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 […]
My Gardening September 29th 2017 … gone potty mad !
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 […]
My Gardening Week August 24th 2017 … Leprechauns and such !
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 […]
Garden Charity Open Day for Clonmel Lion’s Club , July 24th 2017
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 […]
My Gardening Week July 20th 2017 … Open Day Sunday July 23rd for the Clonmel Lion’s Club
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 […]
My Garden Week June 20th 2017 … Garden Gnomes Away !
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 […]
My Gardening Week May 31st 2017 … forty shades of green !
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 […]
My Gardening Week April 30th 2017 … a new Season calling !
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 […]
My Gardening Week 30th March 2017 … the spying game !
Late March colour in the Garden For the past few weeks the newspapers and magazines have been full of advice for gardeners , that is either for the beginner gardener or the majority of non jihadist type gardener who never sets foot in the garden from November to March and it really is a growth industry for journalists and writers who generally dust off their files and trot out the same old rubbish each year at this time . I have great faith in the UK Telegraph writers who are excellent and don’t talk down to the reader unlike the 20 something wannabe garden writers and don’t bang on about […]
My Gardening Week February 28th 2017 2017 … as easy as falling off a log !
February is the month of the snowdrop especially early in the month when it is the first flower in the garden . A tough little plant , its spears will push up even through frozen ground to flower , galanthus is the latin name and there are twenty species but hundreds of varieties but best sown “ in the green ” which is a clump dug up just after flowering and transplanted . The snowdrop does not like wet soil so we have only a few pockets where it grows well and these are close to the house in the front garden and although I like the plant I am […]