonus seeing as I guess mostly grown for foliage. Thanks a gain Fran for another brilliant plant.

(Mine, not the garden!) I’ve been able to put in decent days in the garden recently except when Life gets in the way. I’ve been sorting out beds and I’ve even managed to release a few prisoners from the “Plants-in-waiting” this week.

I’m really pleased with the new arrangement of the roses and today I moved all the Candytuft from one of the raised beds and relocated it along the edge of the Rose Trellis.My plan is to surround the recently moved roses with other plants to give a better display. That raised bed is now weeded, raked and covered (to prevent Puss from making a Loo out of it!

During the rest of the week I managed to weed hoe and rake a few areas down near the stream and found the perfect spot for the Leucanthemum I got from Rachel beside the Olive Tree.

But the photos are a Before and After of one particular area. This is the Coffee Corner which used to hav a half-barrel in it. I had one of my helpers move it for me across the garden. I have been looking at this area as I pass it by for well over a month and saying to myself “that’s a small bed – should get it sorted in half an hour”. WRONG! Four hours later and I was a happy bunny. The cause of the problem was the great number of large stones just beneath the surface and the ivy that had travelled in from the hedgerow, not to mention a Snow-in-Summer that was heading for the hills and a knyphofia infested with Vetch.

However all’s well that ends well and the stones have been put to good use to make me a platform to lean on when the hedge needs trimming. I thought I heard Cherub haveing a bit of a giggle to my right as I struggled to excavate all the stones.They were far too  insignificant for him to bother about!