Month: February 2017

As everyone knows at this stage Lidl sells these every year and I picked some up a few years ago but they just do so well and is bulking up quite quick as well. Def one to pick up this year for anyone who hasn’t already.

3rd photo is of Double Ellen White Spotted, another great one but hasn’t bulked up as fast as the purple but I love it all the same.

the garden is slowly gathering pace now and before we know it we’ll be back in the full swing of things. All I need is a few sunny days now to start enjoying some of the emerging spring flowers.

The latest border I tackled is the Small Pond. This border has some stunning planting in the summer when Rogersia and Ligularia vie for attention with a couple of white Agapanthus, some very tall Iris Sibirica Silver Edge all held together by Cotinus “Grace”. I always mean to get round to tidying it in the Autumn because none of these plants diebackgracefully!

The first photo tells the sorry story!

So the first day I just cut down all the worst offenders. See Photo Two. Some progress but still a bit to go!

Photo Three is the whole border weeded and ready for mulching – or so i thought! I even brought up a wheelbarrow full of great mulch but just as I was about to tip it out I realised that the weeding and tidying hadn’t reached to farthest corner of the border.

As luck would have it I only had an hour to spend in the garden that day so the weeding had to take priority.

And why only “almost” done? The wheelbarrow of mulch is still waiting patiently on the path for me to have another hour to spare – or even only half an hour ….

Yesterday, I uploaded a photo of a double yellow hellebore which I mixed up with a single one I have had for many many years. The double one I bought in Altamont in February 2014 and could be a Harvington Hellebore. I should take the photos myself so that I look at what photo  I am putting with the journals.  I find the site is very helpful for keeping a record of my plants as I am someone who is not very good at keeping records because I KNOW I will remember them, like hell I will.

That is about all I can manage at the moment. I really need to manage my time better these days. But I’m dividing my time between daughters and others and leaving no time to do proper gardening. That HAS to change soon or the place will be overrun and no coming back from it! 

I bought these Giant Snowflakes, Leucojum a couple of weeks ago in B&Q. They were sitting out on the steps getting blown around and drenched. I noticed that there wasn’t much happening with them. So I decided to bring them indoors this week. And would you believe, with the bit of heat, they have produced its first little flower. So cute and lovely to admire indoors. 

I will plant them outside in time and hopefully remember where I put them!! 

Am I the only one who forgets where these tiny beauties and others are planted? So frustrating lol 

My granddaughters love nothing more than dabbling with seeds and compost. And even Nicola now and then likes to have a go. So we bought a starter kit of Sunflowers and planted them up a few weeks ago. 

They are flying along now and doing really well. Great competition to see who has the most lol

The second photo are seeds I got from Sallysarah a while back. They are Variegated Honesty. As you can see their true leaves are coming along nicely now and should look great once the weather warms up a bit more. 

The last photo is a picture of my Tetrapanex Rex which I got from Elizabeth7 a couple of years ago at the get together. I just love it and it’s putting out its new foliage now, which is a lovely feature too. 

Some other snowdrops that are quite healthy. 1st is Viridapice which I love for its strong green tips. Second is Primrose Warburg which is now my only yellow here but love it. Lastly is Comet a big snowdrop with a nice inner marking. I have no big clumps yet but I enjoy them all the same.nice to see some sun today.

Now that’s it’s turned mild again a few more things are appearing; Anemone blanda has opened up fully, and Crocuses have popped up, some in a container and one in a bed near some Snowdrops. I never know where bulbs are until they put in an appearance!

At last I got out  to do some more cutting back and rubbish removal.  Great to see the garden coming back to life with Snowdrops Hellebores and Primroses giving some colour. I am showing  one Hellebore wondering if anyone knows the name . This and the Metallic blue are my favourites. The nameless one has very pointed petals and  lasts for ages seeming to raise it’s head as time goes by!

I love the little delicate flowers on this little plant. It’s great for dividing up and planting it all around. The little flowers are so deep in colour too. 

I got some Pulmonaria Sissinghurst White from Moya in Johnstown and it’s just showing its foliage now. So going to try and mix these two together. Should look great in a couple of years!! 

Also in the photos is a little Primrose seedling. And then a lovely Fern which I bought in Lidl a few years ago. Really liking  these now. They are looking so lush  

I thought that the buds on this Galanthus ‘Spindlestone Surprise’ would NEVER open. It’s been tightly closed for at least three weeks or more. But it decided to open up fully today. It’s bulking up well.

Evening all. Hope all is well with you.

The latest Rhododendron to flower is the hybrid, R.cilpinense and it has got its timing right as the buds and flowers are very prone to frost damage, but with no frost at the minute it should look very well this year. The flowers are very attractive with two or three flowers to a truss.

The latest Hellebore to flower is featured in photo no 2.

I am often on about how difficult it can be to tell whether some Rhododendron buds are flower or foliage buds but it is easy to tell which is which on the species, R.niveum. This will be a first flowering of what is one of my very favourite Rhododendrons. It is a stunning foliage plant.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Now Succulents have  never made my heart beat faster . But over the past year that is changing a bit.  There is such a  huge variety to investigate. My main interest is in Echeverias .

When I get old..don’t laugh.. they will be an interest I can manage.

Cacti don’t interest me other than admiring their flowers.

The Facebook page I have joined is very good and helpful.

So here are a few photos of my current favourites. Names attached.

Haven’t had very much time outdoors recently what with one thing or another. So after lunch with Dad today, I donned the garden gear and got stuck in. Basically I was clearing and cutting back, bagging and tidying. Looking much better.

Kitty had very kindly sent me Eranthis corms a couple of years ago and I was beginning to despair. I recently made up my mind to go and source some ‘in the green’. But lo and behold, I discovered their foliage after a major weeding session in the North-facing border. And to think I nearly missed them!

The emergence of my Trillium ‘albidum’ has me chuffed to bits as this wasn’t a cheap plant. And my herbaceous Peony is also peeping up.

What a great day to be outside.

Sadly, Steve was unable to join in the work as he’s just spent the last few days in hospital. He’s on the mend slowly.

I hope to get the grass cut tomorrow, weather permitting.

Wonderful Weekend Wishes to you all. 🙂

Today I had an enjoyable afternoon at Paddy & Mary’s in Waterford with the IGPS Munster and Leinster groups. Obviously the main attraction was the Snowdrops and they were more than impressive. Swathes and Swathes of beaultiful snowdrops every where you looked and very impressive clumps of all different types, shapes and even colours of snowdrops, you couldn’t not like snowdrops after being to Paddy and Marys. As ever you are welcomed i with a warm smile and the kindest of gardeners and of course a cup of tea which on a dreary day like today it went down well. Cyclamens were another big show in the front garden and have naturalised well around the stones and trees and absolutlely  stunning foliage on some. Other plants making an appearance were of course the hellebores and some primulas and the odd Daff here and there; each plant looking excellent in a excellent garden. A very enjoyable time and well done to Paddy and Mary for havig everyone. It even inspired me to go out and get a bit done this evening.

I put up an album and some photo are sieways, for whatever reason with new laptops (windows 10) and Tablets if you turn your camera vertical instead of horizontal to take a photo garden.ie isn’t put them the right way as it was before on the old laptops. I do hope they update this site.

This evening after being inspired by Paddy & Mary’s I went out into the garden to get a bit done and quite pleased with the work. I did more cutting back and weeding. Planted our clematis princess Diana and the dark hellebore I won two weeks ago and also a lilly African queen. Did some watering in the greenhouse as it hit 20 degrees in there today and gave the brugs a small feed. Hoping to get another small bit done tomorrow all going well and it’s relatively dry. Some photos of the ever reliable tete a tete and new hellebore plant out, I can’t capture the true colour of the hellebore but it is fantastic blue-ish black kinda colour 😀

The first Scilla to show, the poor things are in amongst all kinds of weeds etc. and I nearly trampled this one on my way to the compost bin. 

Quaker Bonnets is starting to flower too, which I’m dellighted about as I wasn’t sure if it was still there or not. 

I know I should know the name of the flowers in the third picture, but it escapes me. I’m sure someone will be able to tell me, it’s the great thing about this site, somebody can always answer our questions.

Had a really enjoyable afternoon in the garden yesterday, cutting back penstemons, tidying up and pruned roses.  It was mild and the sun came out for a while, which made all the difference to the crocuses and other spring flowers.

Hope you all get chance to enjoy your gardens this weekend.

I was meant to be going away this afternoon but my car thought different so ended up having the whole day practically uninterrupted in the garden. The birds were singing the sun made an appearance for a short time and all was well In my world. It was all weeding and mulching and clearing away the winter debris. The woodland bed is slowly waking up with a scattering of snowdrops lots of hellebores a few cyclamen and lots of daffodil buds. It was great to get a start made let’s hope lots of good gardening days ahead

Some of the hellebores up close. The white ones stand out better in the woodland bed. I have no yellow ones must get some for this area.

Well as ye saw the palms came down saturday, so i spent yesterday and this morning cleaning up really happy to have it cleaned and ready for the next step, i am indoors all afternoon as i had a tooth out, yes ouch! hope ye all enjoyed the lovely day we had

T’was a day for ducks (and the odd drake, by all accounts), but as it is monday and bud watch day I had to venture out and take my photos. I’d give Teresa Mannion a run for her money. As R.bureavii won’t flower until May or so, you have weeks of this series to go, happy days I hear you shout.

The Camellias continue to flower and I have two for you this evening, the first is C. anticipation and the second is C. duchesse de caze. They are both beautiful Camellias but then again aren’t they all.

C. anticipation was the first Camellia I planted in the garden as in my early days of gardening I was wary of trying them for fear of failure, foolish me.  As the snail said at the end of the marathon, ‘I’ve come a long way’.

Our gardens are colouring up nicely at this stage. Lovely to see Muscari opening now, to join the yellows of the different daffs. A love of blue/yellow combination seems to be quite normal for us gardeners. And rightfully so.

My Leptospermum has been flowering all winter long. It surprised me when Jacky mentioned over on Facebook that she’s still waiting for her first flower to appear. Maybe it performs better here in the colder climate than in the sunny Cork region?

Scrubber went out and got a lot of lovely photographs these last few days so I may get up an album. The earlier snowdrops are just about hanging in there but the nivalis are at their best to support them.

I decided to put out two small azaleas near a biggish slab rock that always looks a bit too like a headstone. I dug two holes and put in some good compost and settled them in. They were bone dry but I teased them out and added lots of water into which I had put nutrient-for azaleas camellias etc. I was smoothing around when I heard the clink!

I fetched the crowbar and a very nice small boulder emerged. I knew exactly where to place it-beside the azaleas and below the ‘tombstone’. It immediately transformed the ‘tomb’ as it changed the focus-one was looking at two complementary rocks rather than just one tomb-like one.

I was really pleased ans as hazel once very kindly said that Scrubber places rocks so that they seem to have always been there, I named this one Hazel’s rock!

Then I went up and cut a sliver off the woodland path so that there was a curve in it. This morning two friends had called in and I asked their advice. They had said leave the path alone but I knew I had the itch!!!There was a tiny bit more border as a result so I dug up a clump or two of snowdrops and filled in.

As I said not a lot of work but so satisfying!

For the past four years I’ve been in ‘talks’ with the council about the massive Norwegian Maples that run parallel to my back garden, blocking out some sunlight as they are on the southern border of the garden. And the amount of debris it lands on us all year round, be it leaves, flowers, seed heads,  twigs etc Emails have been bouncing back and forth to no avail. Neighbours tell me that the precious owner was fed up trying to get them pruned let alone removed. Well I wasn’t going to stop! 

And it paid off……….And the day has arrived that the tree is to be felled!! 

An engineer arrived last Wednesday to say, yes the tree will be coming down this Wednesday, today, depending on the weather!!!! It has a massive crack up the centre stem, great,  so it needs to come down anyway, and weather depending also!!

But of course the weather has been nice this past week and what’s forecast for today and tomorrow….a storm!! Typical! So the engineer called again yesterday to say all going well he will be here with his crew today, so long as it doesn’t rain!!! Good luck with that!! 

So I’m on tender hooks watching out the window and praying the rain will hold off for a few hours. He did say between today and tomorrow it will be down!! Fingers crossed as its been a long time coming.

  I will keep you all posted on this long saga. The photos give an idea of how big and how close the tree is to the house!

Lovely mild day today, but it was a miserable morning. I’m beginning to get cabin fever and I needed a ‘garden fix’, albeit a visit to the Botanic Gardens. It was a constant drizzle to begin with, but as we continued our walkaround it dried up. And the sun made a brave attempt at shining.

The walk was so therapeutic. Couldn’t believe how healthy the Echiums are looking, although it was an extremely mild winter.

Hope you like the album.