Month: March 2014

Gidday all,

               I,m thinking Oklahoma is the name but not sure.

Alot of stop start over here we,ve been getting the odd shower the last 3 days took acouple of days to get the lawns done.

All the best with the shopping today.

Sorry about the neighbours washing as a backdrop, pays to check em before you send em. lol.                                                        regards roofy.

It was time to kick this years planting into action so today was the day I started. I began by digging over one of the Allium beds and adding some compost. When it was all dug over and compost mixed in, it was time to start the sowing. First to go in was garlic. Two rows of cloves. Then i put in two rows of shallots. It’s a first time for both so will be interesting to see how they do. After the sowing was done I covered the bed with netting to protect from birds. Bought some veg seeds today so will hopefully so into modules tomorrow.

Will add photo tomorrow. Phone won’t let me upload picture.

Ah there we go!

The silver ragwort looks a little scorched after winter frosts, the climate in Kildare isn’t as mild as it is in Dublin’s answer to the Mediterranean, Killiney Bay! Around 1875, the occupant of Sorrento Cottage, Sir Francis Brady sowed some silver ragwort seed. The plants spread from his garden and eventually became naturalized on the hill side along the bay.
Silver ragwort is a biennial with yellow flowers and nice silvery green foliage. I collected the seeds from Killiney hill in 2012, sowed them in 2013, and planted out last autumn. I don’t know whether this variety is classed as a noxious weed as is common ragwort, hopefully they won’t escape my garden and cause problems!

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What a great weather we had the last few days! I could not spend all day in the garden but managed to get a small amount of time in it each day, so I’m happy. I pruned my front garden hydrangeas quite drastically this year, meaning I probably won’t get flowers, but they were getting quite leggy so it had to be done. I hope that they will resume flowering (and flower even more) next year. In the meantime I will think of something annual to plant underneath to brighten up that corner.

I continued cleaning the “herb” area and am happy to see that a honeysuckle bought 2 years ago and planted close to this is finally taking off. I bought it for its fragrance and planted it beside the dining room window and close to the patio so we will hopefully get a lovely scent on summer evenings, but last year it grew very little, and I did not get any flowers. It looks much happier this year, so fingers crossed! Unfortunately, its name escapes me now, I will have to root around my labels so try and find it…

And talking about fragrance, last week I found some Narcissus Bridal Crown in Woodies, so bought a couple of pots and planted them in the back garden. I think that they smell really nice, so can’t wait for them to open!

Today was really foggy here all day and the sun barely peeked its nose out at some point and went back in very quickly. One of those days that feel colder that they actually are. However, a visit from three lovely garden.ie ladies definitely brightened up the day! Thank you very much Myrtle, Joan and Clare for your visit, and for the lovely plants you brought!

Delighted with the little collection of Primroses I have here at the moment. Great little plants for adding a bit of Spring colour, and they self-seed about the place very readily. Just put up a small album of what I have in the garden. And I count myself extremely lucky that none of them have been devoured by the dreaded Vine Weevil, to which they are so attracted.

My favourite ones are, and always be, the common hedgerow one, Primula vulgaris, and a lovely one donated by Myrtle. Unfortunately due to constant change in my garden over the last few years I no longer seem to have any ‘vulgaris’, but plan on changing that. Greta has kindly promised me a nice clump next time I’m down with her. And as soon as Myrtle’s one has finished flowering, I intend dividing this. Apologies about all the weeds in the album. But that’s an area that I am working on at the moment. Couldn’t find my kneeler today so will have to weed from a sitting position.

The local garden robins have been spending lots of time outside the kitchen window, sitting on the clothes line pole and even on a flower pot on the window sill, looking in the window in anticipation of getting titbits of porridge from my breakfast. I have been taming generations of robins for over ten years, and in winter when food is scarce they eventually get brave enough to eat out of my hand with a bit of “training”. The hen robin has now gotten quite tame after seeing what its mate gets up to!
Anyway they’ve decided to setup residence outside the kitchen window in a bird box perched high up in a Leylandii hedge. Usually robins nest down the garden in bird boxes nestled away in the ivy in the damson trees. This time however they decided to use the one in plain view of the window, (probably so they won’t “miss anything”)

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This basket of pansies was planted up last August/September.

It hangs just outside the hall door on the porch. In the beginning it got the usual watering and then it was literally forgotten about. During the cold dark days of Winter it was barely visible but still alive.

Now here it is in the middle of March, having survived storms, rain, wind, sleet, sun and NEGLECT and look how well it is looking.

Is that the way to treat all plants do you think, do we mollycoddle them too much lol?? or am I just a bad gardener!!!

To day it was not what was supposed  to be, T shirts and shorts. 15 degrees was forecast , nevertheless the rain kept away. Fertilizer was spread on the rose beds, about 110 roses in all. Pruning was carried in areas where needed. Flowers are great and in particular daffodils. The tomatoes in the greenhouse are ready for the Country Market to morrow. Can somebody identify this flowerig plant?

Camellia ‘Debbie’ opened up today.

And she didnt disappoint at all. Lovely plant! Such a soft but lush pink.

I have a Gunnera manicata down at the end of the garden. It grows quite big, but probably not as big and rampant as those found on Achill Island, thank God. I have tried to get rid of it on a number of occasions in the past, and even pouring petrol over it. But all to no avail.

But I refuse to let it beat me. I have a nice few plants, also in this area. Today I was successful in digging up two massive root systems. But as I went on digging around the area, I had to be very careful not to disturb some cuter and more sought-after little babies. I managed to take up Hacquetia epipactus, and transplanted it into the North-facing border for safe-keeping. You should have seen the Gunnera roots that had invaded the root system of the Hacquetia. They were as fat as a big mans finger. And they travelled a good 6 ft either side of the actual Gunnera. And I think it can re-grow from the tiniest piece of root? And the weight of the root system was unbelievable. Scary stuff.

My garden is way too small to accommodate this giant. It was tough going and had to give up sooner that I wanted. So hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to move more stuff. Can’t remember exactly where I have Cautleya spicata planted so I have to be careful. When that area is almost cleared, I’ll be able to hack away, set fire to, or even poison this dreaded Gunnera. I actually love the plant with its very architectural leaves. But, right plant, right place.

And for once, I could NOT afford to throw the roots or stumps ‘over the wall’ in case it comes back to haunt me forevermore. This one is for safe disposal in the Green Bin. I am quite sure I’ll get some new growth on roots that I have missed. But I’ll keep at it. 

Four gardens in Waterford will open their gates on 28th June next in aid of the local Alzheimer’s Society. Abbey Garden, Ferrybank is gardened by Margaret Power who has opened her garden for many year in aid of local charities. Paula and Jim Heenan, will also be taking part and their beautiful garden runs down to the banks of the River Suir. The third garden, in Lismore Park, is owned by Breda Knox, who is a keen gardener and has managed to fit a lot of interesting plants into a small area. Paddy and myself are also taking part in the event.  

I got to Lidl today and picked up a few plants. I particularly wanted to get the Ferns….these are plants that Ive never had before and wouldnt generally even pay them a second glance. But I wanted to get something to put in my shady corner and PWiseman told me that they are good for this type of space.

So I bought 3 ferns

Dryopteris affinis

Cyrtomium fortunei var.clivicola

Ploysticnum

I also bought a hedging Viburnum..I love these and they are evergreen too…..

That was it….oh I got some compost also….but nothing else…Now I have to find somewhere to put all the plants in waiting and the ones in pots too lol….but the garden is bulking up nicely.

Very dreary dull day here today and it was on the cold side….but it didnt stop me getting out and doing a bit of planting and general tidying up….

I have this type of daffodils in the other area.Full name needed please,thanks.

In the front flower area i have a daffodil section.Full name needed please for this type.Thanks.

Last March I put up a photo of my sad looking Wulfenii, I had bought a healthy plant and neglected it in its pot over the winter.  I cut it back and now look at it, the picture of health again, so am delighted with it, thanks for all your advice.

Once I drop Nicola off this morning, I’m off to Lidl. They have lots of goodies in today. 

They have, ferns, hedging Photinia, Heathers, hedging Viburnums, Jasmines, Cala Lilies, Arabis, Saxifraga…….the list is endless.

Im hoping to pick up some Ferns to plant in my shady border and to give it some height and structure.

So go on, what are you waiting for!!!! Lol you know you want to 😉  

Anemone blanda are clumping up nicely here adding a great splash of gentle colour.

HAVE A NICE DAY!!!

One of my neighbours gave me a huge amount of Muscari bulbs last year. Her garden was full of this lovely little plant. So I replanted them in my garden. There are lots of green shoots everywhere. It’s only now I’m beginning to see the lovely blue grape-like head appearing on the plants. They are a lovely addition to the garden.

I was in Tesco last week and they had 2 little pots of Muscari which they were selling off and they were only 10c each. So of course I took them too. 

This Amaryllis opened on the 17th of December 2013 and it was beautiful all over Christmas some ohs and ahs from friends and family ….it has had a second flush with 8 more buds taking all this time to get to this …..

Claire E if you see this there is great hope for your one to have a second lot also …I just love them and the orange one has also given 4 more flowers….

This one was the one I got last year meaning 2012 , so in total I have had 16 huge flowers from this one .

When i came home from work i was delighted to see a package had arrived from a very fancy nursery called Frans. I was thrilled that he sent on Campanula Elizabeth and a Aster for me. The generosity on this site knows no bounds and i am really grateful to have joined such a great club with great people. Thank you so much Fran look forward to seeing these in flower in the garden.

These are the first of my order from Augisbulbs of last year to make an appearence.

I only got four of these and just look at all the young side shoots that are showing already. I love the real tall spearlike leaves at this stage.

I am adding a photo of the plant in flower from the web.

I have three Yucca americanus variegata here. One in the Kayak in the front which won’t remain there for too long as it has grown quite a bit, and two in the back garden. One in the greenhouse border and another one in a pot for now.

But the one at the greenhouse pond looked so lovely today, one could almost be mistaken for thinking it was mid-summer.

Swallowing frogs. Not literally of course we can leave that to our dear French friends who I think only eat the legs.C’est vrai, Claire et Rachel??? Well anyway, a few years ago a brilliant lady in maynooth advised us to ‘swallow our frogs’ first i.e. to do the jobs you don’t want to do before you do the ones you enjoy doing. Scrubber doesn’t like weeding when the ground is covered with scutchy dandelion -ridden, matted weeds and what not. On Monday he went at the long border and spent all his time doing that. Anna came out and helped and did a mighty job on the Stipa Gigantea.

Today though he thought he would start with a treat rather than a swallowed frog and he went down to the border inside the wall on the lower lawn. He knew if he got this bit done he could edge it and it would look well. He gave himself an hour to spend on it. Didn’t get a huge amount done but did clear about three metres and did around a tree and  the quern stone and edged what he had done. Then he went back to the long border which seems now to be an eternal one. He got about three metres done there and it was messy and tough and exasperating. He was getting a bit despondent , and was thinking how he was not at all as energetic as he used to be at thirty or even forty and gave himself a break bringing the ash bucket down to the bottoms and putting the ashes under one of the slabs on the squelchy path. A friend was passing by and we chatted.

‘Peter the garden is looking lovely’ he said. Then came one of the nicest compliments I have ever received. ‘My wife was talking about it last night and she said it was the garden of an artist’. Scrubber went a dutiful shade of pink but the phrase reverberated in his head for the rest of the evening, Even when he was shovelling utter gloop (Wet dirty mud!)from the carraig mor-as he had exposed just a little more of the stone. The fact that the lady in question has exquisite taste only added to it all. So if ,the next time you meet Scrubber and he looks a little more sparkly eyed its because somebody things he has created ‘the garden of an artist!!!’ Me an’ Monet you know!

The rest of the evening passed quickly and jobs got done! Was sitting having tea and cake when I got a brill idea re the lovely conifer Anne gave me that I had in a trough. It was transported immediately to Marion’s bed-place of highest honour and in years to come will be a beautiful bonzai beside the lantern of light! Amazing what a kind word does! Daffs are out all about and more to come. 

Hi everyone, thought I’d pop by and say hello. Hard to believe my last journal was six months ago. I hope you’re all keeping well. I’ve met some of the nicest people through this site.

Sorry to not make it to the get-together. Looks like a great time was had, and thanks to those who couriered plants to me. I still have plants for several of you…I haven’t forgotten you 🙂

Hmmm… so what do I write about now. Emmm…I could talk about how great the weather is, my spring tidying, or my seed sowing, but sure that’s nothing new.

I guess the main thing different for me this year compared to last is that I won’t be opening the garden for the Hospice this year. Last year was tough going and I felt like I was gardening for others and not myself. So I’m really looking forward to taking my time, making a mess, and enjoying every minute of it.

Now that my garden is a few years old, lots of plants have bulked up a good bit. I’ve got lots stuff going spare, so if you’re in the area, pop by and take your pick. I just can’t throw good plants on the compost heap.

I’m looking forward to browsing your journals, and I might even post another one myself, or an album, over the next few days.

Happy Spring,

Bruno

Ps: Hope that Fran lad has been behaving himself 😉

Better not get too used to this fine weather. The old saying goes ‘March of Many Weathers’. But what another great day! Went back to bed for an hour after Steve left for work, and left the fog to burn itself off.

It remained quite cold till about 11.00 when I was raring to go. Funny but the Greenhouse Pond which is in the middle of the garden was fine, but the Lower Pond, next to the house was frozen. That’s never happened before. You’d imagine the house would have given the Lower Pond that extra bit of shelter.

Planted up the plants I got in Homebase on Monday into pots – Astrantia ‘primadonna’, Echinacea ‘White Swan’, Convallaria (Lily of the valley), and Gladioli bulbs ‘Green Star’ into a big grey pot. The contrast should be nice. And I love greenish flowers. Finally bought myself a Phlomis which I can’t wait for. That’s in the Greenhouse Border now.

Leucojum buds are appearing, and Forsythia and Kerria japonica are almost out.

Cut back Escallonia as it was beginning to get a bit out of control. And this bed is home to my roses (not as many obviously as Dick). But two of these roses are ones that have grown from cuttings. So proud of myself, having never attempted this before. So when the Escallonia was cut back, I dug around and weeded in this bed. Granted it’s only about 6×6. But it was tough going. Not great at digging still. It was great to be able to work in t-shirt sleeves so early in the year. I need to sort out some kind of edging to help retain the soil in this bed.

Cleaned out the Lower Pond. It’s great to see Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) coming up already. Fed the fish, and topped up the bird feeders too.