Month: March 2014

My Camelia ‘white swan’ is just about to open. Have some nice buds on it too. 

 Maybe today!!! 

A really great Primula to have in the garden, i got this last year as a single plant and it flowered it’s socks off with great amounts of flowers. Since then i divided it into 4 plants. I left two where it origanally ws until the bird pulled them up so potted them up with another potted up one and the other planted into the bed on the right hand side of the garden with a mix of primulas. This is one of the potted up ones that has started flowering as the one in the ground is a bit away from flowering yet and just love them.

I may have mentioned it before, but I LOVE arches! This is a trait I inherited from my maternal Grandmother who legend tells us made many attempts to construct arches in her garden were very temporary – usually constructed by herself using whatever was available.

I mentioned in a previous journal that I constructed a new arch along the path where the rather battered arches from a couple of years ago. My plan is to have a series of arches along this path – I have visions of these arches covered with frothy displays of Clematis clothing these arches.

The pipes I used to reinforce the old arches gave me the idea of constructing the new arch from the same materials. The construction is more or less completed now. The two arches are continuous pipes but they are secured to good strong posts – already in place to hold up the netting fence along the path. They were still inclined to curve too soon so I added some tall bamboos lashed to the pipes to where I wanted the curves to begin.

I was surprised at how stable they were once I put the little bamboo struts crosswise to hloe them the same distance apart.

The final touch was to cut several lengths as crosspieces.

Now you may wonder how this edifice is held together – well yes, it is my old friends the Cable Ties but when I was getting a fresh supply the guy in the hardware store also sold me some extra long extra strong ones I think used by the local farmers! They are so strong that I’m convinced my arch will last. So the finishing touch will be to continue the netting across the arch. I planted two Clematis at the foot of the new arch – so I reckon I have a couple of weeks to get that done before the new Clematis reach the arch 🙂

Wordsworth did write one, not as famous as his daffodil poem but here it is:

TO A SNOWDROP

          LONE Flower, hemmed in with snows and white as they
          But hardier far, once more I see thee bend
          Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend,
          Like an unbidden guest. Though day by day,
          Storms, sallying from the mountain-tops, waylay
          The rising sun, and on the plains descend;
          Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a friend
          Whose zeal outruns his promise! Blue-eyed May
          Shall soon behold this border thickly set
          With bright jonquils, their odours lavishing                
          On the soft west-wind and his frolic peers;
          Nor will I then thy modest grace forget,
          Chaste Snowdrop, venturous harbinger of Spring,
          And pensive monitor of fleeting years!

Spent a few hours yesterday working on the long border in the back garden. Lots of clearing, weeding and best of all planting plants from Johnstown swap.

It was great to be doing some serious gardening again. Got finished just as the rains arrived.

I had an idea of changing this area next year into an annuals bed. Beginning to think do I really need the work involved and seed sowing on a grand scale, potting on etc.

Thinking this one out again……….

PS  Adding an album of my Hellebours, no Idea the collection had grown so fast, and still a few more to open.

Spent a few hours this morning cleaning /polishing /putting away books etc. so went to wash some of my glass wear and decided to try and put a few hellebores into a very old bowl and place it in the sun coming through   the dining room window so here are a few photos  .

Face becoming one of my highly rated grasses.

Nice, neat, tight clump forming grass. Stays green all year (here anyway), strong straight upright fonds that last well into the winter. Sends out suckers that then sprout away and can be easily dug up and moved around once they have grown a litle.

Divided a clump yesterday, and added it to this planter. Helps dull the effect of the greenhouse at the end of the garden.

I did a tidy on my Tree fern i have today cutting away all the old dying fonds and when all was done i was just looking at some of the new ferns coming up and found it just amazing looking. I love how them come up and just unfurl into a beautiful plant. This time last year i had no ferns and even before that I did not like them but when i bought my 1st 2 at bloom i just got hooked by them and they are now one of my favourite plants to have in the garden. Still not sure where to plant this yet but cannot wait to see it in all it’s glory in the summer.

Scrubber was the teenshiest bit disgruntled today. Perhaps it was because the magnificence of the snowdrops was just beginning to fade and he was wishing it would go on and on  and wondering how the garden could live up to that first magnificent show over the next few months. I know Rober Herrick wrote ‘Fair Daffodils we weep to see/ you haste away so soon’ but Scrubber does so miss the snowdrops!

Also he was occupied today with ‘umble tasks’, ie weeding. You see if it’s a rock there’s a lot of commotion and  heaving  and moving and then there’s a striking result-but weeding is painstaking step by step, no glamour, no theatre.

He began on the rockery and got a bit done-very tangley places, rockeries! The little done took ages so as a treat he thought he’d put in the Crocosmias-Sorry Paddy but they were fine in their plastic bag until now. Mary’s plants were in a lot earlier. He went out to Eileen’s bed and began dutifully clearing patches among the overgrowth (my new word for weeds!). Then a brilliant idea –a better site for remaining crocosmias! He toddled off down to Elizabeths corner which has become more open due to loss of branch and put in the rest of the crocosmias there on various levels so that hopefully  later this year there will be a bold show of red all over the corner-one that will improve year after year!

Things felt better and then a strange experience-He actually felt the warmth of the sun on his back as he weeded a bit more! It was only for a few minutes but it was there and a bumble bee in the heather near him gave an inkling of sunny days to come. Then as he lugged the load of weeded detritus (Always wanted to get that word in!) he met two young men on the river bank and they reminisced on all the fun they had had years ago-the mothers would allow the lads to go swimming if Scrubber was there! and the day one of them actually fell off the bridge into the river! (Scrubber was not there but he came out safely!). Then as the last bit of tidying was done two ladies admired the Scrub and were invited in to view the snowdrops before they had faded completely (The snowdrops not the ladies) and they were very happy to view and so Scrubber was also happy.

So a pleasant end to what began as a tiresome tasking sort of day—and there are some nice freshly weeded beds to boot!

Ill put up some snowdrop pictures as soon as i transfer them.

This little beauty was up and opened today when i came home and the 1st of many. Really like this one a lot and have a pot full of them with i think tete a tete daffs all close to buds now so should be a good display in a week or two.

I was itching to get out all day, but I spent most of the day doing a major clean-up after the chimney fire last night. Pictures came down off the walls and had to be cleaned, and chesterfield suite covers had to be thrown into the washing machine. One advantage to having a lovely day today was getting them out on the line and dried, and are back on the furniture and smelling oh so sweet. The soot had even ended up on the kitchen windowsill and shelving units in the dining room. What a waste of time that could have been spent out in the garden.

When all the cleaning was done I decided on minimal tasks outside. I neatened the Hosta Bed edge today. The soil there has become quite compacted over the winter months with the oil man delivering, but I’m a bit sceptical about loosening up the soil to allow the hostas to come through in case I damage them in some way.

I managed to plant my Malus ‘Red Sentinel’ into the North-facing border. This part of the border will get sun throughout the summer, but only from about 3.00 onwards.

However, the Malus is planted now into the spot where I kept the pot and it has done really well in that time. So I know it’s the perfect place for it. The worst part was digging down deep enough to get it planted properly. However, job done and I’m sure he’s a happy camper having his freedom at last. Hopefully I can get the cotoneaster done tomorrow. But ths is in a much bigger pot so I’ll have to dig down deeper. Pain!!! Also transplanted some Galanthus into this same area. That was it, as the soil and grass was so soggy after the constant rain from overnight that I felt I was doing more harm than good.

It was terribly cold last night.

The poor plants in the greenhouse must be getting very mixed signals these days.

The light is very welcome though.

Well today was such a great day compared to the damp, wet, dull day yesterday.

There was a frost during the night but that cleared to a lovely bright sunny day today and of course out to the garden straight away.

Jimmy bought me a plastic greenhouse in Lidl a few weeks back, so he finally put it together today and in place, so now I have two plastic greenhouses. These will have to do until we can get a ‘proper’ greenhouse…hopefully sometime in the Summer. But for now my plants have a new home and Ive much more space….

I did a bit of tidying up around the beds, not much as I wanted to make sure the greenhouse was being erected lol……..Tomorrow is supposed to be as nice, so Im hoping to plant up more of those plants I got at the get-together and also some that were taken out the other day!….Great to have the sun shining once again 🙂

On Friday morning before I went to work I put some fat balls out for the birds. As the tray is compostable but I had already locked the back door I threw it in a pot at the back door. When I went to retrieve it on Saturday sometime a frog lay underneath. So I have left the tray be until Mr Frog decides to move on…

All of the 6 flowers are now open so here are a few pictures. For a while it was looking a bit strange with a tall thin stem and very small leaves, but the leaves have grown also now so it looks more “balanced”. However, I think the extra bud at the bottom won’t do much, it doesn’t appear to be growing and is even beginning to shrivel. A shame, but I can’t complain with the stalk I got. This is encouraging me to try it again next year, and get other amaryllis… 🙂

A good friend of Alan’s lost his wife a few years ago after a far too short but very happy marriage. We met him for a coffee last week on the day I got my bargain RHS plant book, and he asked us to call by the house and take away some of his wife’s gardening books because although he keeps her garden tidy, he isn’t into gardening himself and he knows she’d like them to be used.  So we did and we’ll think of her every time we look at them. 

Took a few more shots while the sun’s shining. As y’all know, photography is not my forte, but though I say it myself it’s a nice shot of a Double Ellen. Pure luck of course so I can’t take any credit!

And I really like the crocuses and bergenia. Could do with some tete a tetes in there next year I think. 

Struggling a bit to stay out of the ‘pit’, but every one of the daffodils is a mini-shot of anti-depressant. Lovely morning so I hope it lasts. 

Yesterday, we decided to visit Woodville Walled Garden.  Got up to rain but by11am, sun came out and the day turned out lovely.  We were hoping to catch the last of the snowdrops and we weren’t disappointed!!!  Woodville is in the village of Kilchreest and not far from Loughrea in Co Galway.   Maree took us on a tour of the garden and behind the scenes to see some of their ‘special Irish’ snowdrops – names escape me.  Didn’t know that some of the snowdrops were brought back to Ireland from Ukraine and the Crimea…………………   Marie pointed out Hillpoe & Arnott snowdrops.  There was also a lovely Snowflake in flower and their hellebores were a picture.   Those living in the West should definitely visit this garden.  Lots to see over the different seasons – bluebells in their woodland area are on my list to visit come April!!   If you go on to their site you’ll see some beautiful photos.  

I was very disappointed when I moved to Laois to realise that most plants come into flower about 3 weeks later than my previous gardens in Dublin. I get really frustrated when everyone else is putting up their lovely photos of those real harbingers of Spring – the lovely Daffodils.

Yesterday I was in Dublin for the day, and it was apparently pretty sunny down here because this morning I was delighted to see the very first of mine has opened!

My first peach flowers started to open today. And looking at the amount of flowers to open, it looks like I might even have a half-decent crop this year. I guess tomorrow I might be doing a bit of hand-pollnating. Happy Days!

After such a great day yesterday and getting lots of plants lifted so I can rearrange things in the garden, I was all set today for another few hours in the garden. 

Alas that wasnt to be. Oh no the rain started just after 11am and stayed until after 3pm. By then the ground was sodden and I didn’t fancy all that muck and dirt heading to the house. 

So instead I brought everything I needed into the house, the dining room in fact. Compost, pots, dibbers, labels, pens gloves , the lot and planted up a few bits and pieces. With Nicola joining me eventually. 

I bought lots, I mean LOTS, of those perennials they had in Lidl during the week for €1.29. After the good comments and results  from  Jacinta and Rachel I went back a second time and got me some more, so I’ve 15 or so in total. So I set about planting some of them in pots first to bring them on a bit before I go planting them outside. 

I planted some:

Astilbe (pink, white and red)

Kniphofia x 6

Phlox (white)

Gypsophila x 3 ( white)

Alcea x 3 mixed

Aquilegia x 3 mixed

Echinacea Purpurea x3

Eryngium x 1

I also planted some Nasturtiums Peach Melba and Tom Thumb seeds

Then Nicola decided she would like to plant up some seeds. So she planted some 

Giant Sunflowers

Calendula Daisy Mix

Calendula King Orange

So in the end it was a great day even if it was spent inside. We both enjoyed ourselves and it was nice to be in out of the rain too Now the only problem I have is finding space for everything!! 

While myself and Dad went to lunch today, Steve got to work on repairing the spade he broke. Came home and he was just finished the job, and had used galvanised paint on the blade, and more importantly the part that the handle sits into. This will delay any possible rusting in the future. Nice job, Steve. And as it happened, the weather was so wet that I never got to try it out. Hoping for a good dry spell tomorrow.

Just starting to open in the garden, today.

Think this is my favorite Primula of them all.

I’m not part of this organization. But today I blessed my lucky stars that we have such good neighbours.

Steve was upstairs putting the finishing touches to my old Box-room that he has now converted into an Art room. I lit the fire and came in here to use the computer. Half an hour later my neighbour called to the door. I could barely see him as the road was engulfed in smoke. Little did I realise that it was OUR smoke. And there were flames coming out of the chimney. 

Thanks to Steve’s quick and sensible reactions, he very soon had the fire under control. So much smoke and soot everywhere, so if it’s sunny out tomorrow, I guess I’ll be stuck indoors trying to eradicate all the dirt and soot, and shop for new soft furnishings. We were very lucky. Thank you so much, David. It would have been so easy for him to say to himself, “Ah, yea, someone must have a chimney fire somewhere”, and leave it at that. It would have probably have cost about €600 to call out the Fire Brigade.

had a late start today been sunday and all but managed to get

dicentra x 6, iris germanica x 9, hosta x 6, eryngium x 9, triteleia x 40.

also repotted the last of the the primula alpicola, and helenium hoopeseii, two cistus and two choyisia so all that needs potting up is some more oxalis ( a deeper pink ) than what i got in aldi. and another 80 triteleia, and 40 iris that it all done then might get to them during the week if time allows.

hope you all have a great gardening week, whatever you get up to in the garden.

i have all my plant labels in the sink with some parazone, will tackle these in a while, its something i can do and watch telly at the same time