Paddy Tobin, An Irish Gardener
Our garden, gardens visited, occasional thoughts and book reviews
We are slowly realizing that we are not the only ones. Being in the cocoon - socially withdrawing because of the Covid-19 virus - gives one a blinkered view of the world and of what others are doing. We had begun to wonder if we were the only ones who have continued to remain apart … Continue reading Realizing
It has not been a pleasant time with this pandemic but there have been some good moments and it is important to make the most of them - small happinesses are to be celebrated! The restrictions brought on us by Covid 19 has meant that I have been unable to join friends in outings to … Continue reading A Quick Good-News Story
Just because I loved them when Mary brought them from the garden and put them in this blue vase - our first picking of dahlias this year:
For readers of my blog not familiar with this "Six on Saturday", let me explain that it is an idea hosted by https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com who posts six photographs, with comment, each Saturday morning. Other bloggers do likewise and then post a link to their post in the comments of The Propagator Blog's post and in this … Continue reading Six on Saturday
Statistically, I am less bald now than I was twenty or so years ago. My mother always told me I had a high forehead, a sign of intelligence she assured me, but a time arrived when this high forehead began its progress higher and further backward along my head to either side of a surviving … Continue reading Male-pattern Baldness.
Lunchtime coffee was cancelled. The kettle wouldn't work. Not a geek out of it. I did the usual checks - that we had, in fact, got electricity; that no fuses had tripped on the fuse board; that it was plugged in; then changed the fuse in the plug...just in case but it still didn't work. … Continue reading The Kettle Unmasked.
"The biggest reason to have a kitchen garden is for your own happiness" writes author, Nicole Johnsey Burke, and I suggest that the best place to start for those who wish to have a kitchen garden is with this book. There is an approach in this book seldom, if ever, seen elsewhere - that the … Continue reading Kitchen Garden Revival
It has been a busy week in the garden. We tackled the pruning of three large hornbeam trees, Carpinus betulifolius, which had begun to spread a little too much and overshadow a large area making the ground beneath bone dry and a difficult place for other plants to grow. I suppose it is the way … Continue reading Six on Saturday, 27th June 2020
It has been a summer of wildflower good news stories, particularly so regarding orchids. There were reports of Green-winged orchids appearing on the grass verges of a housing estate in the midlands when the local authority stopped mowing. Bee orchids appeared in large numbers on roadside verges in Co. Cork, again when the grass was … Continue reading The Pyramid on the Roundabout.
She came late to education but has certainly made an impact now that she is here. Already, she has been feted in local press and on the national airwaves with a special appearance on the main evening news. We cannot begrudge her these moments in the limelight for, truth be told, she is at present … Continue reading She is an Academic Bee.
