I thought it was a box hedge that we were chopping. We had a saw, a shears and even an axe. It was a family event. My dad was cutting the thick stems with the saw while questioning the wisdom of the act. My mother directed the operations, ensuring him that it had to beContinue reading “Lonicera nitida – learning to love it”
Category Archives: gardening
Tom’s Tom- From red centiflor to little yellow pear
A few years ago we sowed some seed of a Tomato, the variety was called Tomato ‘Red Centiflor’. We purchased it from Irish Seedsavers Association. It grew well, a tasty little tomato. It bears its fruit in big clusters. The trusses, the fruiting branches f tomatoes, are packed with a huge mass of flowers andContinue reading “Tom’s Tom- From red centiflor to little yellow pear”
Euphorbia nematocypha add fire to the herbaceous planting scheme
Sulphur yellow flowers, bushy growth, intense autumn colour and bright red stems. Hardy too. This is Euphorbia nematocypha, a superb spurge for Irish gardens. Each spring the strong upright growth of the red stems is topped with bright yellow flowers and bracts. The flowers last well into summer and give a fantastic display but theContinue reading “Euphorbia nematocypha add fire to the herbaceous planting scheme”
Hawthorn Tapanade Recipe
Hawthorn, whitethorn, May bush; Crataegus monogyna. You see it all around the Irish countryside, sometimes old rings of the gnarled and spiny trees are left untouched in rings in the middle of fields. For generations they have been treated with respect and superstition, this is where the fairies live. In our garden we have wildContinue reading “Hawthorn Tapanade Recipe”
Blackberry Ketchup Recipe
Blackberries are coming to the end for this year, but you might still be able to pick a kilo for this delicious recipe, Blackberry Ketchup. It is delicious with all sorts of savoury foods, use it instead or tomato ketchup. I love it with organic pork sausages that I buy at the market. It isContinue reading “Blackberry Ketchup Recipe”
NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDENS, GLASNEVIN, DUBLIN- OCTOBER 20TH 2012
Every month I visit the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin with a group of people on The Garden School home study course. This time there was lots of autumnal tints to admire, some berries and flowers too. I was saddened to see that the great specimen of copper beech had eventually succumbed to oldContinue reading “NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDENS, GLASNEVIN, DUBLIN- OCTOBER 20TH 2012”
Testing Soil for pH…its easy!
pH. Two letters, one small, one big, not even a proper word. Yet, it is a term every gardener should be familiar with. Whether you grow vegetables, fruit or ornamentals, knowing the pH allows you to select the right plants for your garden and to maintain soil fertility at the optimum for better crops. pHContinue reading “Testing Soil for pH…its easy!”
Ciaran The Gardener 