Month: January 2017

Early this afternoon when it was obvious that I wasn’t going to be treated to lunch out, I discreetly changed into my gardening clothes and was going to ‘lose’ myself outdoors. I raked up all the mowings from yesterday. The grass is so wet that it needs as little top growth on it as possible so it can dry out before another cut. Delighted to see it tidy(ish) again. It’s been a while!

No sooner was that done, when Steve ventured out with the secateurs. The Miscanthus floridulus which is planted behind the Upper Pond has been annoying him for a while. I did try cutting it back earlier but I could only reach in so far. So he got the job finished and I disposed of everything he cut down. You don’t need to know where!!!  🙂

Then he stepped in on a strip of soil about 8 inches wide at the back of the pond and tried thinning out a pond grass, I think it’s a type of Acorus. I’ll post photos for id soon. I think if he realised how difficult this job was going to be, he would have suggested we go out to lunch instead. LOL This was originally planted in the pond in its first year and has never been thinned out before. But as it grew away, it did a great job of hiding the blue heavy-duty Viscreen that was used as a liner for this pond. So we left it to do its thing.

Well, don’t ask how he managed it from a standing position on such a narrow strip of soil, surprised he didn’t fall in too. It had multiplied its original root ball by 5 or more, wrapping itself around the planting basket, and we uncovered four water lilies in baskets that had split over time. Needless to say my ‘tidy’ garden is once again UNTmenu_orderY. 🙂 But then, you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.

Steve probably wouldn’t admit it, but I reckon it has been therapeutic for him also being out and active the last two days.

I was showing him Deborah and Martin’s video this morning so I think I owe a big ‘thank you’ for what got done today.

So……..hopefully someone can give me the correct name for this Pond Grass? I had thought it might be a type of Acorus.

By the way, I won’t be disposing of this over the wall as it’s such a great plant. A smaller clump will be put back into the Upper pond, but I’ll have lots left over if anyone wants some.

Indeed, yesterday our Get Together in Jonhstown was a really pleasant and friendly event.  There was such a buz from all the folk there: old friends renewing old friendships, new friends being made, so much chat, and of course, as happens in Ireland, discovering ties we have in common …. other than the inevitable love of plants and gardening!  

I notice that each year, we are more at ease with each other and a year seems a long time till the next one.  Mind you, starting the journey in fog at 7am and only getting back 13hrs in the pictch dark, battling the headlights, can be a bit daunting, but so well worth the effort.  Where else is there the specific opportunity of meeting up with each other than under the auspices of Garden.ie  ? Corkonians, Ulstermen, be they from Donegal or Down, and East and West  all out there at the car boot hugging and greeting and passing goodies to and fro.  

I am wondering about the possibility of a Donegal trip in the long evenings?  

Here are the 1st 3 pictures for you, as I cannot upload an album from my gadjetry!   (apple)  

 PS I am quitting at this point, nothing will persuade these pictures not to do handstands . It seems only Hazel ahs a level head  

try again tomorrow. 

I grow this shrub in a large tub and my biggest problem is keeping it well watered as it is in a corner at the kitchen window and so doesnt get much rain. Last year I had very few flowers so I made a special effort this year to water and feed well and it has really paid off as it is covered in buds.

This morning this one was looking in the kitchen window at me! fully open. I guess it has the most sheltered and warmest spot. It is really a beauiful flower – Jury’s Yellow.

I posted a small album on Saturday evening but never got back to put up the related journal, so this is just to thank everyone who came from near and far for your great company once again, for the chat, the laughs and the plants.

Well done to Jim Clarke and his team for looking after us so well, to Scrubber/Laetitia for the entertainment, Myrtle and Ron for the lift and your company, and to dear Hazel for organising such a splendid get-together for us again this year.  Hazel is very modest about her efforts but we all know the amount of thought and work she puts into ensuring we have a wonderful day.

It was lovely to meet new people too, thanks for coming and hope to see you all again during the year.  

Is it just me or did some of the gentlemen at Johnstown on Saturday look as if they were up to something? 

Very cold but lovely and bright today, which gave me a chance to get some nice shots of some of the plants waiting to be cutback.

It’s Winter today, but hopefully not for long. As for my previous journal, only the 1st picture will upload with the correct orientation. 

So, I’m going to try a different tactic. 

Watch this space, and if i don’t come back, you’ll know I’m in the tide – Search and Rescue should be alerted!  

I was delighted to get a few hours in the garden today. Delighted to see my first Snowdrop in full bloom.

Standing at over 12″ Galanthus Colssus is already begining to bulk up, five flowers  this year. The name is really apt on this one.

Thank you Paddy and Mary for this beauty.

Delighted to see this has started flowering. A really nice double I recieved off Paddy last year and it was a nice small bunch he gave me so looks like there is at least another 6 or so to flower yet. delighted with it and plenty more snowdrops to come yet. Very mild here again this weekend after a few cold days last week but nothing major.

There are lots of benefits in having a sheltered garden and been close to the sea is a real bonus.

I was surprised yesterday to see Salvia Fulgens in flower. I had forgotten to lift it in the Autumn, but it was at the back of my mind if really bad weather was forecast.

A nice surprise for the middle of January.

The Lovely Girls are looking especially beautiful. Iris Ret. ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ and Helleborus ‘Emma’s Dream’. First of the Iris Ret. ‘Harmony’ is out too and we’re off on holliers for two weeks tomorrow. This time last year we couldn’t wait to get away from the gloom, but it’s been so mild and lovely we wouldn’t have lost sleep if the travel company had gone bust. But we’ll love being away too. 

Got a nice bit of gardening done this weekend and one thing on the list was to scarify the lawn as it was after getting very bad with moss. Anyone that has been here knows its a small lawn but god it had a lot of moss but thankfully done now and next job will be to airate the lawn and brush in some sand and then feed in a couple of months hoping that it all comes on then. 

Planted my new hellebore down by my bamboo at the back of the garden and also removed some grasses I had there for a few years now that were just not appealling anymore. Instead I put in Andrews Acer Bloodgood which lucky I did as I found 50 or so vine weevil in the pot and I would hate to have lost this plant, hopefully the move doesn’t kill it now. Planted out some new Snowdrops I acquired last year aswell at a talk and did a bit more tidying so all in all I’m a happy camper. I’m just itching to get going full throttle now.

Now that my clean up in the front has started, it’s time for my chlorotic Hyacinth bulbs to avail of some light. Looking forward to this gorgeous scent as I go through my hall door.

Chaenomeles is looking good at the moment.

No time for the great outdoors today. But as I was having a quick coffee in the dining room after lunch, I was really cheered up with this climbing rose ‘School Girl’ stretching towards the sun. Not a cloud in sight.

About 4 months ago I cut back the spent flowers on this Guzmania that one of my daughters gave me as a gift. I’ve always discarded these plants before. But this time round I decided to try and bring it into flower one more time. It has been watered sparingly over the last few months, and been given an occasional well-diluted tomato feed. It’s doing well now, and producing new shoots. But I’ll hold off with any more feed, unless I see some sign of a flower. If it doesn’t happen, so be it. At least I will have tried.

Not in my garden unfortunately but in Fota. Some friends and I go there now and again and it was amazing how many plants were flowering since the last time we were there, probably before Christmas. Loads of Hellebores, Pulmonaria, several Rhododendrons and Camellias and these.

delighted to see the portrait photo went up correctly, I took the other one just in case.

Many thanks all for your kind words.  Fran, the lovely flower is a “Mallow” I can’t remember it’s first name, there are many in different colours, mainly blue purple. I don’t know where it came from, it appeared two years ago and I though it was a weed. Although not quiet where I would like it at the front of a raised border, I would prefere it at the back.  Anyone moved one with success ?  It gets very tall and would do with a bit of securing to the back fence.  Anyway this weeks chore it to get my seed potatoes and get them chitting.  Wash and disenfect the greenhouse, weather permitting.  Can’t have what ever got in last season having another go.

Photo shows my third youngest grandchild Sarah getting gardening “Training” from her Granny.  Consentration periods can be very short !   This was a find the potatoe session. Second photo showes the whole damn eleven of them with Myself and MaryLou in our back garden.

Some of you have posted lovely photos of Iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ recently and aren’t these just splendid early flowering reticulata irises?  About four years ago I planted 20 bulbs in a sunny well-drained corner of one of the beds; 19 came up the first spring and I had 38 the following year (yes, I did count them!).

Last year there were nearly 70 in the same space and in summer I tried to dig some up and spread them out but it was difficult as summer flowering plants were growing around them.  They are now really overcrowded so I’ll have to do a better job this summer when the foliage has died down, so we can again appreciate the lovely detail on the individual blooms.  

I’ve been reading about their history: in the late 1950’s a Mr E B Anderson crossed Iris winogradowii (a lovely rare yellow iris) with Iris histrioides and of only two resulting plants which flowered, this was one, which he grew on and later generously shared when they multiplied.  We are the lucky beneficiaries today. 

I bought this Tree Fern back in 2014 at the Fota plant fair and amazed in just over 2 and a half years the growth it has put on. You can see the difference in fronds from the old to ones I have cut back over the last couple of years. It’s one of my favourite plants here and never get sick of looking at it. I have a couple more and another similar size one in my front garden which I would like to add maybe 1 more or two. I tend to buy my good ones from Kells Bay Gardens and they seem to be really good quality and really good price. I really like it with the cordyline, mahonia and bamboo.