December is not really a month for the garden considering  how many other diversions there are in the run up to Christmas and truth be told not a lot to look at in the garden these dog days of winter either although the gardening writers who have to fill a column would tell you otherwise … well they would say that wouldn’t they with a deadline to meet  ! I am not a great believer in standing around freezing my ass off admiring this or that plant that happens to flower at this time of year and I don’t have many such plants growing either as I believe flowering shrubs […]

With all the talk about destruction in the garden in late October when Hurricane Ophelia hit Ireland I have an unusual story of survival to report here … a few years ago inspired by Monty Don’s showing of a banana plant in his garden in a Gardeners World programme I bought and planted a banana plant in a pot in the gravel garden , fussed over it from Spring to November , made sure it got the best of watering and feeding and dutifully took it indoors in November , cut it back and covered it in fleece to over winter as Monty instructed … it popped its clogs by […]

Hurricane Ophelia and it’s aftermath has dominated  the Irish garden scene since we got smacked with it on October 16th when the eye of the storm came through the south and on up through the west over a period of twelve hours leaving a trail of destruction behind . I think the worst was waiting for the first hurricane ever to arrive in Ireland to actually  hit land and there was an eerie calm before the storm and an unusual light for 24 hours before  which I read afterwards was from a combination of smoke from the recent forest fires in Portugal mixed with sand from the Sahara whipped up […]

No I am not regressing in my old age to potty training just it seemed an apt title to describe a fascination for pots which has stayed with me in almost forty years of gardening and which still leaves me a sucker for an unusual pot whenever I come across such in a garden centre usually in my local Glenconnor Garden Centre where Chris and Sharon in recent years have developed a love affair with beautiful ranges of pots . Growing plants in pots is not the best generally for the plant but if you look after them with regular watering in dry periods and an annual feed in Spring […]

The Garden Open Day in July has come and gone and a bit of normality has returned after a day with over 300 visitors ! Our visitors  included photographers who posted videos and photos on their personal take on the garden and I always find it interesting how others view what we have built here and flattering too that people take the time to do this and we appreciate it very much . An Open Day is where you get tremendous feedback on your progress in the garden and for sure some visitor will be able to put a name on a particular shrub or perennial plant that you can’t […]

This year we decided to hold the annual fund raising event for the Lion’s Club on one day instead of over two days as in previous years , we were lucky with the weather and the people of Clonmel came out in droves with over 300 people visiting the garden and 2000 euros was collected for the very worthy local Clonmel charity , Riding for the Disabled . Snezana and I prepared the garden but the real work was done by the two fabulous committees who set up a marquee , organised face painting and Fairy doors , baked cakes ,scones and buns , made tea and coffee on a […]

This coming weekend , on Sunday July 23rd , we are hosting the annual Clonmel Lion’s Club Garden Charity Day where all proceeds go to fund some of the worthwhile projects selected by the Lion’s Club committee . This year there will be a marquee with live music , teas / coffee and cakes all made by committee members on sale , Shirley Lannigan will be discussing her new book , The Open Gardens of Ireland , at 4 pm  and detailing the immense five years research that went into the project , there will be various activities for children throughout the day and Snezana and I will be giving […]

Browsing through a new garden centre in the Clonmel area , the Tipperary Gardener , I came across a hosta called June , a sport of the variety Halcyon , which has been a favourite medium sized grey leafed hosta of mine for years now … June has a nice subtle cream and gold colour and was Hosta of the Year in the US in 2001 , I have had a specimen growing for the past few years in the front garden and really liked it but didn’t know it’s name and this was the first time I have come across it since  … the RHS garden encyclopaedia says it […]

May is the month with the most growth in the gardening calender and if you haven’t got the garden under control by the end of April then you are fighting a losing battle especially with grass and as for weeds it is a battle field out there … blink and both the grass and weeds have grown six inches ! There is great optimism I find at this time of year , everything is fresh looking and there is an entire growing season ahead to look forward to , the hedges are full with wild flowers , hawthorn and wild elder is in full bloom  , my favourite time of […]

I consider April to be the best month in the garden as it is the first sign after the cold and wet days of winter that everything is breaking into growth again and I love the freshness and colour and everywhere you look you see life beginning again after the harshness of   winter . I felt the joys of Spring earlier this month with a batch of photos one morning within the space of an hour from various parts of the garden , April 4th 2017 . I preach a lot in my gardening blogs that I don’t go in for flowering shrubs and trees as I feel that for […]