flowers

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. 

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!

CATCHING UP – TAKING STOCK

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It is time for a bit of stock taking, and for catching up with many friends and followers of my blog.  Personally the year 2024 has brought many changes, some challenges, some sad, and some good.  Worldwide it’s been a sad and chaotic year too I think.  Many of us have asked ourselves serious questions about our general humanity, our deeds towards our fellow human beings.  A lot of good has been happening too during this past year, a lot of compassion has been shown, and brave and good people have shown to be always around. 

I visit Ian, my husband, in the nursing home every week, something we both look forward to very much.

And now January is almost over and I’m still organizing my activities inside the house and out in the garden, and in society.  Lots to do, all good things.  During the winter I’ve availed of webinars and zoom meetings a lot.  Webinars about grasses and rushes, and other natural subjects.  Regular zoom meetings of a lace making group.  And an introductory course in tree identification.  Collage making or painting with my grandchildren is very rewarding too. Locally there have been meetings of the Early Retirement Group which has fabulous and interesting (mainly) other women as members and a good program, one of the things we do is a weekly chair yoga session which keeps us all quite flexible.  Then the monthly book club and the poetry circle are such a joy, as are the very regular and hugely interesting art exhibitions.  Skibbereen has it all.  There is simply not enough time to do it all.

And then there is the weather which during winter can be quite challenging, storms, heavy rain, frost, the type of weather that makes you want to crawl behind the stove with a good book.  Christmas and New Year celebrations seem to have come and went in a flash this past year.  The dark days are now getting a little lighter and soon it will be the first of February, for Ireland that heralds the beginning of spring, it is also the feast of St.Bridgid and has now become a public holiday.  And so…. I’m chitting my potatoes to have them ready for planting in March.  My garden is still my focus a lot of the time.

This coming season my main big plan for the garden is to plough up half my little grass field so I can plant more vegetables.  For the past five years I have added more and more shrubs because I had much less time to garden and thought it was the better way.  This meant that I now have less and less space for vegetables.  So space will have to be made.  My grandson Ruben who is now a strong teenager and very willing to help me has already cleared one plot in the back of the garden, he wants to do more.  We are great mates and I love him coming over and working alongside me, and afterwards we have pizza and watch a movie.

Luckily during the last storm none of our trees suffered, we have seven trees in a small garden.  We live in a terraced house and the garden is relatively small.  Ours are a birch, oak, chestnut, hawthorn and elderberry, and in the front garden, a currant tree and an acer.  Our hawthorn tree was affected by blight last summer and lost all of its leaves, we’ll see what happens this year.  The chestnut had been trimmed five years ago and has some rot in an outshoot and that will need looking after. 

Gardening and planning a garden, as many people know very well, is a great joy, and keeps us fit, it’s also hard work at times, but that can be done in part, an hour here and an hour there on a daily basis, weather allowing of course (I’m a fair weather gardener).  To be out in nature is such a joy, the fresh air, the scents, sounds, and seeing the growth is all delightful and will keep me going for ever.  The observation possibilities of seeing insects, birds, wild plants and herbs growing, as well as tasty vegetables and trying out new types.  And then there is the digging up of potatoes and the harvesting of edible produce, how much better can it get  I think it satisfies one of our most basic instincts as humans, that of survival. 

Not being sure what 2025 will bring for us all, I wish many blessing for each and everyone.

Loving thought to all.

good tidings to all

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Midwinter can be a most beautiful time of year, both because of the celebrations but also because nature can be especially magical, every season shows us something new and interesting of course. I love the Helleborus, some of their colours are subtle but beautiful. Last week we had the ice flowers here, this week it is very mild with plenty of rain. The buds are showing on some of the trees but are still small. I’m taking part in the garden bird survey and so far the usual winter birds are showing up in good enough numbers, I even saw a song thrush the other day to my delight. So far the chaffinches have only shown up in small numbers, hopefully that will change.

I actually started this post to wish all my good friends and followers a joyful and beautiful Christmas time. And a prosperous new year filled with many Blessings and Peace and Love.

MY GARDEN ~ AT THIS TIME

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It is just a few days short of midsummer, and at four in the morning the light appears on the horizon. Equally at eleven thirty in the evening there are still streaks of light to be seen in the western sky. Summer is moving along smoothly even if the weather does not always help to remind us of the ‘lazy summer days’ of the past. We accept that, no two summers are alike and this year we have a cool one with a few days here and there of stunning sunshine. It is then that we think we are living in a paradise here in West Cork!

Meanwhile there is a lot happening in the garden, albeit slowly.

There are corners in the garden that are special, that remind me of older, walled-in gardens, these areas give a lot pleasure and it is nice to quietly take some time to soak in their atmosphere. As well as that I am mindfully creating such areas, they don’t need to be large, just certain well placed plants or items can work to create such views and feelings. Here are a few.

And more regular features in the following photos, the garden is coming up to its most mature time.

  • Spiraea a japonica
  • Oregano, Sage and Lavender
  • Several types of mint
Though I am introducing more shrubs this year, I also still need to grow vegetables. I failed to get the potatoes in before it was too late, and I only have a very poor show of a few of last years potatoes that came up. At the market this morning I bought autumn leeks, and a variety of leaves, scallions, and spinach, delicious salads are promised but planting out in the next few days will be essential. I’m growing a few endive plants too and runner beans.
  • Lots going on here, while the lavender has become woody, it is still giving plenty of flowers
  • The Hydrangeas are doing great and plenty of flowers are budding while the Azalea has just finished its bloom.
  • Some salad greens coming on
  • Calla lilies grow extremely well here
  • Rhubarb among last years gifted roses and garlic in a tub
  • Marigolds and a young Calla flower
  • Daphne will bloom soon
  • This Houttuynia was doing poorly, but picking up.
  • Salvia viridis
  • Montbretia
The Tansy is now taller than the Lavender, I am awaiting its yellow herby flowers to display a nice bouquet inside.
Lavender harvest

While observing our garden I came to the conclusion that what grows best are the different herbal plants and the wild plants. Some of the vegetables do well also, for example last winter’s kale and chard did extremely well, those not eaten became gigantic plants in the end and I left whatever was still there after the winter go into flower early in spring to provide food for the bumblebees. A beautiful yellow show it was. I cannot seem to grow beans, no success at all, but leeks do great every winter. Lavender does marvellous too.

A little catch up on the shed restoration. Brendan, the man that has been helping us did great work but has not been able to come for several weeks now and so the work has been stopped for a while, hopefully next week that will get moving again. I am still determined to finish this project before the end of summer. It is funny that Pinterest keeps sending me ideas on how to build my potting bench, a subject I was exploring recently. Well, I am a bit of a dreamer too and I like to look at ideas, partly for inspiration but also just to dream…..and Pinterest is great for that.

Wishing all my dear friends, family and followers a blessed midsummer time, and I hope to connect soon again with all of you.

ON A HUMID SUNDAY AFTERNOON

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“To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.”
― William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

There is a light breeze gently moving the tops of the trees, but otherwise it is very quiet on this restful day. West Cork has seen warmer than usual weather recently, though the last two days we have also seen very much rain. The humidity is high of course and I quite like that. You go outside in the garden and the scents and colours are intense, everything is fresh from the rain and the heat makes it almost feel as if steam is rising from all the plants and foliage. The garden is very lush at this time and I counted very many bees, hoverflies and some butterflies while I was out earlier. Autumn is actually not far off and the garden spiders are busy. Some of the decorative trees are already shedding their leaves. The hawthorn and the chestnut tree are beginning to look a lot like autumn too. The ‘turning of the seasons’ is starting to happen.

Ian is back home, his troubles are not over yet but he is slowly feeling better. It’s great to have him home, he’s my soulmate and the best of companions.

GREETING SPRING

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“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.”
Ruth Stout

A recent visit to the walled garden at Holkham Hall in Norfolk, UK gave us a fine variety of flowers already in full bloom.  How lovely a day it was, many birds were singing, and the scent of some of the flowery shrubs wafted towards us while we were watching the bees and other insects fly from one flower to another.

No better introduction to an English garden than in the early spring.

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A large variety of beautifully coloured and fresh spring flowers

The Witch-hazel catkins, Quince blossom,  Hellebores, and Rhododendron

Edgeworthia chrysantha flower and shrub, beautifully scented and new to me.

Ceanothus arboreus is a lovely shrub which blue flowers are loved by the insects.

 

Holkham Hall dates back to the 18th century, its extensive grounds consist of some 25,000 acres.  The walled garden was originally developed by Samuel Wyatt during the late 1700s and is now still under restoration.  It comprises 6 acres and is surrounded by a high red brick wall.  This was our second visit to Holkham hall estate and I have enjoyed both visits very much, last time we saw the deer grazing among the most beautiful ancient trees that are on the land.

A beautiful  Italian iron-work gate brought from Venice in 1908 makes for a great entrance into the walled gardens.

The few days we spent in Norfolk with Ian’s family, and this visit to Holkham gardens allowed us a nice transition from Gozo back to West Cork, it was a nice introduction to spring in the more northern islands of Europe.