Archives: journal

I sowed some verbascum seeds a few weeks ago. When I opened the packet the seeds were so small that I thought they were just dust.  There were 2 varieties V phoeniceum mixed (pink to purple 500 seeds) and V flush of white (white 100 seeds). 

I sowed the white ones on the top of a 100mm pot and the purply ones in a 6-cell tray.  They must have all germinated – certainly I pricked out 66 white seedlings and left the remaining 20 in the pot and I pricked out 190 purple seedlings from only 3 of the cells in the tray.

I wouldn’t bother if they weren’t perennials.  I remember the beautiful swathes of the verbascum "plum smokey" in the Mount Usher Garden at Bloom 2008.  I bought 2 plants at €10 each so I will be looking after these ones until I can discover what colour flowers they have.

I am cross-eyed from concentrating.  I am also nearly out of trays – I never thought I’d say that.

I potted on some orange cosmos and Tomato – Matina and some lupins, which I think are Cruckshankii.  The white supreme sweet peas are looking very thin and scrawny and there is only 50% germination.  This is very strange as usually they grow as really strong plants at 100% germination.  The sweet peas sown in the autumn are very strong and some have already gone into the ground in the cutting patch.

I am trying melon(Hales best) again this year the 2 seeds have germinated and they will remain in the dining window until mid June or early July so that they stay in the warmth they need.

 

Here is a picture of my recent pulsatilla purchase, I believe it will either love me or hate where I have planted it, but I won’t know until this time next year to see if it flowers again, exciting times.

Hello everyone, it is lovely to see all your gardens blooming as the weather hopefully starts to get better, I have received a wonderful surprise, my partner decided to book  us a lovely holiday to Scotland, we have been up to Portpatrick for a few days, the weather was wet and windy during the night but we saw some lovely gardens and sights during the day.The view here is out of our bedroom window looking over the bay, Photos to follow, he has again decided to book another holiday and we are going to Scotland again on 27 April as it is my partner Kieron’s birthday on the 28th, this time we are going to Rothesay and the Isle of Bute, visiting Mull of Kintyre. My garden is looking great and everything seems to have doubled in size in the last few weeks, my tulips look great and it is back to gardening tomorrow. The weather here has been odd, dull during the day and wet during the night and a bit on the cool side during the day. I am glad to be back to catch up on what you are all up to.

Speak soon

We had a fabulous day here in Mayo.I was out in the garden all day. I dug up all the Tulips that didn’t have flowers and planted  them  together in a sunny spot. The leaves on the Japanese Maple look so fresh.

The tall Cherry Laurel by the wildlife pond is covered in flowers and the smell is lovely. This tree was grown from a slip I got from a friend years ago. Laurels slips root quite well. I put a close up photo of the flower in the spring album.

I spent a really enjoyable day in the garden yesterday, catching up on lots of little jobs. It was overcast and heavy, with the threat of rain always lurking and even though I was on constant standby for a dash to the nearest shelter, I only felt one drop in 6 hours. There was a stillness to the air and such a silence that the bird song seemed amplified! I love moody days like this, the low light levels give a real atmosphere to the garden. If life had a ‘pause’ button, I would have liked to held onto those moments yesterday for another while.

 One of my favourite jobs in the garden is grooming. I can only get around to this kind of faffing when all the hard, heavy, dreary chores of winter and spring are over with, so it was great to be able to spend some quality time with my plants yesterday. I deadheaded hundreds of daffodils as slimy sodden droopy heads did nothing to enhance the appearance of the garden. Then off came sad, spent pansy flowers and the yellowing leaves of the snowdrops. Sneaky weeds were revealed and dispatched depending on variety to either the compost heap or the guinea pigs food bowl. Yum, they love dandelions and bittercress, so if you ever see them in my garden, you’ll know they are there especially for my chubby rodents….

Every border that I spread my homemade compost on rewards me with a magnificent display of annual opium poppies, proof that there was never enough heat generated in the compost heap to kill off seeds! Even though there is always a wonderful array of colours and shapes, I supplement the collection every year by adding a few packs of ‘fancy’ varieties, such as double blacks, pompom pinks and the dramatic red and white ‘Danish Flag’. These are sown outside where there are to flower, a job that I eventually got around to yesterday. For controlled sowing, I spread a handful or two of potting compost (shop bought, not home-made this time!) on the ground. I sow a pinch of seed onto this and cover lightly with another sprinkle. I continue this throughout the border, alternating varieties if the fancy takes me. Now I can see exactly where I have been and when germination starts in a week or two I will know where to expect the ‘good’ seedlings. For larger areas and more indiscriminate sowing I mix the seeds with the compost and sprinkle this onto the beds. I find these methods work well with any hardy annuals. Come June and July my garden will be a poppy paradise!

Knew there was a good reason to keep the bird cage of the dearly departed Spike!!

Now slug pelllets in case it is slugs and cage against any other wildlife!!!

Is it normal that the allium leaves all look crumpled & tatty or has my dog got at them?

I did very little gardening today. Just managed a spot of weeding. When I was weeding I got annoyed with my carnations. They have about 1 1/2 ft of dead stalk at the base and then re sprout at the tip. They really look disgusting, especially at this time of year when they only have a little grey foliage at the tip. I wonder should I have been cutting them hard back after flowering! Anyway they were annoying me too much so I pulled them all up. There thay are in the wheelbarrow – the deed is done.

I also made time to dead-head my daffodils. This is the first year I’ve done this and it actually really does make a difference. Areas which looked like they had completely gone over before the dead-heading, look good and flowery again after the dead-heading. Now who would have thought!

Today when I wake up I discover that winter is here again.

It seems that snow fell all night! Ehhhh….

We are going to see the movie ‘Taras Bulba’ (screen version of  narrative about Cossack Taras Bulba, whritten by Nikolai Gogol’).

Do you know that this year is a Year of Nikolai Gogol’ (UNESCO)? We celebrated Gogol’s 200th anniversary on 01.04.2009.

Hope you have a better weather!

The lads picked their first radishes from their own plots in the greenhouse. There was much excitement and a race to see who could get dressed and out there first.

The photo shows Josh holding up his radish. My photo album "The Greenhouse" has a picture of Sam’s plot.

They even tasted the radishes and didn’t complain!!!

Tonight we are going to try making radish ice cream.

After 2 rainy, misty and generally dull days, everything is much brighter today in Bray. The garden got a major tidy up over the last 2 weeks and looks beautiful. Everything is growing by the minute. Lilies in their pots, pink paeony, climbing hydrangea. Clematis montana flowers are just about to open, and I expect to see the first ones any day now. The 2 Camellias are on the way out though, and the last few days of rain have not helped. They are my favourite early spring flowers in the garden and I love them, and am always sad to see them go…till next year of course!

No complaints about the weather today.From app,10.30 the sun was just perfect.Got a lot of work done in the garden today.Started with sowing some seeds,in the veg area.Some new carrots and beetroot and some more rooster potatoes.The main jobs were on the new bed section along the garden shed and some new paint work.[Has to be done]Cleaned some more tubs and  put them in to place.My colour coordination is slightly off.Instead of [red orange yellow green blue purple]  from the garden colour wheel. I had to settle for having no pink also, and do with [red orange yellow white blue and grey] The only few colours i have left to choose from for the garden. [Grateful at that].All going well i hope to set some seeds in them tomorrow.Nothing strenuous just some light work on a Sunday.[The Lords Day].

It was such a beautiful morning we got up at first light, the birds were singing in every tree in the garden, and the Fallow deer were grazing on the moor below the cottage,(we do have deer fencing around the garden). We strimmed all the rough places around the garden. Ann cut the grass with the ride on mower whilst John continued cutting the edges of the beds to get them looking smart as we have a tour coming in to see the garden in May.Once again we have covered over the bedding plants in case of a frost. We are to tired to write any more to night good night.

I suppose before I go any further I should update you on the work to date.

Moved in November. Studying and built work bench, took up old concrete path.

December; Studying and then strimmed the hell out of the place, took out the tree, mulched all the leaves and twigs and gave the branches as firewood for my partners dad (burned nicely apparently!) Build a nice adirondac chair for herself for a Christmas present. Hopefully the garden will be ready for it before the winter!!

January; Studying and then took the scraw off the area for the fruits, blackberries and blackcurrants, then planted them. Removed rocks from 40 year old "rockery", they’ll come in handy later. 

February; Studying and built cold frame, planted daffodil bulbs.

March; Studying and sowed spud bags (on St. Patricks day of course), built stawberry holder box thingy,

April; Studying and did some digging too, planted trailing lobelias in hanging baskets, put up new washing line, took down old one. Planted night scented stock in terracotta pots. Using the garden as an excuse not to study!

May; Exam time…

Spurred on by recent conversations with James & Cooper, I decided to plant my Cornus Controversa Variegata. It will form the central element of the view from my greenhouse door.

I’ve done my best to explain this "view" here but I think you can barely read the yellow letters in the photo. I have put a larger version of this photo in "the greenhouse" album but there I can not put the text to explain the yellow letters. It’s the best I can do.

A = Flowering Cherry (Prunus Shogetsu), which will eventually grow to obscure our neighbour’s shed

B = Flowering Cherry (Prunus Pink Perfection), planted for same reason as above

C = Cornus Controversa Variegata. Small now – a beautiful green & cream tree

D = Copper Beech hedge planted in a semi-circle to echo the Cornus. Dark leaves will show off the pale Cornus leaves

E = Neighbour’s enormous shed

F – Hypericum Hidcote hedge planted on the hill dividing our garden

Planting the tree was all I was able for today – and a spot of potting on.

Do you have any experience with this spring flower? According to some sites Scilla rosenii is frost-resisting plant, shady position, damp soil, in bloom in early spring.

I’m interested because only few plants bloom here in early spring. Every colour is excelent after long winter.

Today was another beautiful day outside.  Not as warm as yesterday, but sunny so I have no complaints.  Mowed the lawn today so it looks tidy, but think the next gardening weekend should be focused on edging the beds. 

Planted a few new perennials today.  a bleeding heart (Dicentra Spectabilis), three foxglove (a pink Digitalis Foxy), a few Aubrieta (Blue Whale) for color, two Iberis sempervirens (Snowflake), one Helianthemum "Ben Ledi" and three Mallow (Malva moschata).  Many of these I don’t know from the US, so its a bit of an experiment.  If half make it to next year I’ll be thrilled. 

I still have a few empty spaces near the shed (look for new photos in "Evolution of my Garden") that need to be filled.  I’m thinking of going with classic Lupine or Delphinium, but I need to see what’s out there.  I was thinking of a purple/blue and a white (of either-or).  Maybe shopping for them will be the reward for edging my beds…