The First (and last?) Snow of Winter.

While the kettle was boiling for breakfast I went outside, pyjamas and dressing gown, to put out some food for the birds - rolled barley for what has become an almost domesticated small flock of pigeons; peanuts for the cock and two hen pheasants who have gone beyond domesication and have me trained to provide …

Simply Snowdrops

There is a divide among snowdrop growers, a contrast in styles between those who collect snowdrops and those who garden with them. For some, there is nothing more attractive than a new variety, another snowdrop a little different to their eyes, another flower of exquisite beauty to be appreciated in its individuality. For others, snowdrops …

Ní hÉ Lá na Gaoithe Lá na…….

Ní hé lá na gaoithe lá no scolb - The windy day is not the day for thatching, says an old Irish saying. Nor is it the day for photographing those delicate snowdrop flowers as they swirl about in the gale. We have had three storms this week so the moments to photograph snowdrops have …

Follow Me up to Carlow!

It was more a case of dropping in on the way home than a planned visit but even a stop-off at Altamont Gardens is always a pleasant experience. Early spring, snowdrop season, is a wonderful time to visit and, though we had been there less than a fortnight previously, it certainly merited the time. Around …

And then it rained!

How peculiar that we found it surprising to have a night of rain in the middle of winter! Rain is part of life in Ireland - you know the old saying, "If you can't see the hill, it's raining and if you can see the hill, it's going to rain." We have had a very …

Snowdrops at Huntingbrook.

Jimi Blake decided this week to take the plunge and open his garden - Huntingbrook, Co. Wicklow - at snowdrop time. Although he has gathered and grown snowdrops for many years he never considered his garden a "snowdrop garden" but he has taken an increased interest in snowdrops in recent years and has added enormously …

Snowdrop Mid Season

We have made a start, a return, after the interruption of winter, to more regular working in the garden, something made possible by the unseasonably dry weather here since Christmas. We had a couple of full days outside at the start of the week but were set back again by showers and a bitter breeze …

It’s a Hell of Bore!

It was one of Helen Dillon's sayings ",It's a hell of a bore being keen on hellebores!" but, of course, that never stopped her growing them and adding more and more to her garden. They continue to be very popular and fashionable plants and deserve their place in our gardens. Our first hellebore, a plain …