Month: January 2024

Six-on-Saturday: January Week 4

Snowdrops, Fatsia, heathers, lettuce, new seeds and grow lights. Thats my six this week.

It was a stormy week. Storm Isha brought a ton load of rain and severe winds. Status Orange warning here and red for the west and north-west of Ireland. Jocelyn arrived two days later. The last time Ireland experienced named storms as far as ‘I’ was in 2016. Interestingly, there were only 2 last year (Sept 2022 – Aug 2023).

Monday, Wednesday and Friday were fine, dry and calm. There was time and opportunity for garden preparation.

1. Seed Sowing

Some organic seeds arrived from West Cork and Germany. The propagator was cleaned and turned on. Seeds were sown, despite my intention to wait until the end of February. I’m losing the run of myself.

2. Lettuces

For the past few years, I’ve had a constant supply of lettuces ready to harvest for my lunch plate. I missed out on sowing since last Autumn, but the conveyor belt has started again. These will be ready early March. In the meantime, I’ll continue sowing every third week.

3. Grow Light

Recently I purchased six small grow lights. Seeds will either love or hate them. I’ll want to learn how best to use this to best effect. One light worked a treat to germinate lettuces faster. More importantly, I’ll learn to use this gadget to accelerate post-germination growth.

4. ‘Plúiríní Sneachta’: Snowdrops

I thought the Snowdrops had died, smothered by the Ajuga. That’s what it does. To my surprise, the Plúiríní Sneachta have risen and flowered. Not easy to see them amid the undergrowth, but they’re delightful when inspected at close quarters.

5. Rising Temperatures

Average January daytime temperatures in these parts is about 5-10°C. Yesterday at 2pm in the glasshouse it reached 31+. Admittedly the thermometer is in direct sunlight but imagine what it would get to if I’d keep the glass cleaned properly! The lettuces are shooting up.

6. Fatsia

This is Fatsia japonica ‘Spider’s Web’. At present, it’s sitting in a garden centre just waiting for me to purchase. It’s on my wishlist and I’m sticking to my plan to get just one plant each month. February is just around the corner. Am I serious, you ask? Yes I am. February’s planned purchase (Choisya ternata ‘Irene Patterson’) has been pushed back to March.

Summary

Pop over to Jim’s Site to discover more Six-on-Saturday updates. Until next time, I hope you get to enjoy some time in the garden.

Storm Isha

The storm is on the way. Not since 2016 has Ireland reached ‘I’ on the named storm alphabet.

We have an Orange Warning locally and Red olong the west and north-west of the country. The reconnendation from Met Éireann is to avoid unnecessary travel. For certain, I’ll not go west or north west. Garden shed is far enough. I’ll potter about, enjoy the sound of rain lashing on the roof and pop a few updates to social media & the blog.

If I upload the one-minute video, WordPress will count it against my allowed storage quota, so here’s my clever workaround:

Link to The Three Hairs

Stay safe out there.

Six-on-Saturday: January Week 3

This week you’ll find ferns, sedum (again) and emerging daffodils. Also, heather, agapanthus and a new pseudowintera.

The cold Arctic air dominated every day, and the colder Arctic air dominated every night this week. That is until late Friday afternoon. A sudden shift in wind direction returned us to more usual damp, wet conditions. I prefer the cold Arctic air. It brought blue skies and it didn’t bring wind.

I took time to work in the shed during the week. Everything is ready to rock ‘n roll.

1. Pseudowintera

I was recently tempted by Gill. She featured Pseudowintera and I didn’t resist. Could I if I’d wanted to? Absolutely, but I didn’t want to. I said that already.

2. Moving Time

The emerging daffodils will be moved shortly, and they’ll bloom shortly after that. I cannot wait but I must.

3. Agapanthus

Once the flowers of Agapanthus have skeletonised, I make a bouquet. I’ve done this every year since 2019. There’s one bunch there that’s not Agapanthus. Not sure exactly what it is, I simply know it as ‘not-Agapanthus’.

4. Hiding In Plain Sight

Having three bins just outside the conservatory door is not ideal, so I’ve attempted to surround them with plants. Pleased with myself. Brown is cooked food waste, blue is recycling and green is everything else, except for what goes in the white one. Anyone like to guess what goes in the white one? Clue: it could possibly go in the brown one but I choose not to go there.

5. Heather & fern

Heather and fern: very wintery looking. Plenty Alchemilla on the dry stone wall. This corner will be transformed by middle of May.

6. Sedum (H…)

The Sedum was shown here recently. I’m keen to leave it as is until March. During the week, heavy frost added beauty not regularly seen here.

That’s my lot for this week. Thank you for reading.

Summary

Sedum, agapanthus, daffodils, pseudowintera, heathers & fern.

Pop over to Jim’s Site to discover more Six-on-Saturday updates. Until next time, I hope you get to enjoy some time in the garden.

In Other News

I love everything about Gary Larson’s ‘The Far Side’. This one has a vague garden connection.

About the author: Páraig likes ferns and emerging daffodils. He also likes buying recommended plants, and hiding things in plain sight. He does not like flying north in this weather.

Páraig is the author of…

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Spectacularly Cold

I’ve placed a towel over the delicate Cyclamen for the past few nights. Yes, it comes off as soon as sunlight hits the spot, and back on again mid-afternoon. I’m doing an experiment. One other Cyclamen remains uncovered. In fairness, it looked drab even before this cold snap.

A neighbour’s outside tap burst. This towel may help mine. Either it will or it won’t, as the fella says.

After breakfast the glasshouse was barely above freezing. During the night it dipped below. There are pots of Lysmachia that are still frozen. My work may have been in vain. No actually, work isn’t in vain when I learn from it. 🤔

Six-on-Saturday: Brrrrr

This week I’ve got camellias and kalanchoe; also nandina and rose hips. It’s been an ideally cold week to warm up outside.

It all kicked off last Sunday. Been waiting for a long time, I had. Months, in fact. How are you when you’re waiting that long?

The weeks of dreary rain ended and thus began a very cold week. To be sure, the wait was worth enduring, and extra clothing layers were duly donned for daily walks, good gardening and some cycling. Purely on health & safety grounds one cycling trip was abandoned. As I was already in my cycling longs and thermal tops, it seemed the perfect gardening attire while I spent time pottering in the potting shed.

In conclusion, it was a cold beginning to the week and midweek was colder. Well worth waiting for, I said to myself.

Looking around the cold garden, there are some items of interest. Here are just six…

1. Kalanchoe

I’ll begin with Kalanchoe, my Christmas indoor kitchen window gift. It came in a tiny pot as part of a snowman scene, so I got it to the potting shed for an upgrade. It’s now back inside, the best place to be this week.

2. Rose Hip

Out in the extreme cold, the blossom on the rose has moved on to old-age reality.

It was a beautiful rose. Still beautiful, in a different way. Old age and death is part of the cycle.

Instagram

3. Nandina Again

Featured several times over the years, this time it’s got something ugly in front of it. A dead something-or-other. No matter.

4. Another Nandina

This one is Nandina domestica. I guess you can deduct I like them in pots. No doubt they’d do better in the ground. No matter, they’re OK as they are. What do I like about them? It’s the mixed leaf colour. This cold weather will bring on the redness.

5. Camellia Again

Buds appearing on the Camellia Spring Festival. Two years ago I wondered if this plant was ever going to do its thing.

6. Lysmachia

I loved the light-green trailing habit of Lysmachia from last July onwards. I have it on my seed order wish list. To my surprise, it rooted profusely in the patio cracks. It is not hardy, so I’ve got dozens of offspring sitting snug in the glasshouse. That’s saved me a tenner next summer. More importantly, I’ve a sense of satisfaction that I can’t put a price on.

Summary

Lysmachia, rose hip, camellia, Kalanchoe and Nandina x2

In Other News

Not exactly the best time to display the ice cream signs. I cycled 70km during the week. Cold but exhilarating. Ice cream: cold but I wasn’t tempted.

Pop over to Jim’s Site to discover more Six-on-Saturday updates. Until next time, I hope you get to enjoy some time in the garden.

About the author: Páraig likes camellias and collages. He also likes Nandina and rose hips, but not winter ice cream. It’s been an ideally cold week to warm up outside.

Páraig is the author of…

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What A Wonderful Saturday

This week there’s a garden book and a plant for the kitchen window. Also included: feeding the doves, but not raking away fallen leaves too early.

During the week I put together what I think is a good piece about our beautiful world. Despite horrific world events at a political level I focus on the beauty. War is a tsunami that destroys life.

Reinforcing my firm belief that it’s a beautiful world, here’s my garden and my wider natural landscape garden to remind me of such beauty. Thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations, for hosting Six on Saturday. Pop over to discover updates from participating writer-gardeners.

I was with my garden for a full afternoon on Thursday. Plenty to do, despite my resolve not to tidy up too much just yet. As OffTheEdgeGardening would say, shall we shake a leg?

1. Gorse

On a recent forest walk on Corrin Holy Hill near Fermoy to shake a leg and the holiday cobwebs, we came upon this in full flower. Our day was brightened.

2. Metrosideros

Photo is a bit wonky. I deserve no more than 4 out of 10 for effort.

Notes FROM the RHS: A genus of around 60 trees, shrubs and vines, most commonly grown for their showy, tufty predominantly red bottle brush-like flowers, which can also be orange, yellow or white.

So, this much I know… Mine is definitely one of sixty. Unfortunately, that still doesn’t narrow it down to specifics. No matter, it’s on the kitchen windowsill and it’s very dainty.

3. Skimmia rubella

Greenery and budding flower. What’s not to love? Featured regularly. I think it may appear again in the months ahead.

4. Sedum

Sedum (or rather the unpronounceable updated name that was Sedum) is finished. In recent years I would have cut this to tidy it up. Now it stays although it is decaying. I’m letting nature just be.

5. Feeding Time

I never fail to appreciate this view. There’s a lot going on. My garden chair is under the eave of the roof outside the back door and part of my morning ritual is to sit and watch.

6. Reading This

There’s a short paragraph for every day of the year within. I recommend it highly.

Summary

Pop over to Jim’s Site to discover more Six-on-Saturday updates. Until next time, I hope you get to enjoy some time in the garden.

Flooding

There’s widespread flooding in so many areas. I was lucky navigate my bike safely on mucky roads last Wednesday.

About the author: Páraig’s likes garden books and plants for the kitchen window. He also likes feeding the doves and riding the bike, but not raking away fallen leaves too early.

Páraig is the author of…

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