Month: November 2017

After depressing weeks of gloom and grey, the light these last few sparkling days has been just glorious. We stand at the windows and goggle at the beauty of the sunsets, and looking out on several months of very hard work, it’s been worth every last backache. 

I’ve just realised that I have not been on site for a while, so time to say hello again. Its been a mixed summer here with a long dry spell in spring and early summer, with the rest of the season a lot of rain.

The last few days we had some frost that sharpened up the colour of the remaining leaves.

As mentioned in Declan’s journal just now, he wasn’t able to post up an album. 

I’ve tried to post pics of our visit to Ratoath Garden Centre showing the lovely winter colour. Sadly, it’s not happening.

Let’s hope this is not the beginning of the end. 🙁

Now me and houseplants do not go hand in hand. Yes I am very lucky in the garden and can grow almost anything, be it from seeds, cuttings etc. But when it comes to indoors…….well that’s a totally different story.

A few months back Tesco were selling Orchids for €6. Not a flower that I would be keen on. But Liga posted pictures on FB and I thought I’d give them a go. So bought 6 different varieties and Liga gave me some advice.

Hmmmmm all the flowers fell off!! One or two definitely looked bedraggled. But then the other day I spotted this one in the sitting room which had flowers on it!!! Wow!! Totally neglected (well to be honest I lost interest in the green leaves)!!

But really surprised to see this happen. Now it’s only one plant. Nothing to get too excited about but a start! So I’ll give the others a few more weeks and if they don’t perform, they are out!!

Im certain the photos will not be right way up but here goes!

I have been going pretty much flat out with my helpers for the past while working on the Zen garden it was great to take a day off today. Even better, it was great to spend that day with a fellow-gardener. Jacinta and I spent a lovely day chatting, relaxing and paying a visit to Ratoath Garden Centre, which I have been wanting to visit for a long time! 

Even in November there was still plenty of colour to enjoy as we wandered around, ending up having a lovely lunch in the Wild Flower Cafe!

But before we set off, Jacinta showed me her amazing Nicotiana – still flowering away after two years! This has to be some sort of record!

Thanks for your company today Jacinta! Really enjoyed the whole outing!

It has now turned to Winter and the only leaves left to come down are the beech. But they are still profuse and will require gathering. I recently planted more short stemmed tulips and put some fertiliser on the corner of the garden where the naturalised bulbs will come next Spring. Last week I worked with a new hedge trimmer. One of those battery thinks which gets through a lot of work quickly but leaves the operator whacked. One friend described it to me as “not an old man’s tool”. But it got the work done and got me seriously exercised.

I’ve been thinking. How could you theme a garden to friendship. That most valuable of emotions combining as it does, or ought to, affection, fondness, attachment and love around which our lives turn. What could be done in a garden to celebrate and memorialise this. It would have to be more than the cliches of secluded corners and convenient seats. What plants and shrubs are most appropriate and what bulbs and flowers would emphasise this theme? Any ideas?

And the work goes on!

Its a strange new wet world out there and lots of the leaves have been raked up. Scrubber put in over a hundred tulips recently so he is expecting a bit more colour next spring. He labelled where he put them which was as well because Tom Jones just loves newly raked earth in which to—well no need for detail-and when done she scrapes the earth back and often sends my labels spinning!

I did get that rock I mentioned into position. Quite easily in fact for it’s size and named it after my cousin Billy who was very unwell. Billy died on saturday so his rock will always be a reminder of my childhood friend and playmate.It’s part of a wall that I straightened a bit earlier on this year. The original is an old field wall butte back is higher than the front so there is a lovely broad edge which has loads of snowdrops in it and when I thin out the forget me nots I shall line it with them as well. It borders a new path and as I say once you do one thing it suggests another and things have a habit of coming together at this time of the year when they are more exposed.

A little box hedge put in about two or three years ago is now getting a bit more obvious. they were tiny when I started as i subdivided the plants into three!

I see I have that nasty coral spot on my walnut trees but I just cut away the infected branches and loads more come so here’s hoping.

Still some raking to be done and lots of small branches to be cleared but as Tom Dooley said when I snagged my trousers climbing a gate into Sr Josephines convent orchard ‘There’s definitely an end in view’ and then give him some nice cold frosty dry days and scrubber will be well pleased!

People who have been to my garden may recall the challenge that my lovely Brendan set me when we decided to build our dream home on a site of 0.6 of an acre. He was very clear that he did not intend to begin mowing grass again even with a ride-on mower! So my challenge was to design a garden without lawns.

I suppose the real challenge has been to fill such an area with planting without breaking the bank. We were fortunate to have received many trees and shrubs as wedding presents which provided the framework of the garden, but the spaces between took a bit longer. Some temporary patches of grass were used (NOTE: Patches of grass, in no way attempting to be LAWNS!) but they have been gradually removed as the plants increased and multiplied – with many gifts and swaps from people on this site, I must add!

But one small patch was retained at the request of my son who had visions of his daughter rolling one the grass when she came to visit. Unfortunately she did not show any inclination to do so – she is much more interested in Fairy Gardens!

So today the removal of the last patch of grass has begun!

I can almost hear Brendan saying “At last!” – yes, the very last bit of grass is about to be banished from Gortnalee!

What will replace it?

Well, of course there is a plan!

It will be unveiled in due course!

What a crazy world we live in. Walking around the locality today and had to backtrack to photograph this mad Narcissus flowering away to its hearts content. Do Narcissi not need a cold period before flowering. 

And then further down the road there was a garden with Brachycome and Petunias still in flower. I also spotted a Kerria japonica in flower.

OK folks, let’s see if the link works!

51 Flowers in November 2017

Hurray – yes it’s there.

Sorry some of the images are a bit blurred – it was early morning, freezing cold.

Names will follow at the week-end, I hope.

Imagine it – two journals a week apart – hope I don’t give myself a heart attack.

I went around the garden this morning in med November, and photographed everything in bloom. When I counted the pics there were flowers in bloom on 51 plants in my tiny gardens – and that’s not counting what’s now in the gazebo!

So hurry up with those instructions Hazel – I want to make an album using your work-around.

Here are three images to get started.

I’m just finding the time is running away with itself and I’m chasing after it!! 

So much going on at the moment it’s hard to find time to do everything and before you know it it’s nearly a month since I posted!!! 

Not much really done in the garden over the past while. I’ve been looking after my granddaughters so that is taking priority. But I’ve had a day here and there where I’ve cut back lots and found lots!! It’s hard to know what to leave as the place looks great when tidied but bare also.  I’ve tucked up my Tree Fern for the Winter now and hopefully that should help it get through if we get that cold snap they’ve been forecasting.

I love finding the buried treasures under the old perennials that need cutting back .  Hellebores are starting to flower, primroses are appearing, wallflowers, and I see foliage of the Spring bulbs appearing too.  Great sight!! 

I’ve taken in some Dahlia, a few favourites and some in pots. Some Salvia that havent reached the planting stage yet, more purchases waiting to be housed!! Also Begonia that where exceptional during the Summer months  

I had an hour to spare yesterday and I bubblewrapped half of the greenhouse.  It’s hard to do it when everything is in there, but I did it and that’s another job ticked off the everlasting list! 

Hope you are all till enjoying your gardens  and this site. I can’t wait to see what the new one brings  

Every August my addiction to spring bulbs surfaces. It has been going on for nearly forty years now and it seems to get worse every year.  I know I am not alone suffering from this problem and I think it is about time we all confessed to what we added to our collection this year. This month should see the end of the credit card bills and it is time to looks forward to all our little treasures popping up in the next few months. 

Here is my list. Allium ‘Mount Everest’.  Crocus  sieberi ‘Ronald Ginns’.  Cyclamen coum ‘Maurice Dryden’.   Eranthis hyemalis ‘Schnefelglanz’.  Eranthis hyemalis ‘Orange Glow’. Erythronium dens canis ‘Old Aberdeen’.  Prepared Hyacinths ‘Jan Bos and ‘Gypsy Queen’.  Iris reticulata ‘Gordon’.  Tulipa clisianna ‘Honky Tonk’.  Tulipa ‘Blue Beauty’.  Tulipa ‘City of Vancoover’.  Tulipa ‘Slawa’.  Tulipa humilis ‘Persian Pearl’  and two packets of purple and white tulips from Woodies.

I would love to hear what other members have bought this autumn and of course photos of beautiful flowering bulbs next spring. 

Also, it might encourage members to write the odd journal on this site as everyone is very silent these days.

I have had a lovely HelpX lady with me for the past two weeks. She has done trojan work sorting out my overgrown semi-wild garden. She also re-organized the gazebo, and brought in lots of the fuchsias for winter. I’ll miss her when she returns to France tomorrow.

All Scrubber is doing at present is raking and piling leaves and putting them into the tarpaulin which is then lugged down to the bottom of the Scrub. same old same old. But today was dry and the leaves were quite crisp and light so even though it was monotonous there’s now a huge pile of beech leaves that will turn into lovely compost. And snowdrops cant be too far away. I saw little tips of snowdrops and daffodils when I cleared deep drifts of leaves and there’s definitely one white hellebore is well into bud. There was also a rock-there always is- but Scrubber decided to leave it until he had more help. You see I do listen! My laptop has given up the ghost so cant do new photos. Pity because the ozakasuki is a blaze of scarlet.NOW I cant even get up my old photos. Please bear with me.

extremely mild, and it’s my first time witnessing my Phlomis flowering in November, and Lavatera. 

And I’m still picking blueberries.

Claudia is bringing a ray of sunshine to the garden.  I also have a China Girl but the leaves are wind burnt and did not turn the lovely red colour.  I love shrubs that give Autumn Colour, I think generally the colours around this Autumn/Winter have been amazing.

The clue is in the title folks. Late summer and early autumn are not the most spectacular times of year in my garden, so i was concentrating on my family history research which is another huge interest of mine.

I did the DNA test to try and track down one of my great great grandfathers as there is a mystery there to be solved. That mystery remains, but i am nothing if not persistant. Back to the DNA results, it was a huge shock to me that i showed up as only 70% Irish. That was bad enough, but then it showed i am 23% Great Britain and to make matters worse there was no trace of Rhododendron DNA. That can’t be correct, can it. Anyway as this is a gardening site i will leave the ancestry talk at that, except to say that if anyone wants advice on family history research, i am more than willing to help so feel free to contact me.

Another reason i was gone from the site for so long was that my Mam got a bad pneumonia (is there any such thing as a good one?), and she was in hospital for a couple of weeks and laid up before that. Thankfully she is back home to her house and doing well, slowly but surely she is getting there.

It is a beautiful week this week and there is much to admire in the garden in the way of autumn colour. My Camellia sasanqua took a bad hit by storm Brian and lost a couple of big branches, but it will be fine and is flowering fantastically.

Berries are great to have at this time of year when flowers are at a premium and Callicarpa bodinieri is one of the best berrying plants due to its unusual berries. They are a joy.

Mahonias are also great for flowering at this time of the year and are a fabulous plant for year round interest.

A quick hello to my cousin Dave and family in Australia, Dave has been checking in on Garden.ie lately.