Archives: journal

Finally, Exams are a thing of the past!! Well, at least until October comes around again!! Update on the cats….

I arrived home from my exam this evening and went out to survey the challenges that await me. I noticed that the Mammy cat was busy gorging on her food so I went down to check on the status of the kitten who at this stage is nearly 7 weeks old. Lo and Behold, he’s within a whisker of my face when I check under the shed!!! I picked him up and brought him to the house. He is now a permanent fixture in his box in the living room as you can see in the picture!!

Anyway, while I was out surveying I decided on a number of things.

1. Under orders from the boss, the kitten is the No. 1 priority.(Obviously that would have been my decision aswell!!!)

2. Raised beds are my No.1 Priority. Timber will be purchased on tuesday morning and work can commence then.

3. My No. 2 priority is a compost bin which shouldn’t take too long and will mean that the annual weeds and grass that i removed can be rotting away nicely!

4. Once raised beds and compost bin are in, cabbage, kale, calabrese, peas, beans, carrots, parsnips, beetroot, turnips, sweetcorn, and more spuds will be planted/sown after that the hard landscaping can begin.

5. Initially, the hard landscaping will consist of repairing the concrete edge at the back of the house and building up a retaining edge before inserting gravel on the patio area The next step will be laying the edging for the path to the shed. Once the flower beds are finished on the east side of the garden, the lawn can be sown and then it should be time to study again.

Despite a fierce windy night all is still in place.Fears were for the polytunnell but all ok.Some fierce heavy hailstone showers today,with things been a little on the cool side temperature wise.This evening some of the final touches were made to the new pathway in the bottom garden section.No way was rain going to upset plans in that area anymore.Some new mini tubs need filling in that area. Last of all just a quick check on watering and feeding in the veg garden.  

hope you can see these properly

Had to copy you Rita. I use this book a lot and also the ‘Expert’ series for ‘how and when to do everything’.

What a start to today.Nothing but rain and light hailstone showers up to 11pm or there abouts.To cool to venture in either tunnell or greenhouse until after that.Topped up some tubs and gave the seeds a quick look through.After dinner the small trailer of clay was given a final checking over for any rubble.All going well it will be used along with compost to fill the carrot tubs with some companions,maybe tomorrow at some stage or definately on Monday evening.Had a look around and picked some weeds and then a check on watering.

We have a wonderful May time. This month by right is called ‘the most blooming month’. Everything has flower buds, all trees and srubs and spring flowers! One of my favorite times of a year, together with Indian summer in September.

Leaves of trees come out more and more every single day. And sometimes it happens so quickly, that you can hear how buds crack when leaves come out. City is in  ‘green haze’ of young foliage. You can see great number of green tints, from dark green of firs to lightest yellow-green of birches.

In a couple of days we’ll see blooming of tulips, then all fruit trees – apple trees,  cherry trees, bird cherry trees, plum-trees, elders and so on. A bit later will be the time of lilacs.

 

I know you should not move plants at this time but my poor Pulsatilla was sad. I moved it to a much drier place. The sun came to Mayo yesterday afternoon so I cut the lawn and the privet hedge. Just the Lonicera hedge to do now. This Sambucus nigra ‘ Aurea’ gets cut back hard each March to give brighter branches but you lose the flowers by doing this. It grows about 6′ every year.

These are the trimmings which I cut off ‘Black Lace’ in March. They were in the cold frame. the book says ‘plant cuttings outdoors in autumn.’ Hope they have roots! The common Elder tree(with lovely flowers for cordial) in growing wild in the Bluebell Wood.

Today I noticed first tulips in bloom. There will be more in a couple of days.

Today was really really gorgeous, both in Clontarf this morning where I went to the rare plant sale, and in Bray this afternoon where I spent hours in the garden. well, I think the weather was beautiful everywhere today 🙂

We ate lunch outside for the first time this year. It was just me and the girls today so they "invited" me to have lunch with them on their little table and mini chairs. Not the most confortable of lunches, but great fun anyway!

I enjoyed the rare plant sale, especially because I got a good walk in the park before and after going there. It wasn’t part of the plan, but I don’t really know the area so I stopped as soon as I saw the park, and ended up parking miles from where the actual fair was!

I didn’t have too much time to spend there, but I still got a good look around and really enjoyed myself, and got a few plants, a white allium, a couple of myosotidum hortensias, a pink poppy (Papaver "Ruffled patty"). I managed to plant them all this afternoon when I got home, and am now looking forward to see them grow! The myosotidum hortensias went in a spot along the back (north facing) wall, in an area that is quite shady. The poppy is beside the wall facing west. It’s behind a few other plants, but judging by the description, it should grow to 75 cms so I think it won’t be hidden. I planted the allium between the steps and the little waterfall, in a really sunny area that is currently covered in gravel and which I want to change by adding some bulbs and other plants.

I cut the grass only about 3 days ago, and it’s grown so much already! It will need to be done again by the middle of the week I think. And the griselinia hedge needs to be trimmed also, but that’s a job I usually leave to the man of the house!  

 

hi everyone just a quick line and picture of my patio i call my oasis. this is only part of it. added more since this was taken dosent do it much justice

here are some of my tulips

last of my tulips

This lovely lilac is in flower in my parents-in-law’s garden.  I think it might have been pruned to within an inch of its life, but it still managed a couple of flowers! Its a bit ahead of mine as my flowers aren’t quite open yet.  I have a dark red wine one and a white one which I am looking forward to cutting as the scent is so gorgeous.

This is my Father-in-laws clematis which clothes his shed and is a profusion of flowers at the moment.  I planted a ‘multiblue’ clematis at the side of the house a couple of years ago but it never did much and was eventually overrun with weeds and ended up being strimmed! However I notice today that there is a new shoot so I hope to dig it up today and move it somewhere more suitable where it will hopefully have a better chance.

thought i would never get it all done, but at last.. green house is complete. planted in it are various tomato plants, and lettuce, cucumber, peppers, strawberrys, spring onions…. and of course still have plenty of seedlings in there..

the strawberries are do excellent. kept them watered and feed often and now the fruit is appearing on some.

 

Very chilly outside tonight… After dinner I took a quick tour of the garden to see how yesterday’s new acquisitions are doing. So far so good, all in good shape, but I’m keeping my eyes open for slugs as I saw a couple of bites taken from a leaf!

Yesterday I moved a small arum lily which was being completely covered by a geranium. I think that it is in a better spot now, but it doesn’t look like it will flower this year… As for the geranium, it was a cutting I got last April, and it looked nearly dead when I got it, but it has now turned into this huge plant which is about 1 meter wide and about 50 cms tall, all in the space of a year. I wonder what colour the flowers will be, I can see a few buds but now hint of colour yet!

Today I got a few packets of seeds for summer flowers, all yellow, orange and red: yellow and orange poppy, rudbeckia and French marigold, and also a red sunflower "Red sun". I got a few of these red sunflowers a few years ago and thought they looked really beautiful, but then I lost the seeds, so when I saw them in the shop, I had to get them! My daughters saw the seed packets when I got home and immediately volunteered to sow them, so I think I’ll have some eager little helpers in the next few days; I’ll probably give them a few pots so that they can grow their own… It’s probably a little late to sow all these, but hopefully not too late?