Month: March 2014

While I was in Jurgita’s last week I was asked if there was anything I wanted in her garden. I know if I asked for anything Jurgita would have handed it over, such is the generosity of this Lady.

Jurgita’s face was a picture when I asked if she was using the broken pot I spotted as I drove in to the driveway. Needless to say I came away with the broken pot.

An hour in the shed this morning, and I have my first attempt at miniture gardening.

The broken sections were drilled and screwed to a wooden base, compost, stones, ferns and a few ‘extras’ added as finishing touches.

This is a short term planter, as some of these ferns are only young and will get too big, but should be ok for this year.

Jurgita, thank you ;))

The wife has planted alot of Heritage bulbs last year.One of her favs is ‘Golden Bells’ or narcissus bulbocodium beloved of th eAncient Greeks and Romans, a gorgeous sunny minature. The faintest of sweet scents.

Also the snakes head Fritillary stunning checkered gem.

March simply flew by and as I’m writing the sun is streaming through my office window. Finally!

In general we have had a raise in temperatures and this has triggered growth throughout the gardens. Everywhere you look there’s signs of new life; buds bursting, flowers opening and new seedlings emerging. This has to be my favourite time of year.

Over the next few weeks look out for our Cherry trees, Magnolias, Camellias and Rhododendrons. Some of our Magnolias are spectacular this year and our huge Rhododendron arboreum ‘Cornish Red’ on the Himalayan Walk is an amazing site. 

The weather did improve in time for the traditional start of our tourist season, Saint Patrick’s week, and the good weather brought a lot of visitors to Blarney. Let’s hope it’s a sign of things to come.

We are finally starting to get to the end of clearing up from all the storm damage through the arboretums although there are still some major clean up jobs in the woodland areas.  One thing we are not short of this season is wood chips for our garden paths. We have nearly finished clearing the lower rock close area that was decimated by the storms. We have a blank canvas and plans are in progress to add a real wow factor to this area. All will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Uncovering all of our tree ferns in the fern garden is always a difficult decision. They are protected from heavy frosts over the winter with a layer of straw and horticultural fleece. I took the decision to remove it all before Saint Patrick’s weekend. They look a lot happier to be free of it. The waterfall really does add a whole new dimension to the area and the ferns set it off nicely. We will be planting ferns around it this year in the crevices and cracks which should make it look more established.

April is usually a very active month in the gardens, and there are a lot of jobs to plan out. These include feeding the lawns, seed sowing including sweet corn, runner beans and outdoor salad crops, carrots, parsnips and beetroot. Plant out onions, shallots and potatoes if you haven’t already. Repot houseplants, plant indoor tomatoes, check for pests such as aphids in the glasshouse, start to spray roses for black spot and weed through beds.

We have recently submitted an application to build a small garden at Bloom this year, which is very exciting for us. It’s a postcard garden that measures 3m x 2m so the challenge is to fit all of Blarney Gardens into that little space. It will be a great team exercise and all of the lads have had a hand in the design and development.

Organisation of our own Summer Garden Fair, ‘Blarney in Bloom’ is well underway. It will be bigger this year and will feature some big names from the world of horticulture as well as more interactive garden, arts and craft areas. Mark the 12^th of July in your diaries now!

I look forward to seeing you in the gardens. Adam 

I had occasion to complain in a Facebook message to my local garden centre that the 500 Dutch Master daffodils we ordered last September were in fact 497 Dutch Master and a few rogues, as shown. I had a message back saying that the rogues were very rare and they should have charged extra! Apparently the white one is a Thalia and has a lovely scent. I’m hoping this perishing Lanzarote cold will clear up in time for me to sniff it before it goes over. 

The third shot is last year’s Tesco Rescue half-price daffs – no idea what they are but I adore them with the muscari. Somewhere in there is an Amber Queen rose! 

While out yesterday I popped into Tesco.  Got this cute little bargan – a box of minature daffs – reduced to 2 euros!!  2nd picture is Jetfire which is in my garden and 3rd photo is Rip Van Winkle – one of my favourites with its fluffy feathery heads!!!!

Can’t believe how much difference a few weeks can make in a garden at this time of year. You wouldn’t expect too much growth. But with the arrival of snowdrops and daffs a flower bed can be transformd. 

This is my shady border in February and again yesterday. Amazing how it has changed. 

After seeing Fran’s Journal with the lovely Prunus incisa kojo no mai I just had to have one.  Easier said than done!!!  Phoned all my local garden centres but to no avail!!!  Yesterday I had to go into town and on the way home decided to call in to my small local Horkans.   There they were sitting on a trolley – Prunus incisa ‘Mikinori’ which is very similar to ‘kojo no mai’  having just arrived from the Castlebar Horkans for Mother’s Day!!!!  Looking at the internet the Mikinor is a new introduction named after Mikinori Ogisu the Japanese botonist. !     By yesterday afternoon it was planted in to our garden and this morning I’ve been out already to ooh and aah over it!!!!  

While I was out taking photos in my garden yesterday I was admiring my planter at thedining room window. It has lots of different plants that I put in last September. It has Anemones, Tete-Tete, Dwarf Tulips, Hyacinths, some Aquilegia, a Lupin……..and then I noticed these little beauties.

For the life of me I don’t remember planting them. I did plant Fritillary in a pot and every one of the bulbs rotted. So I was pleasantly surprised to see these. Will have to check my labels for their full name or does anyone know what they might be called?? 

My ongoing love-hate relationship with the dreaded Lesser Celandine reached a sort of crisis today.

I’ve endeavoured to restrain them in the Hazel Grove and as you can see the anemones, Muscaris and violets are giving them a run for their money!

I have posted several journals about the evolution of my arches. Starting off with two very cheap arches from Lidl – they survived for nearly two years but the rust was really taking its toll this year so  I decided to repair them using plumbers piping and cable ties and some of those green metal-type posts from Woodies.

This was very successful so encouraged by this I set about making an arch from scratch. The prototype had some issues – pipe wants to curve so I ended up with a kind of crooked circular arch. But at least it was strong and withstood the recent storms well!

My dream is to have a series of arches all covered in wonderful Clematis flowering for the entire summer ….. well, its good to have a dream 🙂

Step one was to reposition the existing arches. I had help at the weekend so we very gingerly moved the arches and to my amazement they survived! Their new position happens to coincide with a strong post!!!! 

Step two was to construct another arch this time trying to emulate the curve and shape of the Lidl arches. This was achieved with the plumbing pipe, the green support posts and lots of cable ties! This worked well.

Step three was to remodel the prototype to the more successful version.

Step 4 was to cover the new arches with that green plant support mesh giving the whole structure more stability.

Now Step one was completed very quickly in between showers on Sunday morning.

Steps two to four were carried out in a gale! At least the arches stability was getting lots of testing!

And so far the Clematis planted are:

Clematis montant ‘Tetrarose’

Clematis ‘Niobe’

Clematis Piilu

Clematis Alpina (tiny slip from Elizabeth)

Clematis Viticella Alba luxurians

Clematis Armandii

Probably have room for a few more ….. I hope!

Just looking back at photos of 27th March last year. How awful it was to witness thick snow in March. We’ve been lucky this year.

One doesn’t of course like to boast… But I am compelled to say that had my friends seen Scrubber today, engaged in the most delicate of tasks, the only adjective that would have sprung to mind would have been ‘balletic’. Yes I’m sure even Paddy T. would have granted him that today.

Scrubber had gone down to the bottom of the Scrub to stool or pollard his willows! (Depending on whether  the loppers was working well or otherwise. )Well having laid waste all about him he decided to use the lopped off limbs. There is a corner of the very bottom where cattle might get through –if they didn’t sink to their necks in the muddy depths while doing so. But how to cross the very boggy ground? Well there were branches and twigs and Scrubber collected a big pile of them and threw them on the mud and water and then holding a branch overhead that leaned out helpfully, he very gingerly advanced out on this mat and managed to stick the willows into the mud very easily. This was done with a great deal of balancing and testing of support as its very sucky mud indeed and one could go to ones waist! Thus the ‘balletic’ balancing!

But Scrubber was so chuffed to have it done successfully and next year he hopes to have a veritable thicket of bright green willow down there. He then went back to strimming-yet more of that confounded three cornered leek. He is going to see will determined strimming have any effect at all. The place reeked of garlic but he likes that smell. Then some strimming of paths and a careful handweeding of a bed and today was  very satisfactorily concluded-whenit rained he tidied the garage  a bit, it didn’t need much as the new shelves are holding lots and his working clothes are now hung on brass hooks instead of littering the floor! There’s posh! I see the magnolia is coming out. Hope we don’t get frost!

Spent ages today out in the garage looking for my kneeler to no avail. However, I did come across these two cute garden goblins that were shoved in at the back of the bench that I had completely forgotten I had bought last year.

Never found my kneeler. Tomorrow’s another day!

Some of my blue Anemones are up now and with the red next to it I think they look great. Really like these plants. Isn’t it amazing the kick you get out of seeing plants flower even tho you might see them year after year. I can only imagine what my neighbours think when i’m down on my hands and knees in the garden looking at flowers and taking photos haha

In the last couple of days I have posted my opinion on compost quality. I bought a 10litre bag in Dealz for €1.49, sowed ALL of my seeds in it, and really should have gone out immediately to replace it with some quality stuff. Sowed lots of seeds, and have now dumped most of them. Things like Godetia, cornflower, cosmos, courgettes, tomatoes, melons, rudbeckia plus others. Some seeds haven’t germinated yet, and I doubt if they will at this stage in the game. If they do, they will be transplanted into Erin as soon as they are big enough to handle. Dealz compost (Seery’s) is ICKY, heavy, and looks to be a combination of garden soil and inferior quality compost. and very dry to the touch. Although it does have the benefit of Added John Innes, which should be an advantage!!!

Today, I managed to re-pot the courgettes as they are growing strongly at this stage, and needed potting on anyway. Dealz compost when watered, produces what looks like a little oil-slick on the surface. And the water just sits on top for ages. Don’t like it. False economy!

Erin compost, which I normally buy, is soft, crumbly and damp(ish) when handling. Don’t make a habit of buying compost in Aldi or Lidl, but it’s got to be worth it purely for experimentation purposes. And it’s not too pricey either. Some of you use Seed & Cutting Compost, and I have tried this. But I always end up using Multi-purpose Compost. I think it works just as well.

What is YOUR preferred compost for seed-sowing?

came home this eve and headed straight for the tunnel. what bliss to be in there with the plants watering and looking and tending the plants. some of the auriculas are in flower very happy with this. they are so cute. i cant believe it is the end of march. where has the time gone. since i am working the days just seem to fly by and not a seed sown for summer colour must do something about that this weekend and coming weeks.

looking around the garden the primula denticulatas and primula veris are flowering thier little socks off as are the primula marie crouse and butterscotch. 

i will definately look after the fern sowing this weekend, the compost is sterilised and covered so saturday before the end of the day i iwll do it.

while in the tunnel this eve i also came across my fritilires flowering their socks off. they have kind of a curve on them because they were in the second shelve of the racks oppppppps, they are still great thoug. i will put them in a bigger pot later on and keep them in the tunnel as i find our soil is too heavy for them and they never last so i will keep them in the tunnel to enjoy

i have a last days of march album up if anyone wants to see it 

I spent the morning in the greenhouse, potting on – mostly ricinus. And some begonia tubers.

I noticed a few things looking well.

The first is rhipsalidopsis, which is coming into bud now. This succulent was grown from a cutting given to me by RitaD, a brilliant gardener of exotic plants who has sadly passed away.

The second is a photo of the first of my double, red freesias to come into flower. We’ll say no more!

The third photo is Veratrum californicum, which we say in Beth Chatto’s garden last summer and just had to have. I think I was not the only one to buy it in her nursery! But I never got to plant it last year so it will go into my new border soon.

This is anemonella and my second try with this lovely little woodland plant.

I lost one last summer, with a farfugium, to drought. Remember the summer we had! I wouldn’t complain though if we got the same sun again this year.

Anyway, I was determined to try again with anemonella so when I saw the root for sale I snapped it up.

Just a little update on my proteas, especially for anyone who read my article in the April Irish Garden.

Almost all of them have germinated by now.

I carry my heart in my mouth, though, whenever I have to water them as root disturbance can be a killer at this stage.

be correct in thinking that these are Narcissus ‘Hawera’?

Don’t you just love sowing and potting on seeds?!!! Well I do. I find it so calming and therapeutic too.  I can spend ages just putting those little seeds into trays and pots and then when they are big enough potting them on. In most cases they do survive and it’s such a thrill to see them then flower in my garden. 

Yesterday was no exception. Although I did spend time in the garden, once those two showers arrived it was back to the greenhouse and pot on some of my little seedlings. 

I sowed Petunia earlier in the month and these had taken off enough for me to pot them on. I bought Petinia plugs last year in Aldi and every single one of them died , so I’m hoping to have a bit ore luck with these ones. They look good and healthy so far. 

Also potted on the Calendula ‘peach Melba’ that Nicola sowed a few weeks back. They too are looking good. Moved some of the older, hardier plants into the cold frame as space is at a premium lol. The Dahlias taking up the most room,  but they too are starting to show signs of life, thankfully. 

Sowed another couple of Ricinus communis that Hazel so kindly gave me in Johnstown a few weeks back, actually 10 days ago, as the last one died. Don’t know why as it was doing so well. Anyway two have come on now and looking good. I see another one this morning just about to peep up in the propagator. So happy wth their progress. 

All in all a great days work.