Six on Saturday, 01/08/2020

It hasn't been a good week for gardening; the weather was against us. We had torrential rain on Friday morning; enough to fill the dykes, birdbaths and even leaving the ground squelchy in places. Because of this, I have leaned my Six on Saturday in a slightly different direction, out of the garden but staying …

Flowers – Wild and Garden!

Lavish praise, a very generous book review, can be counter-productive for there is within us all that little streak of cynicism which says it may be too good to be true. This is my predicament with Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast, A Natural History by Carol Gracie for I fear that you may be inclined …

Six on Saturday, 25/07/2020

It was a bit of a dash around with the camera to capture images and inspiration to put something together for this week's Six on Saturday. The morning had been spent packaging snowdrop bulbs to post off to fellow snowdrop enthusiasts - a little swapping is far, far cheaper than buying these exorbitantly-priced bulbs. There …

The Installation

Following up on this morning's early post: the rain cleared and we were able to go ahead with placing Mary's new pot in the garden. It is now in position and she is very happy with it. The wheelbarrow was the best option for moving the pot from car to the top of the garden. …

Gone to Pot – or The Mid-Week Ramblings of a Tired Man.

For some reason, we both slept badly last night. We were in bed shortly before 11.30 and I awoke for the first time around 1.30a.m.; again at 2.40 – I know the times because I went to the kitchen for a drink of orange juice as my mouth was dry. I woke several other times …

Six on Saturday, 17/07/2020

The big event of the week was the arrival of this pheasant hen with seven chicks. These are wild pheasants and have been part of our garden scene for many years. We used keep a few hens and the availability of easy food attracted the pheasants and several generations of them have been reared in …

Dining on the Long Acre – The Wild Food Plants of Ireland

Reading Tom Curtis and Paul Whelan's book, The Wild Food Plants of Ireland, has brought another layer, a greater depth of interest, to my wildflower wanderings along our road in recent days. The damsons on the boundary ditch of the garden have set well but I'll have to wait for them to ripen before picking …

Strawberries and Garlic, Anyone?

"Reeking" is the word often used to describe how one smells from garlic. It is a word which carries with it an implication of something unpleasant, undesirable and unwanted and, though I disagree strongly with this description of the garlic aroma, I must admit to washing my hands thoroughly today after an hour handling garlic …

Six on Saturday 11/7/2020

I'm continuing last week's Six on Saturday with a set of shots to introduce my garden to the others who are already part of this group, hosted by https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/ Last Saturday, I showed photographs of what we call "The Back Garden" though it is mainly to the side of the house. Today I will begin …

Bright and Breezy

A beautiful day; at long last, a beautiful day. We have had plenty of rain in the past week, several rather miserable days when we were confined indoors; days completely unsuitable for gardening or even for walking. But, 'tis an ill wind, as they say, and that rain has lead to an astonishing burst of …