Month: September 2012
We planted up our bog garden in October 2010 – It has really come on this year -probably something to do with all the rain we had all Summer
little Robin was today. Cherub had let him know in advance that Mr. Scrubber would be weeding on the rockery today but what even Cherub didnt know was that while weeding Nr Scrubber came across an -yes you know-an normous rock! Not alone that but another one beside it.
years ago when mr scrubber moved in a big machine had pushed a lot of rocks together ,the foundation for his rockery. So when this one was found it had to be excavated followed by the other and so Mr robin had a great time, especially as Mr Scrubber had to infill with fresh soil the excavated holes!!!
Cherub of course was a big help and we both decided on the placing of the new rocks relevant to their size and weight! Hope you like them!
Lots of dahlias putting on a nice show in my garden at the moment.
This one is my favourite.
It is a really good do-er and it’s properly hardy too.
It’s called ‘War of the Roses’ or sometimes ‘York and Lancaster’.
I visited Fran last Thursday but only finally sorted the photos out today.
That garden has come on so much since I last saw it.
It was looking really lovely, despite the advancing autumn and I have passion flower envy after seeing Fran’s beautiful one.
I’ve never had such a bad year for tomatoes, like most people here I reckon. Only in the last three to four weeks have things started to ripen. ANd I’d be lucky to get maybe 2 or three each day.
Yesterday saw the first signs of my beefsteak tomatoes ripening. But this one in my hand actually looks like a group of tomatoes. It’s only one!
This is Molinia arundinacea ‘skyracer’
This was planted nearly a year ago now and has like most of the grasses has done really well.
The seedheads are on tall fine arching stems reaching to over 9ft. They seem to be able to take the wind ok (so far anyway)
A clump forming plant which is a bonus also.
Finally have reached an agreement with the farmer over the damage to our garden when the cattle came calling …. so now it will be all systems go!
Watch this space!!!!
I posted a photo of this sedum cauticola ‘Coca Cola’ a couple of weeks ago, not realizing that it hadn’t opened fully. This is how it looks this evening. And is a great spreader.
I have not had time over the last few weeks to put up any journals because I have been taking full advantage of the good weather to get some gardening done. Flowers are loving this bright sunny weather and are flowering their socks off, about time after such a dull summer when nothing made any kind of a show. Our lawnmower broke down the other day so Paddy has not been able to cut grass so we were able to spend time on getting our veg plot ready for winter, putting out compost and seaweed and planting garlic and cabbage plants and getting a bed ready for the sowing of broad beans next month. French beans are now only setting and as long as the weather stays a little warm they should continue to produce. There is a Harvest Festival in Waterford this week end and the annual meeting of the GIY group is taking place with Alys Fowler and others giving talks and demonstrations. Hope it is a great success and anyone attending will have a good time. Paddy took a few photos of flowers in the garden today so I will try to put them up. Mary
Last Sunday we walked along the Liffey between Lucan and Leixlip. It is a busy stretch of river and a heron at Lucan weir seemed happy to pose for a while. Lots of wildlife, Highland cattle and a whole canoeing class on the water.
In the garden I am making some new raised beds and getting them planted. I am also moving some existing beds and so disturbing existing plants.It is also time to get the new bulbs and roots for next years show. At the moment Rudbeckia are providing the colour with some late roses. “Easy Going” is a favourite with its apricot colour and it appears trouble free. But it does not seem to be available this year. It is looking well with the late crocosmias such as “Dusky Lady” and “Star of the East”. All those lovely yellow, orange, apricot colours.
Gardening: satisfaction; dissatisfaction; moving; reworking; replanting and satisfaction for a while again!
I will post some pictures as the project developes.
Last week i found meself unexpectedly free on Thursday morning in the neighbourhood of Mt Congreve! So in I toddled and the walled garden display was really inspiring. It even conquered my not very warm relationship with Eupatorium.Joe pie Weed Sorry Fran!
I always associated it with the riverside weed, lovely as it is in its own place, but yesterday’s viwing had me waiting to purchase same! The Eucryphia was in ful bloom as was the Abelia. And the gardeners there are always so helpful and willing to name names etc. I also realised that its a good idea to divide even the commonest things one has to make a plenty. One man was working away on a bed of stachys lanata and i realised ‘I could do that!
It was a lovelysunny morning and I enjoyed it but the last time i had rachel anne Paddy and Mary to name things for me and guide around the very spacious grounds. Still I didnt get lost!
Then on the way in I had spotted large acers Senka for sale at half price! I spent a lot of time as i wandered, wondering where i could best fit in one of them-I had to justify my purchase after all. I remembered a place and when I came back i asked the man to pick out the best of the three for me. He did so and a voice behind me said’And now can you pick out the next best for me!’ It was a man I had been chatting to earlier.
I went out this morning and put it in position and to me it was just perfect-Not often that it happens. So I dug the hole and added compost and bone meal and set it in and am so happy with it. After that I put four sedges into four blue pots that had bamboo in them which failed but i put what was left of the bamboo down in the scrub among rocks so although I didnt do an awful lot it was very satisfying. Ill try to put up photos of acer. I still have to finish the rockery!
I was so looking forward to my blue Hibiscus opening. It was looking likely yesterday. But this evening it had become all crinkled and far from showing its beauty. He must have been curling up to protect himself from the strong gusts today. If only the sun would come out a bit more, and temperatures would rise. It’s not looking like it will open at this late stage 🙁 Very sad about this.
This was my number one garden.
The lotus lake just blew me away.
I adore the Egyptian-style dam plantings too. It was a really big place with lots for the kids too.
Ahhhhhhh!!!!
Just had to finally bite the bullet and remove our entire box hedge parterres from our Poison Garden. Suspected box blight was present at one end last year so removed the offending plants, had it tested (came back negative) and replanted.
It went through the entire hedge this year and we had to make the decision to clear out and start with something new.
We have gone for Ilex crenata ‘convexa’ as a substitute. I will post pics once the new planting is completed.
Re. the negative test results, I believe we tested too late in the season.
Anyway, would be interested to know how many of you out there are suffering? Our hedge came in from Holland and I suspect was already carrying the blight. We hope it will remain confined to that area of new box, and hasn’t been spread anywhere else. Fingers crossed!
I would not recommend anyone with mature or well established box in their garden introducing any new plants (buxus varieties). Adam
I didn’t bother much with Dahlias this year; just David Howard as reccommended by Elizabeth and the Bishop. This is David Howard last week in the sun. It’s a good bit fresher and windy this week. Happy gardening.
there is just no pleasing this guy at all.
I moved his wonderful perch, positioned it where he would have shelter from the hedge at his back, and out of the midday sun.
And that face is looking as grumpy as ever.
But worst of all was, Rachel wasn’t even granted a glimmer of a smile yesterday, manners how are you, it’s bread and water for him for a while now.
Have a good day and better weekend if your off ;-))
September is organic month on Europe – Organic Week this week in Ireland.
The National Museum of Country Life kindly offered to host an afternoon of talks and demonstrations from a couple of us in the Mayo Organic Group. So to demonstrate seed-saviing for food crops, I have been squirrelling away pods from landrace kale and a tall mangetout pea.
Enough in hand to plant up half the townland, which means I will be offering a seed-saving activity as part of Frogswell’s open weekend afternoons for the
Mayo Organic Group Garden Trail
September 15th – 23rd
Frogswell’s Open Days – Saturday 22nd, Sunday 23rd
Garden tours – new potager, heritage vegetables,
colour themed perennial and woodland plantings,
Teas for charity, plants for sale
Meanwhile, elsewhere . . .
Marking Organic Week in Dublin, a funeral procession for Irish home-grown food makes its way to the Department of Agriculture to protest Teagasc’s open field trials of GM potatoes – photo courtesy of Dotty, a community gardener from Dublin.
It was worth a day out of the garden… We need to preserve the right to determine what food plants we grow and eat.
No, not the name of the flower in question, just the sun shinning through these great plants yesterday.
Here it is finally. Every year the snails ravage the flowers just as they are coming up. I managed to put the copper tape around the stems of two of them before that happened. But the stems come up stealthily over night and before you know it, they’ve been eaten. Found three stems that had been sheared off on the ground when taking this photo. I think this may be moved to a pot for next year, where I can keep a better eye on them.
I got a belated birthday present today. Was given a very nice Colocasia ‘Black Stem’ and also a really nice pot for it. I was delighted to see it is going to flower, I’ve never seen one in flower before so looking forward to that 🙂
This was observed to day. It is the first time I had it.
Tomorrow is my birthday :-)), and I am shamelessly taking advantage of the situation : on Sunday we are going to visit a garden !! (fingers crossed for good weather).
I’m still hesitating though about where to go though. I’m thinking of June Blake’s garden (not sure if children can come), Altamont in county Carlow, Birr Castle. Any advice about these or others?
The clematis in the photo is flowering for the second time this year, it flowered in May, and now again, I’m really pleased about this. It flowers on new growth I think, so I guess I can prune it quite hard after it finishes flowering?
I love white and ble flowers together and today I noticed that I have some white cosmos beside some blue flowers!
I must remember to save some cosmos seed and not keep dead heading maybe I should tie a ribbon on one stem to remind me not to dead head it and give the seed a chance to ripen, sometimes the weather can change before we get a chance to save seed.
Yesterday evening Jurgita and I visited Clare’s (Clara’s) garden and oh what a delight. In a normal sized suburban space Clare has created separate gardens on different levels, features that please the eye wherever you turn, a secluded seating area, beautiful planting, so much interest that speaks of her artistic talent. Everything she plants seems to grow so well.
And we had a delicious meal, great chat and a lovely evening among garden friends. Thank you so much Clare and Greg.
you tend to forget what an area looked like only a few months back.
I was looking for an old photo last evening, when I came across this ome and it stopped me in my tracks, totally.
