Photos from Dillon Garden- 8th June

I actually felt a bit funny walking around the garden at first, then I realised what was wrong. No camera! No, I did not forget it. When working with a tour I don’t have time to set up my tripod etc. All my photos from this trip will be taken with my iPhone. It will be weird to be looking at the gardens with two eyes instead of through the camera lense.

Photos from top; Crataegus laciniata in flower; raised vegetable bed; Digitalis purpurea ‘Alba’ (White foxgloves); Cirsium rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’; Dicksonia antartica (tree ferns) in galvanized steel bins in the front garden with the infloresences of Beschorneria yuccioides; road sign on Sandford Road points the way for garden enthusiasts; Acer griseum (paper bark maple).

Dublin airport direct to Dillon Garden

So far it has been dry. We met all the group at Dublin airport and then went straight to the Dillon Garden in Ranelagh. Val Dillon welcomed and entertained us with his humourous stories and then he put the kettle on for tea and coffee. We all went to the garden.

In the garden Helen Dillon greeted us warmly and we all wandered through the garden. Helen enthusiastically identified plants and answered questions. She also had some sad and bad news to share. Reginald, their daschound, a familiar character to visitors in the past has passed away. The other misfortune concerns the hens, all were killed a few weeks ago by a fox.

The garden looks immaculate as ever. Helen explained that she is growing plants such as Dahlia and Canna in pots and when they are in flower, she is using them to fill gaps in the borders.

Crambe maritima attracted a lot of interest with the visitors. Many admiring it’s numerous flowers and sniffing it’s sweet honey scent. It is also grown as a vegetable. When grown for eating it is covered in spring to exclude light and the new growths harvested. I have it in the garden at home but have never eaten it, i will try it next year. Helen says it is as good as asparagus.

The large spherical infloresences of Allium ‘Globe Master’ were stunning and I think everyone remarked on how good they looked. Helen says that they are expensive to buy, but are worth the investment. A. ‘Purple Sensation’ is finished flowering while these are continuing to flower. She showed us the as yet unopened buds under the open flowers to prove her point.

After one and a half hours, reluctantly the group left the garden to get back on the bus to bring us to the Trinity Capital Hotel in Pearse Street, close to Trinity College. Hanna and I were joined by some tired and hungry tour members at a Moroccan restaurant called Dada in the evening.

Most of the group are probably already asleep in their beds after a long day of travelling, I am sure all are looking forward to visiting Carmel Duignan’s garden in Shankill on the morning. Lunch on the Mill at Avoca follows and then we are off to Mount Usher. A great day of gardens ahead, I hope the rain stays away.

Photos below: from top-
Dillon Garden from steps at back of house; Val Dillon tells us his entertaining stories; the empty hen house; Crambe maratima (Seakale) flowers; Allium ‘Globe Master’ (those finished flowering in the foreground are A. ‘Purple Sensation’); some of the group enjoying the garden, viewed from drawing room window.

Garden Tour Starts Today – Kotipuutarha

We will be meeting 38 Finnish gardeners at Dublin Airport this afternoon. Then we will be heading straight to the Dillon Garden in Ranelagh. Over the next week we will be visiting some of the loveliest gardens in Ireland. Each day I will be posting updates, a diary if you like of the gardens that we visit. I hope that the rain stops soon…

Dillon Garden, 45 Sandford Road- photographed last June

A tolling bell signals that the end is nigh…

All around us people are making pots and sowing seeds. It’s Monday afternoon, our fifth day of Project Nasturtium at Bloom, and I starring to feel tired. Then a bell rings out. This signals the start of the sell off from the plant stalls, it’s four o’clock. Within a few minutes our stand is empty and chaos ensues all around us. People are going mad looking for bargains or for plants that were on display but sold out. The gentle world of gardening in the floral pavilion has turned into scenes of madness. People jostle goodnaturedly around the plant stalls. Stall holders lift plants out of their displays and out stretched hands reach out for their attention.

It’s the end of Bloom 2010. We took down our stand, and headed for home. It was a great five days. Project Nasturtium has been a phenomenal success. It would not have been possible without or sponsors, Suttons Seeds, and Enrich. We must also thank our volunteers for giving their time and patience to show people how to make paper pots and sow seeds.

So many people sowed their first seeds while at Bloom this year. A huge amount of Nasturtiums and sunflowers have been travelling to peoples homes. I hope all the seeds grow, Ireland is going to be a colourful place this Summer if they do. Thanks also to everyone who visited our stand and to those who participated. We hope we have given some inspiration to garden and grow. Now, what shall we do next year?

This morning we are at home in Mayo but later today we are going back to Dublin to meet 38 Finns and start an 8 day garden tour. I am going to keep a diary here ,so if you like you can follow us around some beautiful gardens on Ireland.

Show garden moments

A few images from my early morning visits to the show gardens at bloom.

It is not all glamour and glitz for garden designers. Top pic; Gold medal winner Jane Mc Corkell is busy watering her garden in the sunshine on Saturday morning, her garden is called “The Rain Garden”. Upper Middle pic; the GIY garden being watered on Saturday, no need to water tomorrow after all the rain today.
Lower Middle pic; Dawn Aston’s shoes in her Engaging Space -“Urban Oasis” her garden allows people to walk around inside- it was awarded a silver gilt medal; view from terrace of Dawn’s Urban Oasis, it was amazing to see throngs of people crowding through her garden in the rain today.