The End of Day Walk

A walk around the garden, with camera in hand, is an excellent way to see and appreciate the plants which grow there. Oftentimes we can be so busy that we don't take time to relax and simply enjoy what is growing well or in flower on any particular day. This is something I do at …

The Architect’s Garden

It is good, on occasion, to visit a garden which veers towards one extreme of the design continuum – at one end of that balance between structure and planting. All our gardens will have some level of design, organisation or layout – from rigid formality to flowing naturalistism - and will have planting to some …

Beauty Beyond Compare!

The blooming of the exquisite Paeonia ‘Souvenir de Maxime Cornu’ is a moment of the most wonderful beauty. It is a moment to appreciate the work of paeonia breeders of the past and to anticipate the main flush of the paeonia season. When Paeonia delavayi and Paeonia delavayi var lutea were introduced from Yunnan, in …

In Shallowness!

It's the Chelsea Flower Show time of year again. As we are not attending we will watch the many (at least three) daily television programmes covering the event and I realise already, on day one, that I am in for another week of frustration and of directing foul language at the innocent television set - …

His Words Echo Still!

An Annual General Meeting of the Irish Garden Plant Society was held at Kennedy Park many years ago. Such meetings, at the time, were inclined to be efficiently dispatched and the members moved speedily along to enjoy a weekend of good company, garden visits, the AGM dinner, drinks, chat and good fun; all in all, …

The Man who Stands and Stares

He stands, arms resting on the top rungs of the six-bar gate at the end of our lane. It was once a lane, access from the road to the fields behind our house, but is now part of our garden and, while its use is now defunct, the name remains. I see this man regularly, …

That’s How Vulnerable They Are!

Green-winged orchids are very scarce in Ireland and when a friend told me he had found a site where they were in flower there was an immediate dash to see them. Three of us had a wonderful evening viewing these beautiful plants – along with the Early Purple Orchids and Cowslips which grew in their …

Are You in the Choir?

A friend tells of how much she enjoys her membership of her local choir, an activity she finds uplifting and sociable and one she looks forward to with great relish. There is a sense of working with others to learn and develop an end product far in excess of what any participant could manage individually. …

The History of Landscape Design in 100 Gardens.

This was the most interesting, enjoyable and informative book I’ve read in ages!   At its very simplest, this book acts as a guide to 100 of the most significant gardens of the world with insights into their backgrounds, their cultural influences and place within the history of landscape design. However, the selection is arranged …

Yes, Gardening is Sexist and Personal!

A number of years ago I was guiding a small group of ladies, members of a visiting  garden club, around our own garden. All was going along pleasantly, I thought, until there was a loud “But!” followed by a pause when I looked at the lady’s face, her mouth open and an expression which said, …