Heywood Gardens slideshow

I've selected the best photos from my recent excursion to Heywood Gardens and put them up on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMrVTC2zI9U&feature=em-upload_owner

Lutyens Garden, Heywood.

Went back to Heywood Gardens in County Laois this week. The formal garden (not normally my cup of tea) was designed by Lutyens and said to be planted by Gertrude Jekyll. Faded grandeur wherever you look, its a wonderful place, especially mid-week when you are likely to be the only visitor. Here are some photos. Sadly the turtle fountains weren't switched on but still lovely. The holes in the circular wall give views of the countryside.

Willow water rooting liquid - free and effective

I've used this successfully in the past. Water your cuttings with willow water for guaranteed rooting. Any type of willow will work.

Make your own willow water:
Easily root azaleas, lilacs, summersweets (Clethra spp.) and roses by gathering about two cups of pencil-thin willow branches cut to 1-3 inch lengths. Steep twigs in a half-gallon of boiling water overnight. Refrigerated liquid kept in a jar with a tight-fitting lid will remain effective up to two months. (Label jar so you won’t confuse it with your homemade moonshine.) Overnight, soak cuttings you wish to root. Or water soil into which you have planted your cuttings with the willow water. Two applications should be sufficient. Some cuttings root directly in a jar of willow water. Make a fresh batch for each use. You can also use lukewarm water and let twigs soak for 24-48 hours.

Source: http://www.bluestem.ca/willow-article1.htm

Why the French should run the world

Tanguy de Toulgoët  runs the Dunmore Country School in Durrow, County Laois. Spurning received wisdom, as only the French will, Tanguy has created a truly French vegetable (and flower) garden. No raised beds, no neat edges, very little watering, just hoeing and a democratic planting scheme where flowers nestle with vegetables and bees swarm all over both. He keeps bees (in the French style of course) and they feed all summer on his mixed garden.

The Goresbridge Community Gardeners visited recently for an interesting guided tour of what we are doing wrong (well that's how it felt).

Drills, familiar to potato growers, are used for all and sundry. The polytunnel is stuffed with 40 odd varieties of tomatoes and barely has room for a gardener to get in amongst them.

He doesn't dig. His compost languishes under cover for 4 years before being used and includes weeds and everything else - all broken down by Mother Nature into useable compost.

If you can get there, it's worth arranging a visit. Be prepared to be told in no uncertain French terms that this is the way it should be done. It works for the French and it works in Ireland too.

http://www.dunmorecountryschool.ie

Hanging basket tomatoes (indoors)

I've got 'Tumbler' tomatoes in a hanging container in the poly. They've flowered and are setting fruit. Great for a conservatory or porch etc...

See this comparison trial of various hanging basket tomatoes:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice/5054902/Best-tomatoes-for-hanging-baskets.html

Homemade coldframes

After languishing in the polytunnel, plants will not be prepared for life outside the tunnel. To develop strong stems and tolerance to winds & lower temperatures, plant need to be acclimatised more gradually than a straight transplant. Cuttings also benefit from shelter whilst developing roots and a coldframe is the ideal halfway house. Often overlooked but easily self-made, coldframes must have an opening lid so you can vary the exposure to the elements and close up at night if frost threatens. Apart from that they can be all sorts of shapes and sizes. Discarded wooden-framed windows form the perfect lid. Don't use double-glazed sealed units as they are too flimsy once the aluminium frame is removed.

Weed barrier is placed on the base, together with gravel if you have it. I also dose mine with slug pellets as birds don't go in the cold frames but slugs do.

In the photo, my original homemade cold frame, with rolling polythene cover is shown on with a newer one made from polytunnel plastic over a timber frame. The timber one had the inside painted white. The plastic-covered design is ideal if you don't yet have a polytunnel. Make sure it doesn't get too hot in sunny weather by adjusting the hinged lid

Also shown if some of the early (for this year) polytunnel plants. Hanging baskets and window boxes or containers can be grown at an accelerated rate in the polytunnel and then acclimatised outside during warm days until all threat of frost has gone (usually end May in lowland SE Ireland where I live).

Polytunnel crisis..

The polytunnel is teaming with seedlings, cuttings and bulbs, all waiting to go outside. We are still getting frosty nights so will hold off for a while before sowing outside. The photo shows only some of what is in the poly. The coldframes are also full. So much for "global warming"!

Rhubarb, rhubarb & polytunnel frenzy

At last the rhubarb has emerged from it's underground lair and started growing like mad. It's now 2 years since I moved it from the shade of a hedge to it's own raised box. I gave it a good layer of chicken manure during the winter. I keep it netted when it's young to stop the aforementioned chickens raking the shoots to bits. I pulled a few sticks the other day and my wife made a lovely rhubarb cobbler. I could easily eat a whole one myself.

Recipe here, by a woman who photographs every stage. (My wife didn't make it like this though).

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/rhubarb-cobbler/

Weather Report:

Here in South East Ireland we are about 1 month later in the season than last year. Biblical-strength rain for 40 days and 40 nights, followed by icy East winds for about 2 weeks, direct from the Russian Steppes, had retarded the garden's emergence into growth. At last the wind has veered SW and we are enjoying the dimly-remembered joy of actually going into the garden.

My faithful polytunnel is now bursting at the seams with seedlings and cuttings which will go out in another few weeks. It's always warmer in the polytunnel (hoop house if you are American) and seeds germinate freely. My hanging baskets are planted up and will stay indoor until the end of May.

Our resident blue tit is bringing nesting materials to the nest box. They time the chicks hatching to coincide with caterpillars to feed them on, so they know more than we do.

I have sown First Early spuds under black polythene and moved them from their usual bed to the next one as Eelworms build up in the soil and ruin the tubers after a season or two.

'Potting on' takes up most of my garden 'downtime' as the seedling outgrow their modules. It's a great antidote to computer work and keeps me relatively sane.

Bring on Spring!

Dogwood cuttings

Dogwoods provide both winter colour and lovely emerald green leaves in Spring. Time to take cuttings. Very easy to do. I only prune them back every 2 or 3 years and have them around the pond as a screen.


http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/pruning-training/how-to-prune-and-propagate-dogwoods/108.html

Photographing plants in the wild

Snowdrops at Altamont Gardens.

As we emerge from our winter caves and think about doing some gardening, inspiration is at hand. The team at Altamont Gardens in County Carlow have been busy preparing for the annual treat which is Snowdrop Week (see link below). I visited Altamont this week to get a sneak preview.

When photographic plants, a 'narrow depth of focus' is required to isolate the plant from it's background. Auto settings won't do this so you'll need to open the aperture to it's maximum (f2.8 in this case). I think this is how we naturally see things, selectively focusing on particular objects and it is straightforward to replicate this in photographs by switching to manual or aperture priority. (Your camera might have a close-up setting which does the same thing). To steady the camera, I rested my arms on a box hedge and knelt on the path to get a low angle for these shots (you need thick skin to be a photographer).

This year Snowdrop Week runs from 11th-18th Feb 2013: See http://www.carlowgardentrail.com for flyer.

Wood ash - Rain stops play

Rain stops play

Still too wet to do much outside of the polytunnel but I've been spreading wood ash around the base of the fruit trees. The potash will help the trees to produce fruit.

See this links for more details: http://masdudiable.com/2010/01/06/wood-ashes-in-the-garden/

I've also found a great source for Irish-grown fruit trees: www.englishsfruitnursery.ie so I'll be ordering a few apple varieties and a Quince to go beside the pond when the ground dries out.

End of Summer vegetable garden update

End of Summer vegetable garden update.

Because we had such a wet and cold 'summer' here in Ireland, the spuds in the metal drum did much better than the ones in the lavishly-prepared raised bed. Other casualties included carrots (vanished without trace) and peas, which were very sparse. Thank goodness for the polytunnel - bumper crops of tomatoes and chilli peppers plus loads of herbs. I read in Joyce Russell's book that you can freeze whole tomatoes for winter use. They go a bit soggy when thawed but are ideal for cooking. Joyce Russel's Book link here

Here are some of the big fat Beefsteak tomatoes from the polytunnel. Lovely thin skins and dense flesh. They don't travel, so you won't get them in supermarkets. Must be grown under cover in Ireland - I germinated them in a heated propagator as they cost big money and you only get 8 seeds per packet. I'll try to save some seeds for next year.



Other crops

The runner beans did well but were quite late - I've given them to my Welsh friend who is homesick for runner beans and is marooned in Ireland where they don't seem to sell them. Our Victoria plum tree produced about five plums - last year we have hundreds. Maybe all the blossom froze or blew away?

Trees: One thing that responds well to the incessant rain is trees. I've spent days lopping the height out of our hedge and individual trees. I've also cleared a space for an 'orchard' - not very big one but I do like an apple pie so will plant Bramleys.

I lopped the willows and made several rustic-looking hurdles to keep in the ever-increasing piles of tree loppings. I need an industrial mulcher to chop them all up..

Every year is different in the garden so you have to be stoical. Onwards and upwards!

Bunty's blog on YouTube

Excellent video blog, week by week. Allow a few weeks for the colder Irish climate!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie1C-3mSupc&feature=relmfu

Altamont Gardens

New YouTube video I made at Altamont Gardens in Carlow.

Spuds in a drum

My First Early spuds are thriving in an old metal drum I fished out of the river. Drilled a few holes in bottom and added 2 inches of compost then the chatted spuds. Top it up as they develop. Sharpes Express variety.

Outdoor Blogger Network

Well I know this blog is not strictly 'outdoors' but it does happen outside of the house so I'm pleased to display the badge:

http://www.outdoorbloggernetwork.com/

Growing herbs from seed.

 

A slug's-eye view of herbs seedlings growing in the polytunnel.

The polytunnel is groaning under the sheer number of seedlings started under cover. We sowed herbs which are nearly ready to pot on. We'll be able to bring them into the house in small pots as required.

Beefsteak tomatoes

At last the warm weather has prompted the beefsteak tomatoes into rapid growth. I started these early in an electric propagator as you only get 8 seeds and they cost around €6 in Ireland. Luckily they were a present so I didn't buy them. They have been re-potted and are languishing in the polytunnel (hoop house) until they go into the beds inside. It's hard to buy these kind as their thin skins don't lend themselves to transport around the world. 

...

We also made up the hanging baskets today and two window boxes so they will stay inside until the end of May. Got some water-retaining crystals and this will help keep the plants moist in the tropical climate in the tunnel. Pics to follow.

DIY simple seedling watering carton

I found several versions of this idea on the web. Pierce a milk carton top with a hot needle or fine drill and use to water seedlings which tend to get washed out by watering cans. Ideally you should water from below but it's not always possible and this idea will provide a gentle shower for your new plants.

Blackthorn blossom

It's great to see some blackthorn blossom in the hedgerows at last. Whiter (and earlier) flowers than the hawthorn, these bushes will produce sloes later on in the year.