Month: March 2017
It was a lovely day up to about 4 p.m. I enjoyed being outside. The sun was shining, temperature reached 25 degrees in the greenhouse. I wondered what Mat Eireann meant by the weather forecast. I wondered what would I do. Would I pot on the tomatoes or transplant the snowdrops or perhaps something else. I had read from Mary in Waterford that it was bad and wondered what was wrong. Eventually, I brought the tomato plants to the greenhouse and got down to transferring them from the tray to yogurt containers. I got 30 plants potted and then I had an appointment which would be at 4 p.m. As I drove down the road it began to rain and that was the end of my gardening. I will take a photo of them to morrow when they are standing up. I hope to have them looking good on St. Patrick’s Day.
Up to a few journals ago I used to get email notifications for comments / replies from the .iers . Not anymore though . I know I didn’t change anything . Did anyone else notice this ?
Yes I was very proud of my large and gorgeous B.nimnimiensis . Could not supress this pride!! It was brought in for the Winter, talked to and generally loved. But alas it started to wilt and wilt and I was stupid for a long time. Eventually I took it out of the soil and yes ( well you all know what I found) vine weevil larvae and very chewed roots just a few remaining. So be warned of wilting plants at this time of year. I think these little white horrors feed most during the Winter. Anyhow I cut it back hard and took cuttings and will try hard not to ”show off” if it comes back to me!!
Don’t mean to be so hard on the horrors they are only doing what Vine weevils do.
In the morning, it was overcast but the temperature was good, about 11 degrees at 9.30. After the phone call to my sister in Castlebar, it was almost lunch time. Looking at the computer, I wondered where everybody was gone. Little or no entry made since I entered the previous journal. In the afternoon, I planted 6 Hostas. I had got them from Bakker and a few other items free e.g. a sprayer and an item which would be charged by the computer to play music. After planting the Hostas, I had a look at the rose beds. The roses have made good progress after the pruning in January. I had used the hoe some time ago and while some grass, weeds and moss had been moved, not all so that problem was tackled. These items were moved to the compost heap. Yesterday, Friday, I had been to the Country Market with some rhubarb and the first of the Tomato plants. They looked good but nobody was interested while a year ago I sold six at this time. All they generally wanted was apple tarts, cakes and buns and a few more eatables. One may ask: “why are people putting on weight. Is it due to the fact that RTE has no programme on gardening?” I say shame on RTE.
Another way of dealing with large trees in housing estate verges is ‘pollarding’.
Our original tree, a Norway maple heading for 20 metres was removed by the council after being complained of as a being a safety hazard by lifting the concrete pavement crack.Since people no longer lift their feet, nor look where they are walking, we persuaded the council to ‘sand’ the offensive crack in the pavement.
The maple was then replaced by one of those new elm trees – Have you seen the height and weight of them in very few years! That tree died of strimming.
I was determined to have a tree, in fact two trees to protect me from the fumes of the two cars on either side, so I planted and oak and an ash in my side of the verge.
But I keep them pollarded – I can control them from ground level, cautting them back each year, but haveing a full head of leaves all summer.
Polllarding used to be very popular but I hardly ever see it now. It has to be started when the tree is young if it is to be managed from ground level – no ladder climbing as we wouldn’t want to create a safety hazard.
(Sorry no pic – camera cable mislaid during reconstruction!)
Instead of a completely new entry, I looked back at what the conditions were like in April 2016. The good side of it was that this year in this month of March, it might be April and April last year might be like what we might get in March. As I said in an earlier entry, the daffodils are scarce, due to February being so mild also looking at the state of shrubs like Kerria and Magnolia, they are much better. The Magnolia has surely double the number of flowers compared with 2016 and as regards Kerria, you would have to come this way and view it. At the front gate, I could say about the same Kerria what Wordsworth said about the daffodils: “Ten thousand saw I at a glance.” On the other hand I had reported giving a good mowing to the lawn. Unfortunately, I’m afraid barring a miracle, I will have to get somebody else along to do that work, no mowing so far. It all happened in December, as I was raking away some leaves, I felt the pain in the knees especially the left, which I injured back in the ’70’s and required an operation. However I am still able to get around but my gardening will be different. I also noticed that the Musa plants which are tender, were taken out in April last year compared with March this year. To day they once more got a good watering. I hope to take the Pelargoniums out of the greenhouse to morrow and get ready for the tomatoes. Again, it will be the big flower pots rather than the grow bags.
I want you all to know that due to the dreadful drought conditions which are having a really bad effect on my garden, tonight I will be performing my celebrated Rain Dance. Very sorry if some will not like this but has to be done. So get the brollies out and line up the welly boots.
Iam now the proud owner of early Rhubarb thanks to Dick. Saw the early variety on sale today in Woodies so it’s now planted next to the later crop . Of course there were other purchases too mostly Dahlia tubers as I have a weakness for these I believe ! Planted 3 containers including some I had in storage . I opened my seed box and got a shock when I saw the number of packets now for sowing ! This not including the vegetable seed ….. gotta get busy or even busier
Delighted to see the new fonds on this wonderful fern starting to swell and unfurl. I followed in Jackie’s footsteps and potted up this the other day and was tempted to seperate it as it is a double, but then decided as I had earlier on to leave well enough alone and a double trunk would be cool in years to come.
I received an email from Craig yesterday and they are working on the email issue and hopefully will be sorted today.
These plants were potted yesterday. The containers are Yogurt containers. I decided to wait a day before taking the photo. One picture is 15 plants , then one plant. The seeds were sown 1st week of January. I hope to have them at the Country Market, two weeks from to morrow, St. Patrick’s Day. Variety is Alicante. They are an early variety with good flavour.
I get so excited seeing bulbs pushing up through the soil at this time of year. In this case, it’s Fritillaria lutea. Got them from Heritage Bulbs in autumn. So looking forward to these exotic blooms bursting into colour on the patio in summer.
I had two containers in dry storage over winter and decided today to replace the compost before putting outdoors again . When I saw the ball of tubers I got a bit of a shock ! better divide I thought and was about to simply split into half when I thought better of it . A 3 minute YouTube video showed a gentleman doing it tuber by tuber and painstakingly too. A tuber growing from another tuber apparently is useless and should be discarded .
Most of these appear to be growing from a stem however . Anyhow I decided to wash and allow dry before taking the blade to them and hopefully some advice from my friends . To think I actually bought Dahlias a few days ago ….
This Primula is just starting to flower as the Snowdrops have gone over. This plant is a division of the main plant taken last year. I’m delighted to see this anount of flowers on it, and it must really like it’s position as I’d say it’s about two weeks ahead of the main plant.
I decided to simply split one tuber ball in half and replant the two halves. The other Tuber ball I cut apart tediously so it will be interesting to see how many regrow . These are going into a plot in the veg garden ( go forth and multiply ) where they can take their chances
I always plant out my prepared Hyacinths after flowering. I have them planted just at the hall door so visitors can take advantage of the intoxicating fragrance. And their numbers are growing nicely over the years.
Got the ones in the second photo for next to nothing, late in the season. They’re opening up now on the kitchen windowsill. Ahhhhhh! Just gorgeous!!!
Kerria, to give it its full name Kerria japonica Pleniflora, quite early this year, very hardy. My parents had it in Ballina and Mallow. I got some when my house was built. Flowering Currant, I got from my sister in Co Waterford quite early too. The Kerria is easily propagated by division of root stock.
Yesterday while weeding the surfaces of pots I found this. Can anyone tell me what it is please?
We were so spoilt here in Dublin with the weather yesterday, and I knew it wasn’t to last too long. But every cloud has a silver lining. My back and legs are sore from yesterday so today is a rest period. So I concentrated on housework instead. Boring!!! Give me aching muscles any day. LOL.
When I drew the curtains back this morning I spotted that my cheapie (end of season) bargain of a Hippeastrum ‘Minerva’ had opened. Not bad for €1.80.
What an early week we had regarding weather. However we have the typical St. Patrick’s weather to day. It isn’t too badn not raining so far. I was watching thr parade in Dublin, a bit disappointed with it, however I am looking forward to the All-Ireland Club finals, on TG4. The garden is looking good from the point of shrubs. Forsythia and Kerria japonica Plenafloria are looking better than ever and early too.
This epimedium is spreading into a nice clump in the front garden. It’s a good foliage plant all year and I’m delighted at how well it has flowered this spring. They’re great ground cover plants for shade, though I have it in an open spot which does get a little sun.
Thank you Fran, I just love it!
This is my first year with Fritillaria lutea. They only began to peep up out of the soil on 2nd March, and already they’re about to flower. All they need is a couple of days of sunshine to do their thing.
I obviously didn’t research them properly. I thought they’d be flowering mid-summer. But c’est la vie. They’re still gorgeous, and I have no regrets.
Last autumn Paddy was lucky enough to be given a bulb of the re-discovered Narcissus ‘Countess of Annesley’. It was carefully planted and labled and this spring it appeared above the ground and low and behold it had a flower bud. So over the last few week we have watched it develope and it flowered the other day, but is wasn’t the Countess. So disappointing. This daffodil was thought to be lost to cultivation, but was found in the gardens at Castwellen, Co Down and later in two other gardens. The daffodils growing in Castwellen cannot be distributed due to the presence of phytopthora lateralis.
So during last year, Mr Middleton had a warehouse sale and he was selling 1000’s of bulbs. So of course I had to have a look and bought quite a few!!!
One of the packets I bought was called ‘Alaskan Aurora’ which according to the picture had thse beautiful white Daffodils and almost ripple stained tulips. Just gorgeous.
However, the daffs have now opened and looking at the picture on the packet and the flower that has opened, they don’t look quite the same!!! No tulips as of yet have opened but hoping they will be the same as the picture.
I feel a bit like Mary being disappointed with these, but then when I see how delicate the little daff is I’m happy with it as its very pretty, but another case of not being ‘exactly as it says on the tin’
Just a reminder of a television programme tonight at ten fifteen on RTE 1 ‘Henery McIllhenny, Master for Glenveagh’, (the Tabasco sauce manufacturer). It should be good as the gardens at Glenveagh have an interesting history and are set in a fantastic landscape. We were lucky to visit there two years ago.
Yesterday was one of the coldest days for some time. As I looked out in the morning, there it was but didn’t last very long. It remained quite cold. To day was different and I took some Photos of Hyacinths, not affected at all. To morrow I plan to go to the Country Market. We had none last Friday due to St. Patrick’s Day. I should have Tomato plants Hydrangeas and Geraniums( hardy type). I think that the Yucca I mentioned will be right.
