Archives: journal

Here are my two youngest, Josh & Sam. They are holding up their self-grown shamrock, which they refused to pick for St Patrick’s Day.

Shamrock

Was out in my garden all day yesterday and to-day. The weather was perfect and NO Rain.

I did a good tidy up of all the edges and pulled up any weeds that I could spot.

Now my garden looks nice and tidy. I’ts a pity I can’t say the same for the shed. I can barely get in the door. It needs a serious tidy up and soon as I can’t get near the mower.

I planted up some spuds in big bags that I bought in Woodies. They have a little flap that you can open and feel around the soil to see if your spuds are ready. They are very sturdy and you get 3 bags in the packet and they should last for several seasons.

I have now removed the remainder of the dead branches from my dear departed california liliac tree and have put up some trellis to take the bare look of the wall and also so the ivy will travel over a bit and green up the space which I get something to grow in it’s place.

All my solar lights went on in the garden this evening. This to me is a sure sign that there is sun on the way and lets hope that we get plenty of it this year, after a dismal Summer last year.

Finally i got to finish setting up the greenhouse shelves with pots etc,to accept some new comers real soon.Some need out to bigger pots or trouble.The stakes for the tomatoes are all ready along with some for the aubergines[egg plants].First attempt at growing the egg plant fruit.The aubergines are in single pots an they reach app 3 inches high now,inside in the house.Hopefully all going to plan tomorrow evening some trays will get their new surroundings.

We are ready for the the attack of new plants.

We started propagating the bedding plants in the heated greenhouse at the end of January. The tomatoes,and early flowering chrysanthemums the second week in February. We have a great many plants growing on nicely. Ann has been potting up the big double Begonia tubers which are all shooting well, the garden beds are starting to look good again with all the daffs /tulips and polyanthus coming out.I topped the lawns for the first time this season last Sunday,what a difference that made, we have started weeding and edging the beds. tidied up they look so different.

It was a beautiful sunny day today but, unfortunaely, I had to spend most of it indoors.

However, I’ve nearly fnished weeding the Long Border.I just still need to do a bit of work at the back.I put some photos of my gappy, but weeded, Long Border in the Early Spring 2009 album.

I have made a decision NOT to put compost on the borders as it would cost too much. Instead I will put down chicken manure pellets everywhere.

Myself and my husband sorted out the poor Acacia tree by putting in a stake, using the "driver". I wish I had bought that "driver" years ago – it is brilliant.

Staked Acacia Tree

The vegetable garden is now in its third year. Before that it was completely overrun with brambles and fallen, rotting trees. Now, my daughter, her husband and I are growing strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and other soft fruits. We also have every sort of vegetable. Since we had little or no experience previously we are pleased with our progress.Any advice is very welcome; in particular about apple trees.

what glorious weather, a pure joy to garden in. It is pure heaven being out in this weather. Long may it last. It has spured me into action and there is nearly not a enough daylight for everything I want to do. In this weather no job is to big and it is a dream to work in the garden.

another day of weeding, we managed to do four beds today, there is a large amount of moss this year. i always thought moss only grew on poor ground. All are beds have organic compost on them spring and autum so we can only put it down to the wet conditions last summer. I started rotavating the vegetable patch, and ridged up several rows for the early potatoes.

Both Josh and Sam, my youngest, have their own little plot in the greenhouse. They are growing Sunflowers and Radishes.

First thing that happened was that Sam opened the Radish seeds and sent them everywhere. We’ll have Radishes popping up in the cracks all summer. But lucky there were lots of seeds so there were plenty left.

The Sunflowers are called Russian Giants. Outdoors they never grow very big for me but I’m hoping that in the greenhouse, without wind or root disturbance, we might actually get some giants.

After the lads had watered in their little plots, my husband sowed the Lollo Rossa lettuce.

Josh Sowing Russian Giants

Added some more flower pots and trays to the greenhouse this evening.Just a few more light floor jobs to complete,then ready for attack.From what i have heard the weather wont be the colour of this weeks.Some cold and wet spells ahead.Lets hope for the best.Just been able to sow another ridge of potatoes [Roosters] before darkness creeped in.Coldframe to have some more trays of veg from the room added to it tomorrow. Fingers crossed, i hope to introduce some of the trays to the greenhouse tomorrow also.[With all going to plan]

Some finishing touches nearly complete.

More sunshine gardening today, it was lovely and sunny. I planted parsnip ‘gladiator ‘which is canker resistant and ‘early nantes’ carrots into the veg patch. I peeked under the black plastic to see if the potato stalks were up but no sign yet. This is a photo of my young Mahonia Charity. I had one for about 5 years and it just died. It may have been planted on top of a big rock, (as you can see behind the daffodils there are plenty of hugh rocks around here under and above the ground) so this replacement is in a different place.

Mahonia ‘Charity’

I potted on my courgettes today. It was just in time, I think. They just shoot up and strangle themselves if you’re not on top of it.

I sowed a tray of Mexican Sunflowers, thanks to Bill. I had been wanting to try these for some time.

I also tried to germinate five of the African Lion’s Tail seeds (Leonotis Leonurus) Bill kindly sent me. They seem a bit tricky and I am no expert on tricky seeds so I googled them to see what I could find out. In the end I planted them on compost soaked with water which had a few drops of tomato feed added and put them on the heated mat. If this doesn’t work I will try again with the remaining five seeds, dropping them into boiling water for three minutes beforehand. Hopefully it won’t come to such drastic measures.

French Courgette Orelia

Yet another day weeding beds this time i went through the broom beds and delphiniums ,all the time the bees were buzzing around me taking advantage of the winter and spring heathers, in the sunshine. also the butterflys are every where in the garden, John has been busy in the garden setting onions ,sowing peas, setting up the runnerbean sticks, he also planted the early potatoes, var,Rocket .Our young Golden Sunrise tomatoes are growing on well in the heated greenhouse.

Butterflys and bees

New member here. New to gardening too. I have a large garden and it really needs some colour and scent. I have always wanted to have a herb garden. I have had success in keeping herbs in pots, so I decided to plant a herb wheel. I dug out the ground a few weeks ago, prepared the soil (at least I hope I did) and planted the herbs. I am growing some from seed that will need to be planted into the ground when they are ready. All going well, I will have a nice selection of herbs for the summer. Both my husband and I like to cook, so I’ve only planted those herbs that we will use.

Today, I planted some bulbs in pots – lillies, freesias, agapanthaus, anemones and begonias. Planted some lettuce and rocket also. I’m going to try planting the rest of the bulbs into the ground, just to see what happens.

Planted a magnolia and camellia last year. They look like they are about to flower soon. Appel trees are showing some buds too.

I am trying to plant flowers that require mimimum looking after as I only have limited time at the weekends to spend looking after the garden. Anyway, enjoying it and keeping my fingers crossed that something will actually grow!

21.3.09

It has been beautiful here for the past few days with the sun pushing through the fog which has been just hanging barely there coming in and going out over the sea. While it has been damp and quite chilly I couldn’t hold back any longer and put some broad beans, spinach, dwarf beans, chard, and onion sets straight out into squares in the raised beds. I also transplanted some seedlings of chard, rocket, chinese cabbage and oasis turnip into the beds outside, shielding some of them with little homemade cloches from 2ltr milk cartons cut in half.

More compost arrives tomorrow to finish filling the rest of the raised beds. With the tomato seedlings doing well in trays in the tunnel, the weeds multiplying overnight in the tunnel beds and chilli peppers starting to emerge on the windowsill inside it really is starting to feel like spring.

Last year Chris from Westport gave me this daffodil bulb and isn’t it gorgeous! I saw it in flower in her garden and she told me she got them in Germany.

Pink ‘Casata’ daffodil

Yesterday we went to Charleville Estate, near Turlough, to see the wonderful display of daffodils in the front lawn, some of which have been there for years. I got a lovely present from my friend. Such an enjoyable Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day gift of double white primrose

These were planted years ago against a south facing wall. They smell beautiful and come up every year.

Very fragrant hyacinths

I’ve just read about the plan to turn part of the White House Lawn into a Kitchen garden where they will grow 55 varieties of vegetable, and I saw pictures of the First Lady digging up the lawn with some children from nearby schools. I’m wondering what are the chances of turning some of the currently uninspiring grounds of Aras an Uachtarain over to a productive garden? Could cabbages, carrots and turnips be growing in sight of the State rooms? Now that really would be going back to our roots!

Cabbages and Kings (or Presidents!)

hi everyone hope you are all well. got beds cleared and ready for planting at the wknd. so i hope to get them planted tomorrow, even if its raining i will be out need to get it done have alot of pricking out to do yet. have photos to put on the site of before and after, will get those up in the next couple of days. happy gardening folks

Maybe i spoke to soon about the good weather,we have had for the last few days.Today was wet and rather cold.Lucky enough especially on this cool night i have some of the half hardy trays still in the house.Im going to attempt to make up some of my hanging baskets soon with some flowers only,[rather new to me ] along with some veg baskets i done last year.Hopefully all will go well.Home later than expected,so did not get much garden work done this evening,apart from just a few short jobs.

I started sowing my seeds quite late this year but things are going well so far, but I’ll wait and see. I collected lots of seed from the garden but have had little sucess so far, much more sucess with division and cuttings this year, I’m glad I took cuttings of my Salvia involucrata as it has’nt liked the winter we had.

Thanks to Rachel who swopped seeds with me and I have sown them sunday, we’ll have a competition to see who grows the most! I purchased seeds from chiltern seeds in the UK the Tithonia rotundifolia ‘Torch’ (Mexican Sunflower), Leonotus leonora (Lions Tail), & Cosmos Purity were all recommended by Monty on Gardener’s World. I also planted Hordium jubatum (squirrel grass) and Cerinthe purpurcens.

I sowed these at the beginning of march and so far here’s the count so far Cerinthe 10 out of 15, Cosmos 18/24, Hordium 24/24, Tithonia 18/24, Leonotis 14/24.

I’ve sowed lots of other things and will broadcast sow stuff as soon as I get time hopefully this week.

The Seed Factory

guess whose the most unpopular person in our house? yep me

as you know i spread sulphate of iron to kill moss last sunday but what i didnt know was spreader was split underneath and not only have i killed moss but the grass as well. obviously had i known spreader was broken i would have thrown it out!! any way i will never hear the end of it .the lawn is my hubbys pride and joy or at least it was !

so off i went to lidl and bought a scarifier . wow its fantastic hve got barrow loads of moss and thatch and not nearly finished yet.

this has restored me back to my rightful place as head chief and bottlewasher!!!

whew alls well that ends well

ps. you can see black grass on some of my recent photos!

After a damp and cool day getting home this evening did not look to good.Now the weather has wind rising,and getting colder.I got to spend an hour in the greenhouse this evening for a final shake up of pots there.Can chance moving some plants out to greenhouse a lot later than expected but still a bit on the uncertain side.Still weary of the weather.Sorted out some more seeds of carrot ,bettroot,and some more seed potatoes to plant straight to the bed later on in the week.That will be if the weather allows do so.Forecast not looking the best then with more wind and rain on the way.

Getting a little short of room sooner than expected.

I’m off to Germany for a few days.

I got my husband to shadow me this morning in my ministrations to small seedlings and greenhouse plants. He will have to take care of them while I’m away. The picture shows the plants on staging in my greenhouse. The lower staging is mostly Dahlias, Agapanthus, Hosta and Phlox. The top layer is mostly Hardy Annuals, Cosmos and Marigolds.

Potted up the final Dahlias and potted on my miniature seven Echiums. My son, Samuel, was delighted to discover that some of his Radishes have germinated in the greenhouse and possibly a Sunflower.

I fed my roses with special rose food a few days ago (that’s all they’re getting this year – no manure or extra compost) but just realised that I forgot four bushes. I hope to remember to feed them tomorrow before I set off.

Happy Gardening.

The Greenhouse

Archives: journal

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