Month: July 2017

A few years ago I was going to dig up all my Hemerocallis and get rid of them. I didn’t like the fact that they were producing so much foliage, with very few flowers. But I split some up and gave them away. And this year they have performed so much better. I’ve forgotten the name of this one, but I love its double flowers. Can anyone tell me which one it is, please? Loads more flowers to come on this one. It’s my best so far.

Early July and hydranges are at their best. It has been such an early season that I wonder what will be flowering in August and September.  I noticed Agapanthus are starting into flower and believe it or not the first Anemone japonica ‘Honorine Jobert’ has one wide open white flower, a plant that should be flowering in late August. 

My variegated Honeysuckle is now beginning to open. Originally I got this as a cutting from Biddy. It’s a great little doer and brightens up a section of my North-facing border very well.  It also has a Passiflora caerulea as a companion which is just visible in the photos.

Thanks again to Biddy.

I never got around to putting in the supports into the ground for this wonderful Clematis. It seems to be happy enough scrambling it’s way through all the surrounding plants, I’m liking the effect all the same.

This Iris ensata came from Terra Nova as tiny plant a couple of years ago. It is planted in one of my bog planters and has just produced it’s first flower.

Well worth the wait, don’t you think?

But in a good way ………

When I’m planting up the garden, occasionally I do think this will go with  that or that would look well there. But there is no planting scheme on paper nor is there a plan of any kind. I know what I’d like and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. 

When I’m looking at my photos I do think ‘oh that looks good’. Here are a few I think look well together and totally by accident too!! 

The little offshoot that I took off the mother plant in the garden of our bungalow in Lanzarote in 2009 is looking very healthy at this stage. It will be treated to a bigger pot next year. 

And now for something much nicer than Japanese knotweed.  Fuchsia ‘Hawkshead’, which Peter gave me as a small cutting at Johnstown a few years ago, goes from strength to strength. It is planted in the border just outside our living room window so I can enjoy it from indoors and out.  Thanks again Peter, I absolutely love it!

A daughter of this plant recently went back to Cork. When hearing of its origin, Elizabeth commented that it was sure to do well because, when it comes to plants, Peter has “it”.  I reckon this is a sentiment we can all agree with. 

I got a complete surprise at one stage yesterday to find this vivid flower nestling amongst all my Hostas. Silly me, it was a wayward stem of Clematis ‘Bee’s Jubilee’ stretching through the foliage-filled area. As this Clematis is in mainly shade, even throughout the summer months, it’s the last to flower.

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is starting to ‘do its thing’ in the Lower Pond now. It’s a very reliable marginal plant.

Evening all, a bit of drizzle here now after a lovely couple of days.

As promised, here is a photo of a flower truss on my late flowering hybrid, R. polar bear. This is a splendid Rhododendron, and as a bonus the flowers are scented as well. This is very strong growing and will grow large.

The second shot is of Azalea nipponicum, a species deciduous Azalea and I adore its foliage.This is a most attractive plant.

I got a lovely delivery of seeds in the post this morning from Seedaholic. The total cost for six packets of seeds, including p&p, was €13.76. I love the comprehensive information leaflet provided by Seedaholic for each packet of seeds.

These are what I choose:

Geum ‘Lady Stratheden’

Dodecatheon ‘Shooting Star’

Aquilegia ‘Yellow Queen’

Salvia ‘Purple Fairy Tale’

Potentilla ‘Monarch’s Velvet’

Monarda ‘Bergamot’

Had the pleasure of going to RHS Flower Show in Tatton Park and it was a great experience. While there I visited the Japanese Garden, it is simply stunning. We had a guided tour of the garden so got up close to the plants, trees and ornaments. 

I was hoping to add more photos to the album but for some reason the ‘Choose file’ button won’t appear!

I think I have this flower arranging thingy sorted . Actually I dislike cutting my flowers for this purpose but visitors arriving deserve a colourful welcome . Even better when they are all free in the garden . I don’t think I could do it full time though .

I read about this plant in a feature on Jimi Blake’s garden in Garden Heaven a few years ago. I thought it was the answer to lack of height in late Summer shady borders and I loved its dramatic colour and shape.

I went about aquiring a number of plants and got four from various sources on the internet. Seamus O’ Donnell of Cluain na dTor gardens kindly gave me a plant as well.

I planted them all and they did nothing at all for the first year.  This year, however, I am very happy to see the plants flowering in the border as I imagined them. They need a bit of staking as we have had a lot of wind and I will finish the job tomorrow.

Here’s one plant that I staked this evening together with Angelica sylvestris purpurea or Angelica gigas. (I have both and they have crossed and also reverted to wild angelica) 

Yesterday was a lovely day – except for the occasional downpours so I continued on the deadheading of the front garden. It was a bit optimistic of me to say I was almost finished!!! You know how it is when you get the secateurs in your hand …. the mound of stuff awaiting shredding is testament to my enthusiasm for severe haircuts! 

So what to do during the downpours? I made good use of the time by plaiting my onions and they are now waiting to be hung up/1

The other photo is of a really pretty Francoa Pink Giant whose name I had completely forgotten – but Gerry Daly’s lovely item on late colour in the borders jogged my memory – and there it was, in the database, and even its correct location identified! Thank you Tina for this lovely plant which seems very happy here!

i have a real fondness for rodgersias  real no nonsense mind themselves plant. They seem to do well for me in any condition as I have them in a few different places in the garden. I particularly like the ones with the chocolate coloured leaves and different tones of pink flowers. 

I’ve been trying for the last few years to provide my back wall with some nice coverage. But lots of work, and constant indecision on what to plant in that area. But the whole left hand side of the wall now has a good sized Norway Spruce, Viburnum tinus, Mahonia etc and I’m working my way across to the other side, slowly but surely. Still waiting for the dreaded Cave to be finished, but there are still excuses (or I should say ‘reasons’) for it not getting done this year.

One nice addition has been Cotinus ‘Grace’. Such a lovely shrub, and it’s doing its job very nicely. Pity it’s not an evergreen. But it’s contrasting well with the surrounding area.

My recent trip to Donegal included a few hours spent in Glenveagh Park and with time limited I decided to spend as much time as possible in the gardens! Did I mention it was spilling rain the entire time?

Our coach left us at the Visitor Centre and some of the group deciced to stay there enjoying the video of the history of the Castle and then tucking in to a beautiful home-cooked lunch.

The committed Gardeners took a different approach – we pile in to a small Mini-bus and delivered us safely to the Garden and Castle. Sadly time did not allow for us to visit the Castle. The Cafe in the Gardens served mainly tea and cakes so that was our lunch for the day.

However I have to say that I was floating on the images of the gardens that I took home – and many I didn’t record!

It was a truly magical place to visit and I just regret that i didn’t have time to take if all in! Just have to go back I reckon 🙂

We were  really looking forward to the Flower Festival, but wouldn’t you know it, it poured thick drizzle all day. The gardens were beautiful, especially the streamside garden that threads all the way down the valley, and the new Woodland Gardens. The veggie gardens for me are the showcase of Harlow Carr, they are so unusually set out and very attractive as well as useful. And the collaboration between the local army unit and schoolkids to recycle old boots was gorgeous. But sad that it was so soggy and gloomy. 

I last went to Bodnant as a 12 year old with my mum, dad and sister, and my aunt and her family, while on a caravan holiday in Wales, so I had some very happy memories. I didn’t remember much about the gardens, but they were lovely. It was around 30 degrees, and very humid, so just as well I’d gt fitter as the Welsh hills are pretty steep! But the formal gardens are lovely, and the rose garden just stops you dead in your tracks. Then you dip down into the beautiful Dell and wander round by the lakeshore where there are some great places to sit and watch for kingfishers. We came back through the Arboretum and across the wild meadow, a warm walk but a lovely one. The family motto is ‘Nefoedd ar Ddaear’, which for the non-Welsh speakers among us is ‘Heaven on Earth’. We wouldn’t argue!

I’ve tried all ways to get the album to upload but it still won’t so I’ll put some up on FB. 

It was our mam’s 87th birthday this weekend and her birthday present was a front garden makeover. The garden was two small lawns completely surrounded by narrow beds and a path through the middle from the front door to the front gate. 

The plan for the new garden was a new moon shaped path linking with the middle path remove all grass and plant up beds either side with using existing plants and extra that mam had collected in pots over the years. 

And oh yeah it was all going to be done in forty eight hours!! 

Well I do not know which end of me is up with tiredness but we did it and pretty pleased   with the results. 

Just following on from previous journal, quick shot of our mam getting her first  of the garden and some of the gang who did all the hard slog. I hope mam has many more happy years to enjoy pottering. 

We were away for the weekend with some non gardening friends. I was a little worried about bringing them to Terra Nova, I had nothing to worry about.

They were smitten straight away. It ended with me nearly pulling them away. The garden was looking super as ever, the shop packed to the gills. Needless to say we came away with plants and goodies from the shop.

Martin and Deborah were as welcoming and generous with their time as ever. Our friends were hooked and are interested in seeing the garden at other times of the year.

Hope you like the album.

Yes you read that right. I have some Dahlia here which are just huge and are called D. Dinner plate. I think I might have bought them in Lidl. Regardless they are just so big. 

You will see from the photos that I have put it beside the ‘normal’ size Dahlia to show you just the size it is and this is not fully open. Apparently it can grow to 30cm in width. 

Its a lovely flower, quite sturdy and so far it doesn’t need staking. Time will tell!!