Sunny Easter days.

The weather here has been great for weeks now. However the last week has seen temperatures rise to 18c. Perfect weather for being outdoors. The Daffodils are just finished blooming  but the Primroses are playing a blinder this year.

Freddie loves the hot weather…his new fave place to sit is on this leatherette chair in the conservatory. It gets really hot when it’s sunny but he just loves it.

The heat has ensured plants have put on a great growth spurt. Lots of things in flower a bit earlier than usual. Delighted that our Lemon is about to flower. Apparently the scent is lovely.

Geraniums are also in flower… this one is  lemon scented.

The Fig is also showing the promise of fruit…

 

and the Grapevine has put on a lot of fresh growth.

This Kiwi was planted in the conservatory by the previous owners. It was far too rampant so we dug it up and put it in a pot to see if it would resprout in the Spring.  As you can see it has sprung into life. It is now planted on the south facing wall of the shed where hopefully it will do well.

Andy put up a trellis for it to climb onto and the overhang of the roof should give some extra protection. I’ll be well pleased if we get some Kiwis. All for me as Andy doesn’t like them.

We had friends from Finland staying with us for a couple of days over the weekend and on Good Friday we went on a bog walk from Knockvicar Organic Garden to Cloonakilty Castle on the shore of Lough Key.

Andy and Katri managed to get inside the castle…

while Don and I relaxed in the sunshine. Restoration work was started on this castle a few years ago…there was even talk of a recording studio…but alas it has lain unfinished for several years now. A lovely place to explore though.

On Easter Saturday we went to visit my friend Charlie in Manorhamilton. What could be better on a hot sunny day than sitting on the verandah with a friend gazing at beautiful Magnolias in bloom.

Such beautiful flowers. I shall have to think about getting a Magnolia for our garden. Is it possible to be in love with a flower? I think I am!

Hope you too had a wonderful weekend.

Waiting…

 

It’s a wet Sunday here in Ireland today. Just thought I’d post a few pics of Summer flowers to cheer us up as we wait for the gardening season to start. I find this time of year the longest part of Winter.  Up to Christmas we are busy with fairs and preparations for the festive season. Then suddenly it’s January and all is quiet…far to wet to work in the garden…a little early for planting seeds.

 

What to do? We have been busy finishing things off in the house. The spare bedroom and our own bedroom are now decorated. The larder was painted and sorted as of yesterday. Today I processed the first of the Seville Oranges…a year’s supply of  marmalade by the end of the coming week.

 

There are still a few things to be done in the conservatory.  Andy is putting a stove in there this week then a rejig of furniture and that will be done. There’s lots to be done outdoors but mostly fair weather jobs.

As I see plants budding my desire is to  get out there and get my hands in the soil once again.

But for now I must wait…

Pics from the Botanic Gardens in Dublin.

 

Wednesday was my friend Charlie’s birthday. We headed up to Dublin on the train to visit the Botanic Gardens.  A wet morning greeted us but as the day went on it cleared up to quite a nice day.

Great pumpkin display as one heads out to the gardens.

 

Aren’t these great? Metal flowers on a wall. Part of the Sculpture in Context exhibition.  The exhibition made the gardens even more interesting as the art pieces were placed throughout the grounds.

 

Bronze ladies amongst the trees.

 

Not sure about this one. It’s called “They’ll be back.”

 

Air plant in one of the glass houses. Can’t remember the name but by it’s shape it’s got to be call Stag’s Horn…

 

Another air plant.

 

Beautiful Bouganvillae.

 

Wonderful Palm.

 

Couldn’t find a name tag on this wonderfully sculptural specimen.

 

The Cactus house.

 

Such variety…there’s an amazing amount of Cacti.

 

I thought this was a sculpture as it looks like bronze. It is however a real live plant.

 

These Tree Snails were amazing…made from fused plastic.

 

Did someone polish the bark on this Yew? Beautiful!

 

Waterfall.

 

The DNA sculpture. This is a permanent fixture here.

 

Chicken wire Snowdrops.

 

Redbor Kale in the kitchen garden.

 

Loved this piece…blown glass bubbles attached to this gnarled old tree.  Very clever!

 

Another fave…a wonderful oversized cedar chair. It even smelt nice.

 

Part of a wonderful bronze sculpture.

 

There is so much more but I will finish with these beautiful vibrant flowers.

What’s wrong with daisies in the lawn?

This is our lawn…just before cutting…full of daisies. I quite like them actually. We don’t spray our lawn with anything…never fertilise it…I think it makes a grand lawn.

Recently I started following a blog called http://www.naturegirlireland.blogspot.ie . It’s the blog of Mary Reynolds gold medal winning Chelsea gardener.

Mary did a post recently about lawns http://www.naturegirlireland.blogspot.ie/2013/03/glowing-green-fingers.html…I was shocked at some of the statistics quoted. No offence to American people who visit here but all of the stats are from America.

1. America has 40 million acres of lawn which use 238 gallons per person per day to keep.

2.American research (University of California, Irvine) demonstrated that carbon emissions would be far lower if lawnmowers were       eradicated.

3. The EPA in the USA reckons that Americans use 800 million gallons of oil per year in lawnmowers.

4. Pesticide use is 20 times higher in residential gardens than on farms.

Now I’m sure if similar research was carried out in Ireland the stats would be just as bad. All the big supermarkets now carry all sorts of garden chemicals which people carry out in the same bags as their groceries. Weeds are not hoed on a sunny day anymore they are sprayed with weedkillers. The giveaway brown strip of grass along the road is a the telltale sign of  such activity.

On a recent sunny Sunday I was shocked to see a guy with a knapsack sprayer spraying his yard. Shocked because he was wearing no mask or protective clothing …and must shocking of all…a child of about 4 years was walking along beside him as he sprayed. No protection either of course.

Have people lost touch with Nature altogether I wonder? Do people not realise they are poisoning their land…themselves and their families and of course our struggling insects too.

The Earth cannot continue to tolerate what we are doing. It is starting to fight back.   Floods…melting ice caps…dying bees…all a result of human stupidity.

We must wake up and smell the flowers…before it’s too late.

It’s such a joy to go into our garden and hear the buzz of the bees…the song of the birds…the sight of insects flitting about.

Yes! We have daisies in the lawn. I love them!