Archives: journal

This site (facing south with wall to the north)was cleared of an ‘ Albertine ‘ rose last year, so I thought put the propagated Tree Lupin there. I very carefully moved Sallysarah’s Evening Primrose(as its the only one I have), then dug out loads of Bluebells(they were replanted down in the Bluebell Wood). I was standing on the clump of Artemisia and it was giving off the most wonderful smell. The large spiky plant to the right is a Angel’s Fishing rod about to come into flower, to the left is Crocosmia ‘Citronella’, a baby ‘Katsura’ bush and pink flowered Malva(this seeds like mad). Ive put in a before and after shot.

This year is more or less our first time to be committed to growing vegetables in our back garden. Lots of vegetables are getting ready at the same time, so we need to organise our dinner menu to make the most of them as we’re just two of us.

Green chili peppers in the glass house are big enough to eat, so I’m thinking of cooking Thai style chicken with coconut milk by Delia Smith tonight, using the chilis and spring onions from the garden.

It’s a pity corianders are not ready yet as we have just sowed them a week ago, (and we are not growing coconuts for the milk!!).

I decided to tackle the area I call the herb garden over the weekend.  It had been ignored for a long time and was completely taken over by vetch.  Most of the mediteranean herbs such as sage, lavender and thyme had rotted due to the poor drainage so I was happy to leave it for a while as the bees loved the purple flowers of the vetch.  But the time came when something had to be done, as we had just finished working on the room overlooking it and it was more of an eyesore than the sight for sore eyes that I had envisaged.  It is made up of four box-edged beds with a large metal pot (which was originally the top of a boiler) in the centre with a nice big bay in it. However, over the winter the drainage hole became blocked and the bay I’m afraid drowned, and seemed to go as rusty as the pot it was in.  But this inspired me  – seeing the pot full of water I thought maybe I could make a water feature out of it.  It is very rusty so I’m not sure if it is a runner but more about that later.  Back to weeding.  Well, I noticed this unusual looking plant growing at the side of one of the beds.  I had never seen it before – even though I have always been interested in wild flowers.  It was exotic looking and I thought maybe birds had deposited the seeds there from another garden.  I eventually identified the mystery plant with the aid of my ‘Wild Flowers of Britain’ book and it turned out to be Common Figwort, Scrophularia nodosa.  What struck me is that it is not unlike some of the plants being introduced these days that are actually just wild plants from farflung corners of the world.  So I am tempted to leave it where it is, at least until it sets seed as apparently it was called ‘the Queen of Herbs’ here in the past because of its medicinal properties and what better place for the Queen of Herbs than in a herb garden?

Have been dreaming of  "White Garden" for ages. Looking at the back lawn longingly for ages now, thinking, wishing, planing, scheming……mmmm… will I, won’t I start digging???

I suppose I have lots to maintain at the minute! no need to go making "more work" for myself. Have my eye on some lovely cast iron garden benches lately in Mullingar Auction Rooms, really victorian in style, romantic & ornate!

Sissinghurst’s famous White Garden didn’t live up to expectations in May when I was there, it was too early in the season, but it hasn’t dampened my hopes.

Rachaels’ white Cosmos and Shasta Daisy pictures I seen today has reinforced my enthuasiam……

Hmmmm, we’ll see what happens, funds and time permitting, PG!

J*

 

So, today is the last day of June but what a bumper month it was for the garden!

Did a bit of planting and weeding today.

The big thing though was re-finding a sundial I had placed on the hill some years ago. It had become completely covered over with persicaria. I cut the persicaria away but need to cut a bit more away.

The sundial says ‘tempus fugit’, which is ‘time flies’ in Latin. And it seems to have done since I placed the sundial up there. It seems that my perception of the centre point, as seen from the kitchen, has not changed in the last while because I placed the Easter Island heads in roughly the same position as the sundial although the sundial was no longer visible at that stage.

More garden photos in the June album.

Hoping to get to the Dillon garden in Dublin tomorrow. However, this is my third year trying to get there so I’ll believe it only when I’m actually there : )

Where has the last month gone to? It just flew by. But we all got a lot done in our gardens. When I got home from work I set to planting some of the plants I got for my enlarged border, Astrantia, Rudbekia, geranium, heuchera ‘stoplight’, Lysimachia, Dryopteris, Astilbe and Liatris. I spread bark mulch all over. But behind the pond, I have a mulch of shells and cobbles to emulate a nautical theme. Steve will connect the electricity of the lighthouse later this evening. We have an anchor, and lifebelt, and a salvaged lamp. I also left a small bank of clay as I am undecided what to plant there. Plenty of time for that. For once I haven’t overloaded on plants. I’m going to give these plants time to grow and fill out before I decide on any more. We are pleased with the result.

Now we have to get matching edging blocks for the other 2 circles. Should be done by the weekend.

I harvested shallots this evening. I should have planted more. We’ll consume them in a very short space of time. I’ll plant at least 3 times that amount next year.

 

After all my efforts some plants have not delivered for various reasons by seed and some have done wonderful, my Cerinthe have all but died after a severe drought while on holidays, while my Mexican sunflowers have done really well, I always think its worthwhile sowing or trying to propogate stuff because you never know what will grow and you get plants for next to nothing or nothing at all.

Another amazing thing is how the garden suprises in ways that you never expect it to, take some plants for example that through all the odds survive our cold winters. I grew Ricinus (caster oil plant) last year and got loads of seeds which I mollycoddled and planted with zeal following specific internet advise, the result was nothing not a single seedling. however I forgot as an experiment I planted 4 seed around where the plants had been last year and low and behold I’ve got 4 baby ricinus! Now they are severely behind where the should be but I hope togrow on to produce more seed that I will have more sucess with.

I also dig up my dead plants and hold onto them for a least 3 months, just in case, and so far I’ve had 2 sucess, my Sauromatum venosum (Voodoo lily) and a bush I forgot to life in winter called the Brazilian Spider Flower (Tibouchina urvilleana) the little garden shop in bunclody told me it can be hardy with protection, but did’nt tell me it was hardy with no protection!! Mind you it might not flower this year, but I’m delighted there back.

Having said that the a building graveyard at the back of the greenhouse for winter casualties, most difficult to take were all my Aoniums died. But I’m already marking the Chiltern Seed catalogue for next year, better start saving!

While it’s great to see plants grow during the long days, it’s shocking to see how weeds can be so aggressive in my shelter belt. 

I could not believe how quickly after spraying, that the tenacious ferns, brambles and grass forced their way and now challenge the yourg lines I planted in March to fill the gaps in between the more established trees.

Getting a shelter belt established is a real challenge, fighting the elenemts as well as the heavily populated hedgerows that are bountiful with wilf flora.

Hope its the start of a good gardening month for everyone. I am so glad I cut the lawn yesterday. This morning  it is nice & sunny.  I planted the Japanese anemone I got from Primrose Hill and trimmed some Escallonia which seems to put on so much growth at this time of the year. My Chatham Island Forget me Not has not looked happy since I put it in the ground. I think the soil was too boggy so I added some sharp sand , will keep a close eye on it. I tied up some Dahlias which are really starting to grow…….Took some more photos for 01/07/09.

I seem to spend much of my time watering the new grass but it is paying off. Also had a star buy last week, the euro shop had lovely decorative hanging basket brackets. got two with butterflies on them, have them sprayed red to match in with trellis (will take pic this evening). Benji is delighted the new grass is coming up and he is investigating everything, ornaments, flowers but he hasnt ventured into the pond (yet).

 

Much to my amusement the seeds from my bird feeders have sprouted sunflowers in my new lawn, think its too late for them for this year, it would be the end of September before they would flower, the rain and wind would beat them down 🙁

 

Have to complete path down to patio area and oil tank but this cant be completed until the wiring for my lights and outdoor sockets is in place (soon I hope !!)

Away at weekend and came back to discover our cherry tree was ben attacked by some kind of pest not sure what. So far it appers to be just the leaves but it is doing a really bad job on them as they are all curling up! We have cut off the affected leaves but if anyone knows what they are and how we can get rid please let me know. Everything else seems to be doing really well but we need to get to spraying our potatoes as it would seem to be good weather for blight so the experts tell me ( My Dad who is a keen vegetable gardener). I am still on the look out for more colour in the front border as I have lots of gaps – has anyone any experience of growing monarda – are they fussy flowers? – We visited the snail garden on the borders fo Cavan and Longford last year and they had so much colour with preennials and they had a lot of Monarda – Does anyone know where I would get these?  

 

 

I harvested the first crop of daikon (which means ‘big root’ in Japanese), of which seeds I had sown back in March.

Though it’s still small, I’m happy enough as I can’t buy it in Ireland at this time of the year.

I’m going to shred it together with carrots using a food processor, add mayonnaise and a touch of soy sauce, and make it into Japanese style coleslaw. (It’s delicious!)

Look what I spied blooming in my garden today!!!

Steve is off sick with a bad back. So edging of 2 other circles will have to wait.

Guess what, lads, do you remember all the tadpoles that I put into the pond a couple of months ago? I thought the fish had them for dinner. I spotted 4 frogs jumping around. Wahoo I am so thrilled. BUT, now they have come this far, are they going to end up as lunch for our cat, Holly? Nothing I can do to stop it. Hopefully they will be quick enough to outsmart her.

A rather humid day today with an odd light shower.No outside watering thanks to the showers.Inside the tunnell and greenhouse some had to be given.The time this evening was spent weeding the main flower bed in the centre of the garden.No more time for any other jobs in the garden after the weeding.

was asked today to socialise a feral kitten whose mother was killed by a minx.  Its a pathetic little hissing bundle of dirty fur.  Have a job on my hands.but would like to succeed.  photo seems very dark for some reason.  Hope its visible

Not much gardening done today again, although there are a few things I must do pretty soon, like plant the marigolds and a few other flowers I grew from seed…

It was a funny day today weatherwise, not as much rain as predicted, just a sticky drizzle this morning, but it got quite dry in the afternoon, and this evening was gorgeous and warm. I went for a walk on Bray seafront with a friend and there was a beautiful sunset.

The hydrangeas at the front of the house are really beginning to get their colour now, and they have lots of flower heads this year (I’ll put some photos in the June album) so I’m really pleased

I got 2 small geraniums a few days ago, I fell for the colour, a dark velvety very intense red. I took a couple of photos, but the flowers have opened more since then and they are lovely, so I’ll get more photos tomorrow. I love them anyway, but need to find a pot for them now!

At the moment, our neighbour’s loganberry bush (I think that’s what they are called), is sending lots of branches over the fence, and there are a lot of fruit on it!

The photo is of a spider on the astilbe. I’ve never seen such a spider in the garden before, it looks more like a crab actually. The weird thing is that it has been on the plant in exactly the same spot for days!!!  

its strange, every year at this time i end up looking at the tennis in wimbledon.

i’m always amazed at how sunny it is there when we seem to running out to the clothes line as the skies open to save the clothes. 

isn’t the lawn/court fantastic.! growing up i always thought i’d have my lawn with that two-tone look. come to think of it i always thought i’d be the 1st irish man to win at wimbledon…as it turns out my lawn is not two-tone and well i have yet to buy my 1st racquet….

Made a quick trip to the greenhouse this evening and was amply rewarded.

My glory lily has flowered.

I had to put up a quick picture, even though I will take better ones in daylight tomorrow.

10.00am

Took a few photos in daylight. They’re in the ‘greenhouse’ album. There are two flowers open and a sumptuous 11 more buds coming along : )

Just back from a whirlwind tour of Britain, which included Kew and The Eden Project

Here is a taste of Eden, more in the album.