Archives: journal

After potting up the Canas for indoor safekeeping I discovered the Pineapple experiment had grown roots in the jar of water . Its now in a pot of compost so will be an interesting experiment to see does it root well . Will I need a bigger greenhouse next Spring !!

The Bees were busy today and huge amounts of Ivy pollen ( bright yellow ) and Nectar flowing into hives . The Queens are still laying as temps are well up so far . I added boxes to 3 hives today to allow more space for the Ivy stores and the Queen to lay.

These are in a Summer container that I bought last year for €3 in B&Q at the end of the season. I had no idea what was inside, nor what colour they would be. This year they flowered around May and have been flowering ever since. What a magnificent shade they are too. Almost a peachy orange and they are still going strong. I put them into the greenhouse to protect them from Storm Callum. Not bad for €3!

My goodness its taken almost 15 minutes to add these 3 photos and Ive fibre broadband……It must be awful to upload if you have a slower connection!

Once again I am amazed at the show of Autumn colour and the fruit in the garden. No matter how often nature can repeat this lovely time of year I always takes my breath away when it comes around again. I never tire of it and it never leaves me jaded. It is wonderful. We laid in a stock of firewood and it will keep me warm as I cut it over the next number of months.

The Japanese Acers are just about to lose their leaves and so their colour is at it’s deepest. In spite of th edrought in th eearly summer we have a good crop of apples and it was fun last Sunday to cut up and crush some of them with my grand daughters to make our first run of juice. It was delicious. But we will have to make a pulp of the apples in future to increase the yield of juice. That was the lesson learned.   What a pleasure it is that we can still sit out on a sunny afternoon and drink tea and make plans for next year. I sent off a large order to the mail order people in Kent for lots of new bulbs to plant over the Winter and next Spring. It is so important to keep it all fresh and to keep the colours coming. Anemone, Camassia, Tulips, alliums, amarine, nerines, dahlias and begonias all on thier way to provide continuous colour for all of next year. And until then I can watch this year’s nerines, the mahonia, the cyclamen and then the heather as they colour the Winter. And already the hellebores are taking shape and soon we will see the snowdrops put their heads up and then next years daffodills. You see ! The garden is all about looking to the future and filling that future with plans and hope. This summer we had a couple of open days and they were successful. They also served to cement friendships and to forge new ones. I am always fascinated by people and their ability to open up and create great conversations in a garden. It is neutral and it provides lots of interest to start those conversations. We should all use our gardens more to promote and nurture friendship. After all, gardens and friendship are two of God’s greatest gifts!

A late crocosmia

The rose in Autumn sunshine

Seasonal Nerine Bowdenii

Low sunshine and Liquidamber

Sunshine and the Bishop of LLandaff

Ilex Ingramii and Autumn florescense

Ilex aquifolium in full berry

Acer Palmatum in it’s rich Autumn colour

In my recent madness I took delivery of a load of firewood. I immediately cancelled my gym membership and cancelled all leave !

The Busy Lizzie cuttings rooted well in water. I potted them up a couple of weeks ago.

Despite the cooler temperatures the sunshine of the last couple of days has been so cheerful.

 

This is Elizabeth’s corner..new ceonothus in yesterday

•    Well if your long witty informative journal had just disappeared into the ether…

•    Just when I had got up a photo or two.

•    Where are these bullet points coming from.

•    Lost a huge willow  branch in storm but hope to trim sides and ad it’s still attached at the top I might make a fab arch!!

•    Think I’ll have to use f book for photos.

•    Very pleased with rock edging.

•    Please excuse bullet points.

New stone edging

Closer look

Can you see me 😉

I hope you all got through Storm Calum and without too much garden damage! The winds only reached 32 kmh here so I couldn’t resist taking this little video of Cotinus Grace.

Its October again and the Liquidambar is once more showing colour in the foliage. You may notice an odd branch which is bare and I think it is due to the extreme temperature in June.

I don’t think most people realise just how dry the year has been and continues to be . My local River The Kings River has been dry now since early July . A trickle of  Water returned briefly some weeks ago but only lasted 2 days . Planting two new Apple trees last Monday the ground is dry 1 foot down . No doubt the rains will return with a vengeance yet !

Just as Scrubber begins to master the new website and it took time so many dear friends seem to have abandoned it. Loads of people whose journals and comments I enjoyed have disappeared from the site. Are they gone to Facebook?

Anyway finally after four days of trying I finally yesterday managed to upended and move the two big rocks and align the with the edge of the bottoms path. It was an inch by inch affair and at times I doubted but in the end it wor key itself out and I am so thrilled. Especially when a rock that was only a few inches over ground is now an impressive boulder and an object of beauty in itself. I finished the line with four separate stones and thought it looked quite Japanese.  And today a friend asked might she bring a friend in to walk the garden next Friday. And she is Japanese!

So glad to have all that done as there is a lot of weeding needed. Oh shop around if you need slabs. I got ‘bargains’ at 6 e each old stock special price. However today I got two more in another place new stock 3 75 each !!!  Also two nice ‘Japanese stepping stones’ slabs 6 75 each. Glanbia New Ross.

After the long hot Summer my bee keeping ended on a high . My 3 Jars Light Honey won 1st Prize this week end and another class was highly commended . A photo was commended too . I celebrated by buying 2 Katja Apple trees from Frank Alley Dundrum nurseries who was in town at the Clonmel Applefest . Now it’s time to get stuck into a big garden clean up . I have collected lots of seed heads from my favourite plants and flowers so at least I’ve something to get me started next Spring . Still plenty color about despite the morning frosts. I’ve been pressing apple juice some days too and it’s enjoyable . I guess I will soon be trying the cider part of this hobby ! Hic.
As usual, my Hamamelis are out of sync. I have three in the front garden. And they are all different (H. Pallida being one of them, which produces deep red flowers). When I planted them a few years ago I was aware that they required ericaceous compost so they had a good helping of that way back then.
I haven’t top-dressed them with any more since then. And now H. ‘Diane’ is yellow, as are the other two. I wonder if I was to top-dress them with a subsequent dollop of ericaceous compost would it revert back to the original deep red. It’s great to see the flowers now, as the leaves have their autumn foliage which is falling daily at this stage. And if ‘Diane’s flowers remain yellow, so be it. They’re still a lovely shrub to have.
Facebook has one feature I really like. Every now and again it throws up a “Memory” – a photo you posted in the past. Today was one of those days. The photo is a lovely one of my dear Brendan and me at the newly planted Willow Arch. The photo was taken on 11 June 2010 and it really brought back memories! The Wind Turbine was actually producing electricity at that time and I think Brendan and I look pretty good too! So move on to 2018 – and this is how it looks today! I miss you Brendan!
What a day. A simple task to start.slightly realigning a large slab of a rock that I discovered yesterday and only the top was in view but got the whole rock up and today it only needed one small rock to straighten it.

Then on to a majar boulder. Far too big for a wheel Barrow.  I had moved it slightly yesterday but took it on today. It was on a slope which helped so I eased it down towards the large drop at fern corner.  Luckily I had removed little Buddha just in case. As well I did because the boulder had a mind of its own and ignored the resting place I had prepared.  However the new position worked out very well as it fitted back against the clay bank and complemented the base rock I used for little Buddha.  It really enhances the area. I filled in the large hole above with clay and compost and sowed grass seed.

You’d think that was enough but no another rock down near bottoms proved movable and I managed  to loosen it. I have to turn it upside down but that will take a lot of effort.

Oh and I planted two peonyx lactifloria in Eileen’s bed just to keep the actual gardening on line!

The setting sun catches the little Buddha and it shines in the light-magical!

The huge new rock is over beside and behind the buddha in the back ground. I’ll try to photograph it tomorrow. 

This afternoon, considering that we had a sharp frost last night, I decided to pick the outdoor tomatoes. I had them in 13 large pots. The tomatoes were picked and put into a large bucket, one which once contained bird seed or nuts. That explains why the container cannot be seen. Some were ripe others still green. Stalks and compost were taken to the compost heap so more space in the ground with the pots stacked. Most of these were the Red Cherry. It was the first time I remember growing them and with God’s help, they will be sown again. There were also some Alicante among same. It was a great year for the outdoor tomatoes and while the Red Cherry were not sown until late February, while the Alicante were sown in January, they were quite early in general for picking. It was warm in the direct sun but getting a bit chilly when I finished at about 5.15p.m. I did a little more work on the ground which had been cleared by the men who came on Wednesday (the real heavy work) and by me, the light work, on the last three days.

Yesterday, I did a further bit of work on the back garden, talamh Nua after the great work done by my nephew the day before. More plants are becoming visible and according to Met Eireann, the weather should remain fine for some time. Last night I took in the Musa plants as frost was forecast.They are out again. I was at the Country Market this morning and sold two Hydrangeas €3 each. They were slipped in June.I am on my way to the doctor to get the annual checkup and ‘flu vaccine.

We don’t often appreciate the importance Ivy plays in our lives . The pollinators do though and today was a prime example of Bees making hay while the sun was shining . Ivy Pollen and Ivy Nectar flowing into hives all day . Lovely yellow pollen and a wonderful nectar aroma all about the garden from the Hives . Can anyone spot the Drone ( Male ) Bee in Photo ? He’s the one that’s used the Gym !

You may remember Hurricane Ophelia last October. Many trees came down in gardens. In my garden, there seemed to be no damage done at the time but then Storm Brian came. While it was not as severe as Ophelia, quite a number of trees and bushes were brought down and then a bit later, another storm came and the area was unsightly. I had in that area put up trellis and planted quite a number of shrubs there but alas it was impossible to remove anything. A nephew of mine John Keaney, living in Dublin offered to tackle the problem. He and his friend arrived to day with chainsaws and other pieces of equipment. Arrival was 11 a.m. and they were gone about 3p.m. and you should see the change. I don’t know how they did it but the place was transformed. I must say to the men in question many thanks. Now I can tackle the area. They even went further trimming shrubs along the drive about 60 metres long. The area that was covered for about a year, I was inclined to call it Terra Nova but Jacinta suggested that it was hardly anything like the Begleys in Dromin. She suggested Talamh Nua. That is what it is now.

To day was lovely, temperature not very high about 15 -17 degrees but as there was little or no wind due to an anticyclone and plenty of sunshine, I felt that my plants would be safe. Actually we had a listle frost in the early hours of the morning. After the 9 o’clock news I realised when the weather was forecast, it would be even colder to night so close on 10 o’clock I had to put in the 2 Musa plants. Now the plants were at the front facing not or north west and the greenhouse is at the back. I thought what I might do I had some black plastic, usually used for refuse but the first bag I made, much too small so as they were near the front door, they were taken in one by one, not too much for an 83 year old. Now they are safely inside. I believe that the temperature will be up for the next few days and I can put them out in the morning. I switched on the heat in the greenhouse to day and the plants inside including the tomatoes should be safe.

I like the combination of pinks in the garden at the moment.

The pretty sedum I got from Jacinta has almost filled it’s container!

Pretty sedum from Jacinta

Robinia Survivor

The Robinia that survived Ophelia has produced a flower too.

Ice Plant

Flashlight and Anemone

And the Ice Plants are looking great too!
 

Pink Flashlight and Japanese Anemone match exactly.

The poplar and then I saw three keringoshema which I had been looking for for ages. Very happy.

The next buy was in Glanbia where I invested in a lot of sedges and three a Stella.  I had the notion of putting them around four small conifers standing on my HA HA!  Bet that shook you. We’ll it’s a sudden drop in the scrub so I’m calling it a ha ha! I’ve put them in and it works even if the sedges look a bit hedgehoggy !

View of the new little Buddha.

 

Anna and I went to view Fruitlawn Gardens. There was an open day.  The garden had moved into autumnal mode but lots left to see. It’s not huge but has lovely plantings, a hornbeam tunnel and lovely home made cakes. We had tea twice! We had the first and as we were leaving Hazel arrived so we went in again.great chat. Cakes delicious!

Ihad bought three achillea 3 eremurus and Anna admI red a poplar deltoides.

Still plenty to do in the Apiary during September . Wasps are still active and will raid or even wipe out a weak bee colony if not controlled . Even today I saw landing board battles as wasps attempted to gain access past the guard bees. I’ve been busy preparing my show honey too. This years Tipperary honey show is our 40th anniversary one and we were afforded a Mayoral reception last Tuesday marking the occasion . The show takes place next w/e. Here’s hoping . Today I have the Bees a top up feed just in case stores are low heading into winter . Most hives feel heavy which is a good sign . I’ve finished treating all hives for the Varoa mite so hopefully this will add to the bees comfort during winter and prevent any spread of viruses . The Queen bee will have slowed down her laying now and any bees born in september are winter bees which will survive the winter and start the process again next Spring . Hives need to be well tied down now and also protected from any opportunist mice who at times can attempt to overwinter in a bee hive . Nice n cosy with food to hand indeed . I managed some Heather ( ling) honey from the mountain in August which was interesting . Heather honey has medicinal properties as good as the famed New Zealand Manuka honey .

The bees are currently feeding on Ivy flowers which we hardly notice but are vital autumn forage for them .

Hopefully I won’t be opening the hives now until next March or April !

 

I’ve just completed the online garden survey as requested by Gerry and his email . Under suggestions I made one about running a monthly Bee Keeping by / for Gardeners. I suggested this to Gerry early this year but he wasn’t enthusiastic . Maybe if you consider it a nice idea you could suggest one in the survey comments box ? There are thousands of bee keepers in the country too!

Thanks all .