Month: September 2012

hi, i haven’t posted for a very long time and not having the internet for 6months didnt help. ive been looking after/trying to the gardens here since the first of Febuary and have been enjoying myself immensly. i hope a few of you have had the chance to visit over the summer.

One day they are just a cluster of withering leaves and the next a long stemed bud appears!  My Nerines are looking promising this year!

Havnt got a lot done in the garden of late but I got a couple of hours in it today and these are the the plants that gave me the most pleasure:

As always, my Eucomis ‘Sparkling Burgandy’, only one flower this year as I had split it, but very happy that I now have 2 pot fulls and didnt kill it:)

Then hidden under other plants I found this lovely dahlia, a slug had only taken a little bite!

Then I discovered that this Agastache had come in to bloom, sown this year and it is the perfect colour for the bed that I happened to plant it in:)

Hip! Hip! Hurray!

Not quite concrete shoes to go eating with fishes – a la Tony Soprano

It is only seven or eight months late but eventually the foundation went in this afternoon.

Mason lined up for next week

This frog is not the easiest to digest but hopefully he will be fully eaten next couple of weeks.

Won’t be able to plant trees on Sunday cos the eldest kids have got to finish their packing – they’re going to London on Tuesday for college and won’t be back again till Christmas, and taking our Cathy Bee with them. Thank God for Skype or I’d have to go too.  So we planted the first bed of trees today as the weather was too nice not to. We have 2 lonely sumacs in the front lawn which are neither here nor there as design features, so they are being joined by a bee tree, a Himalayan birch and an ornamental rowan each, plus festuca glaucas and junipers which were completely out of place in the border. And some Tete a Tete daffs and snowdrops cos Scrubber said I had to!   Not that I needed much persuasion…..

Oh yes, and some Caen anemones from Lidl. I bought some last spring and sowed them in pots in the polytunnel and not one germinated, so hoping they do better from an autumn sowing outside. Think they will as my other son’s green-fingered lady also bought some and hers were a picture in her exposed outside pots!

i finished the pot washing and also got stuff into the tunnel today. i was like a woman possessed today, i went out with the determination that i was going to finish the pots for once and for all, and to boot i got the pots into the tunnel thanks to hubby and kids. a frost is  forecast so im not taking any chances so pulled in fuchsias and all other tender stuff and exspensive stuff was jamed in to the tunnel including my winter potatoes. that is two things ticked off my to do list now.

i left the red pelargoniums out as i have no more space, they are very easy to raise from seed anyway so i dont mind loosing them

next it is blanching cabbage. which will be tackled over the next couple of days

I was down in my favourite Glanbia in Kilmeaden, who have the nicest staff  anywhere, and got very fine dahlias at a very fine  (cheap) price. Three cactus ‘red pigmy’. Three Ellen Houston (orange/red) and two Roxy (pink with purple foliage. I hope to get a month or so out of them this year.

I was out in the garden this evening just wandering and stopping and letting it all sink in, the light and the shade, the leaves and the ferns, theold urn, ghostly white on its rock. Gardens can be such busy places unless we sometimes just stop and stare and breathe in! You see things coming together and falling into place (rather than sprawling all over the place!) That isn’t to say that I did think ‘If I took out that fern there and cut into the bank I’d see the urn better and that stone might fit better…’But for the most part I was content to let the garden take over. And it did! September evenings ,with a hint of chill in them and yet so still, good for you!

I have tried very hard to get up three pictures. Ill try once again! Ah good they got up this time!

Hard to believe that summer is over… but looking around the garden today i did noticed different colours – reds, yellows, whites, orange… seems like the plants just started to grow now.. a bit too late….

happy gardening to you..

Seen this Photinia Red Robin Hedge plants on sale in a garden center last friday and at 2.50 each I had to have it, I know it looks crap now but hopefully in time it will look nice. Does anyone know if I should fertilize now or not? The man in the garden center said not to for the first year.

This trees from paper napkins we have made together with my husband Anton for our friends. There was the lottery on the ball, and 4 of our friends got this trees as present 🙂

 There is this small patch of ground down the road.

Not sure who owns it. One tenant of an adjoining house did plant a few years ago and grew very tall sunflowers but since she left, it revertrd to weeds and dumping ground for cans and bottles.

As the boss was up early, she helped with weeding. There was some rudebekia, two types of croscosmia, oregano,and sedum needing dividing. And some seedlings that proved too successful. Some bedding for last winter that are still going. some purple loosestrife and a self-seeded verbena.

All now have new homes

The ground wasn’t too bad at all but I added the compost from my potato bins – wouldn’t risk spuds sprouting in my beds next year but as for guerilla-land……..

Either the plants will be pulled out and thrown away by passers-by or maybe just maybe, it may discourage those drinking nearby not to use as a dumping ground for cans and bottles.

Either way, there is a sense of satisfaction – however short lived it may become………

To morrow, Sunday is usually looked on as the equinox, days and nights being equal. This means unfortunately retiring early from the garden. We have been fortunate having dry weather so far this month and so during the day one can get a fair bit done by day. I noticed that the first sign of frost has been with us so time to lift the tender plants. Mirabilis jalapa 4 of them were lifted as were Fuchsias, so they will be put at the back facing the South and eventually into the greenhouse, at about the same time as the tomatoes are used up. Pelargoniums are looking good and before long they will be lifted and taken to the back too. In their place will go more hardy plants, including Geraniums (don’t get confused). I was at the Country Market yesterday. I sold one Hydrangea, one Aloe vera and one punnet of tomatoes. A friend approached me about a Hydrangea, I sold her and told me that it hadn’t made much progress. Then I realised that it had not been planted out and told her that it was a good time to do this. I lifted one Hydrangea and would you believe, it was pot bound even though it looked great. In the afternoon, I got at the plants I had slipped in June. They all needed potting on so bigger pots were taken out and some compost and soil were added. I always give plants in pots some soil as there is the danger of vine weevils could be a problem. I have 26 pots of Hydrangeas completed re potting on. They should be right for some time. There are also five of the same plant being rooted. Some more of the back garden has been dug and I think that during the coming week days with plenty of rain forecast there may be little done outside. The rain should also help the plants that were potted.

Had great pleasure with Zoe and wee Davey today. David couldn’t get enough of the garden and he must have been exhausted by the time they went home. He dug, and dug, and dug for Ireland with Steve. But the best thing to see was his obvious love of plants and things of beauty. He spent ages just sniffing everything in the garden.

I had to have a crown reduction done on my mature beech trees growing on the perimeter of my garden.   Though I was sad at seeing my “giants” reduced this is the result of the chipping and shredding

 This morning saw the completion of Bay 1 of Elizabeth’s compost zone.

Eddie had cut down some of the growth with chansaw and Elizabeth had cleared a lot of the undergrowth.

The boss and I arrived down this morning; did some final levelling and then nailed home the reinforcement bars to hold the pallets in place.

A couple of hours later, six pallets standing in position to create three walls and two sheets of timber to create removeable front doors/gates.

We now have at least six months to create the next bay.

Now upto Elizabeth to fill the compost area…….

Yesterday he went to Graiguenamanagh where there was a Bookfair. Now usually he manages to find one or two books that he absolutely has to have-sometimes they become birthday or Christmas presents if they are expensive. Well yesterday-not one book! Well there was one but it was 650 Euro! So that was a little on the dear side-and he didn’t actually long for it!(And even if he did he’s not that cracked!) BUT there was a plant stall there from growers in Clare and he got three Aruncus and two Heuchra and two Catmint (white) and a freebie of a good Sedum. Now the plants are healthy but the surface is covered with liverwort on some of them. Should I scrape all that off before planting. I don’t want a field of it!

But the comment relates to the urn. He was able to get out this morning for a little while-didn’t even change to gardening gear and dug out two ferns. This makes the path near the urn more visible and sets off the urn nicely. He thinks Elizabeth11 and Hazel are correct in counselling him not to plant something big into the urn as it takes from its lovely shape. Now he has put up two pictures. One with ivy and one without. Which in your opinion please is the most pleasing? He’s not sure.  He thinks he likes ———   but respectfully requests everyone’s opinion!!

was out weeding when i happened across some little spring leaves showing above soil level. dont ever remember this happening so early

Not being privileged to attend posh Fern courses I have to struggle on and devise my own idea of a Fernery. This is a part of the make-over of the front gardens which is still very much a work in progress.

The gravel was laid during the week and is looking well, and there was more than enough in the 10 tons! We even had enough left over to put a layer on the woodland paths! Brendan has taken to strolling in around these little paths which were totally uninviting to him before!

I acquired some lovely logs for the new Fernery – it is the area under the birch trees that I mentioned in a previous journal. The soil in this area is pretty appalling so I’ve made use of the logs to raise the level of the bed with some topsoil. 

I used thick layers of newspaper under the topsoil to suppress the grass, clover etc. I used this method before with success in the past, so hopefully it will work this time. I didn’t want to spray of the grass, and I didn’t fancy digging it either! 

The single fern photo is one that I think Jemo brought me? Any chance of a name for it please? I have names for most o the ones I’ve put in here and I’m afraid all the good advice about which ferns would like this location went out the window – I just went around lifting ferns that were not showing their best and hoping for the best 😀

I also had a few in the “Nursery Bed” that were starting to root through the bottom of their pots.  A couple of pots full of daffodils, bluebells and unidentified spring-type bulbs were scattered about in true woodland manner, and finally some helebore seedlings also found new homes there.

Even though its a rather grey and damp morning here in Donegal, I dont think anyone is allowing that to dampen the spirits! And although we have sympathy for Mayo, its a true saying “Winner takes all”! Im not a sports person but the excitment rubs off!

I was looking at these pictures that I took of my apple trees at the weekend and thought how the joy of harvest only comes at the end of a long season of hard work and preparation! This tree has been here for well over forty years and had lived and fruited in another orchard before that!! Most of the apple trees here were being removed from a neighbour’s orchard to make way for a tennis court and were rescued by my father and planted here!  I think I have inherited his reluctance to see any plant wasted!

It has been so long since I have been here I nearly forgot my password!

My mum has been in hospital for the last 6 weeks but thankfully came home on Friday and making a good recovery, times have been so hard as she was in ICU for 4 weeks and critical for a few days but things are looking up again.  She has a long way to go as she has to have a operation (cancer) in 5 weeks but she has been an inspiration to us all remaining positive since her diagnosis in June.

Apart from not having time for the garden I actually lost all interest in it until yesterday.  I thought on Saturday I could get out there but I could not get my foot out the door!  Anyway hopefully I am back, will not be writing a whole lot as I am now working full time but I do love to read your journals.

Even though I have done next to nothing in the garden in the last 2 months I am still amazed at the colour there, just don’t look down low at the weeds -I don’t know how I am ever going to tackle them!

The bed that has amazed me most is my new bed, the progress has been good.

The Dahlia Bishop of Llanduff has been flowering for weeks, I will definately lift them and store them for the winter and the Dwarf Sunflowers from seed from Lidl have been great.  Everything else has rocketed all of a sudden.

Looking forward to our next Get Together 🙂

One of my many failings is that I find it much easier to start a new project than to complete the ones I’m half way through.  And so over the weekend I left all the jobs that were pending to remove 4 badly grown larches which have been annoying me for years.  I love trees and wouldn’t consider removing one only these had leant with the wind while growing and were never going to make good specimens.

I am delighted to be rid of them.  The lovely straight pines behind now are shown to their best and the curve of the path, which had been too acute, I can now scale back so the path down can be more generous (in order for two well dressed ladies to saunter abreast don’t you know).

Of course you change something and all of a sudden other things need changing.  A row of Laylandii which I had been going to leave for another year or two to give shelter is now annoying me and may find itself removed.  The fruit trees that I moved to the bottom left corner last year may all have to move also.  The bottom left corner will go back to being Eden.  Then while repeatedly bringing branches up to the garage to be shredded I found I was using a route i normally wouldn’t and now must have a new seating area on that route.  Ho hum lots of work ahead for the winter.

I did collect a few new stones over the weekend so today did actually add to a little wall I was making.  A tiring job as simultaneously i was digging top soil out of a drain to put into that new bed.  The light waning drove me in.  I thought it must have been about 8pm and was surprised to see it was only 6.40.  Winter is coming!  And you’d be surprised how little firewood 4 larches yield. 

Our good friend Noelle left Ireland with her family for her new life in Oz last Thursday and will have landed there by now.  Best of luck to you Noelle.  We’ll miss you and hope you tune in to garden.ie every now and then and tell us how things grow down under.

I was lucky to buy one of the plants on my Wish list at Bloom this year, I had seen it many magazines but not in a garden.  The only downside of it is that it grows quite tall 4 – 7 foot so needs good staking which stupidly I did not do and it blew over!  I lost half the plant as it broke off.  The other half is flowering, will definately stake it really well next year as it gives lovely colour at this time of year and is very different to the popular Goldsturm.

I had the great pleasure of visiting Bruno’s garden last Thursday evening but didn’t get round to putting up photos until now.  Having seen pictures of the garden I had a good idea of what it would be like but the reality was so much better.  I thought it was gorgeous.  And to think that the garden is little over 2 years old makes it even more wonderful.  It is a credit to Bruno’s eye for detail, willingness to try plants that might be considered less than hardy and his great passion for the unusual.

If this is what he can achieve in a couple of years, I can only wonder at the garden he will have in say another 5 years.

Thanks Bruno for the guided tour and the goodies  🙂

What a wonderful family of ferns are the Polypodiums. Shall we all start to collect them?

We had a gorgeous day here yesterday for once Cork escaped the rain. I did loads of moving and planting and digging and cutting. Today is damp and cold so no work , took the ‘girls’ to the Vet for their annual jabs.

The fairy house has developed Toadstools and there is another Fairy come to inspect the residence; all action in that area who knows what may next appear.

My Tetrapanax has got huge and taken over a large area, anything underneath is in peril. Note the size of the Hedychium next to it, Assam I think.

 Some kind ier gave me this Michelmass daisy and it is a lovely vibrant colour.Thank you