Modern Plant Hunters – A Review.

Modern Plant Hunters – Dr. Sandy Primrose. Plant hunters have given our gardens the most wonderful range of plants; we are greatly indebted to these brave, courageous and daring people and Dr. Sandy Primrose’s account of our modern plant hunters is gripping and informative reading for all gardeners and plant lovers. Plant hunting is not …

The Priest on the Train.

My father worked in C.I.E.  (now, Irish Rail) and this gave us a number of free train journeys each year. These were used for days out to Cork; shopping for my mother and, the highlight for me, a visit to Woolworth's on Patrick Street where I was always allowed to have some toys to bring …

Moving along!

We have continued our walks along the Waterford Greenway - a cycling/walking track developed on a disused railway line between Waterford and Dungarvan, a distance of 46Km. We are, in fact, walking each section twice: parking the car, walking to our set destination and then returning on the same route to the car. Because of …

I Wish You Time.

Elli Michler (1921-2014) wrote this poem in the year 1987.   I WISH YOU TIME I don't wish you all sorts of gifts. I just wish you, what most people don't have: I wish you time to be happy and to laugh and if you use it, you can make something out of it. I …

No, It is not a Resolution but…

It was definitely not a resolution, not a plan of action for the New Year, certainly not a plan for self-betterment, nor a strategy for improving our life-style. No, it was simply a wish, a hope, a desire to do something different, a little target, a little achievement we might accomplish. The Waterford Greenway runs …

A Touch of Winter

Yes, we've had a few days with a touch of winter. We're not really into winter here in Ireland; we don't have the dramatic changes of season experienced in countries further north or in central Europe; it's not something we want to experience but it is a good source of grumbling material, something to complain …

A Flower Calendar.

A retrospective calendar at this stage, of course, but after a look back over photographs I had taken in the garden over the last year I selected one from each month:  

Standing at the Gate

Janus, that ancient Roman god, was two-faced! He was a god of beginnings and endings, of looking to the future and to the past, a god of gates and doorways, of passage and transition and he gave his name to this month, January. Perhaps, to call Janus two-faced (insincere and deceitful) is not being fair …

Just being Miserable!

I'm good at it; very good at it, I'm told - at being miserable, that is! I put it down to practice and, as you have heard, practice makes perfect so, yes, I am perfectly miserable! The flu came on the 20th of December and, though the dramatic misery has passed, it now lingers with …