Organic Gardening

THIS MOMENT IN TIME

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The scairbhin (scaroveen) has almost come to an end.  For the past few days there was an icy east wind, quite blustery, a little crazy, it blew over the land.  Locally this wind is known to arrive between mid-April and mid-May. Also around here it is known as the “rough weather of the cuckoo”, as happens around the time that the cuckoo arrives, it is also the final bit of cold before the summer.  But the days are getting warmer all the same.  Yes this moment in time is just perfect, I look out at the trees, moving in the wind, and their young leaves a vibrant green, and I sometimes wish I could stop time.  Early spring in nature is awesome!

The sodden feeling underfoot in the garden is gone and so it is time to take the growing season more serious, whipping out detailed plans and giving them an overview, while being on the ground so to say.  Taking in what is happening, and bearing in mind that my garden more of less dictates what goes on in there, I adjust my ground plan.  My garden is mostly filled with wild plants and herbs, and also some quite residential shrubs which supply good and strong colour.  New for this season, is that a little plant, which I have been pulling up year after year, I’m now going to allow it to grow, it is the herb Robert, it usually thrives well, I love its scent when I crush a leave or disturb it in any way.  Beautiful, it grows in an interesting way, the fine red stems and light green leaves radiate from the centre, the little pink flowers delicate.  

At the moment the three cornered leeks have rather taken over the borders, beautiful nodding white flowers streaked with fine green lines, I also love their delicate garlic taste.  Buttercups have started to bloom, they are some of my favourite flowers.  Daisies, white with a flourish of pink are also willing partakers of my garden, as are dandelions, all these are so important for our pollinators especially early in spring.  From year to year evening primrose, mullein and the different willow herbs have become well established.  Besides all this the usual herbs are enjoying regrowth and looking robust already.

What used to be a lawn is now just tufts of grass, part of it marked for winter vegetables like leeks, celery and kale.  And I set up the small tunnel today, I’m going to try my hand at growing some tomatoes this year, my sister Eveline is very good at growing big bright red and deliciously tasting tomatoes year after year, and she is giving me advice.  It is nice to try something new.  So I bought some tomato plants at the market earlier

In the next few days attention will go to getting the new large planter ready for my summer greens and small herbs like thyme and chives. 

Thankfully the garden is already alive with bumblebees, so nice to see the pollinators.

My garden is an adventure, an experiment, a place of observance, a real joy, where I find solace in this chaotic world.  It is a place where I feel good, relaxing on the bench under the hawthorn tree, cup of tea in hand, listening to the birds singing, or just soaking up the sunshine. 

AND WE ARE OFF AGAIN

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February has started and thoughts move in the direction of what we’ll be creating in our gardens. Planning new projects, and welcoming new growth is the order of the day.   Already there is lots happening out there, even while most of our garden is fairly water logged, and it requires a good pair of wellingtons to navigate towards the elderberry bush and the back gate.  Even then, it is great to see new growth and even the odd wild flower, or the beautiful colours of the croccusses. 

Dandelion, and a self-seeded young foxglove plant

Daffodils,  and a young self-seeded mullein plant.

And an atmospheric view of an early spring sunset.  According to some folks, spring starts on the first of February here in Ireland,  but I’m never sure. I can see things happening though, which definitely point to an awakening in nature, so if not on the first of February,  then spring cannot be far off and the evenings are getting brighter too. 

Every year I purchase a few more bulbs, the last few years it has been a variety of old fashioned gladioli, I love them. But because of the heavy soil and the heavy winter rains I have to dig the bulbs up and store them. I grow lilies in containers for similar reasons, as well as alliums and agapanthus.  By now I’ve got a tidy collection of container plants.

Tulips,  grape hyacints, croccusses, and many other bulbs also seem to grow best in containers here.

Seeds are germinating inside, this year I’m trying out asters.  I picked an aster resembling a spider chrysanthemum, the flowers look lovely on the packet.  We will see.

A glimpse into our putting shed, not quite sorted or decluttered.  I was looking at a new wheel barrow recently  but they cost around €150! I think the old rusty one will get a clean up instead.

All things to enjoy or look forward to.

THE GARDEN AFTER FROST

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Yes, Jack Frost has been paying West Cork, as well as the rest of Ireland, and I believe other parts of Europe too, a nightly visit. That in the middle of it I ran out of heating oil through my own lack of attention is beside the point. I was able to solve the problem very quickly thanks to a loyal plumber and heating oil providers. This did not take awake from the beauty which greats me while attending to some domestic chores like emptying the kitchen waste into the compost bin at the end of the garden. I could not resist taking some photos at least. Meanwhile a little robin has been coming closer all winter and even sang to me the other day, how totally lovely.

And what I would really like to do this year is to make my garden into a lovely space, that is nurturing to the soul, a space where my family, friends and myself can rest and find quiet and peaceful admiration for nature. And a space for wildlife, where bees and other pollinators enjoy all the flowers and find nectar. Where birds can build their nests and sing their hearts out, for a mate when the time comes. I’ve had up to five goldfinch everyday feeding on the seedheads of the Evening Primrose, such a wonder. The usual bird population is fine this winter, I’m taking part on the survey again. The chaffinches are definitely down, the sparrow count is up. There is only one dunnock whereas there have been two for years. The wren is our resident bird, as are two blackbirds, a couple. Everyday there is now a Pied Wagtail feeding in the front garden, a first for our garden. Of course the robin is always there, but some years there are two, so far there is only one, I read that the males come feeding earlier than the females so I hope that the female is still on the way. It is nice when a robin comes up to you and it feels like they are really trying to communicate with you, and when they then start to sing so close, that is wonderful!

I wish you all a peaceful, joyful, healthy and happy 2026, enjoy!

WINTER IN IRELAND

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We are ending the month of November and with routine changes and many things to attend to recently I’m only now starting to slow down and to dwell on what I’m at and what I would like to focus on in the next few winter months.  I love winter.

Right now I like how there is such attention on gratefulness by so many people, so many friends.  When looking at the small gifts we receive everyday, it’s easy to feel gratitude.

Well, my garden is full of seedheads attracting goldfinches. And new life is to be seen in primroses starting to flower.

The sun is out today and there is ony a little breeze.  The garden has not yet died down so far, our really cold weather only arrives in January and usually last untill April. Our daffodils are already showing their head above soil. I could do work out there but I’m inclined to leave the seedheads for the birds, and as well as that the soil, the grass, everything is sodden, the rains having taken care of that.  So I will leave the outside work for now, and I will make my adventkrans instead. 

Wishing everyone an enjoyable Thanksgiving day

ON A LAZY SUNDAY AFTERNOON

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I am taking a nice rest this afternoon,  because for the moment all my seedlings and young plants are looked after and doing their own thing, growing mainly and getting strong, oh and defending themselves against the onslaught of slugs.  I’m sitting in the livingroom but the door to the garden is wide open. Seagulls are flying over making an awful racket, and the rooks are not far off either, I often see them interact with each other, flying after each other.  They are having the time of their lives! 

The most exercise I’ve done today is walking around my smallish garden and picking a bunch of wild flowers.  There is a great tit in the trees, it has this certain call lately,  it makes me think that I’m in a large forest, it’s wonderful!

Our trees are very lush now , their best colour of all the seasons is now, the leaves, those of the oak tree only unfolding, are so fresh.  One branch of the chestnut tree is very elegantly overhanging part of the vegetable plot. 

The month of May is not far off.  Soon the swifts will arrive over our house and gardens, when I hear them, for me it is summer no matter the weather. 

Right now, in nature, it is the best time of the year! 

SEEDLINGS AND A MYRIARD OF PLANT POTS

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I’m sitting at the window looking out to our garden from our sunroom, which actually used to be called a Conservatory but when the old roof started to deteriorate and started to leak we got it covered in slate and put in two Velux windows, so now I call it the ‘sunroom’ and that will suffice.

And as I look out to the garden I can see some beautiful shrubs that are flowering right now, the forsythia is a patch of yellow and then there is the Berberis Compacta fully decked in orange,  it’s beautiful to see even through my still blurred eyes, I’ve had cataract surgery last week and I still cannot see clearly.  The Azalea both the purple and white one are coming into flower too, and the Rosemary is one blur of purple and dark green.

Forsythia
Rosemary
Berberis compacta
Very old azelia
Purple azelia, small flowers

 I’ve been working with my seedlings this morning; I’ve been repotting some of them.  The room is filled with all sizes of pots, which I’m filling with soil, and I am planting seedlings like there is no tomorrow, I have got so many seeds coming on and this whole room is absolutely turned into a greenhouse.  I’m so happy with having this space and being able to get my young plants going.  I haven’t been able to set up the small plastic greenhouse in the garden yet but that’s the job that’s got to be done. I will then move all these young plants in there and get them to grow strong before I can put some of them out in the purposed plot, the soil needs to be prepared yet. The grass which I had covered with cardboard needs to be either dug or else I will just throw soil on top of it.  The soil for the potatoes is ready though, and they have been chitin here on the press, so weather allowing, they are next to go into the ground.  

Right now, the sky is gray and there’s a bit of wind, but my chestnut tree is starting to come into leaf, its buds are bursting.  The sky out there is filled with birds flying in all directions, seagulls and crows especially, they’re all happy to be alive I think, yes there is lots of activity, for one I have seen our resident blackbird couple eyeing the thick hedge which is where they made their nest before.  

 It does look like rain and so it probably will rain but there is a lot of inside work and that’s what I’m busy with at the moment.  I have 28 kale plants, they’re very small yet but that’s ok as they are only for use next winter, I sowed some extra to be able to share them with others, because that’s fun.  

Young Lilac tree
Lemon Balm
Pieris berries
Still have to tackle the compost
Plans for another vegetable plot
Seedlings coming on

A week later and now we are April!

Despite my limited vision at the moment I was able to plant my potatoes, which is great as it puts me ahead. Meanwhile the sun has been shining for days and there is a warm wind today, my washing has been dancing on the line all morning, a lovely sight to behold because I can now put my clotheshorse away for the summer (I hope). Young plants and seedlings are coming along great and I’ve sowed more. The garden has dried out in the meantime, mud has become hardened already. I now urgently need a gardener, that is, a person who can do some of the jobs I cannot manage. My grandson has advised me to do proper fencing around my new vegetable plot rather than just put pots around it. The idea is to keep the cats from doing their business in the soil where the vegetables are growing. But I might just settle for keeping an eye on it daily and using a shovel. Not decided yet, but note that I have five different cats, not my own, visiting the garden!

Project not finished, watch this space!

TIME FOR THE GARDEN

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GARDEN AWAKENING
My grandson helping me, so valuable.

With the month of March well under way our garden is crying out for attention.  I have great plans this year, among other things is planting more vegetables and in order to realise this I’m digging up one third of our small lawn. Exciting! 

I have been suffering a bit from writers block for a while now, hopefully my muze will return soon.

Wishing everyone a glorious spring, or as it happens, autumn time. Much love.

JOURNEY THOUGH THE CAHA MOUNTAINS

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These days I enjoy a weekly journey through the Caha mountains on my way to see my husband Ian in Kenmare. It is a most beautiful journey, not only along the Bantry Bay towards sub-tropic Glengarriff where at the moment the rhododendrons are still in full flower, but following the N71 up to and through the tunnel separating county Cork and county Kerry.

Looking into a most beautiful glacial valley.
Sugarloaf Mountain in the distance.
Rododendrons alongside the road.
Looking back towards the bay.
Bonane which I come to once through the tunnels. This is in Co Kerry now.
The interesting rock formations along the road.
The Glenn valley.

It is such a lovely journey.  I do it once a week. My dear husband Ian is now resident in a nursing home in Kenmare.  It’s about 74km from here.  It’s a different way of life for us both, but we are adjusting and making the best of what life offers.