Out for Orchids

Our native orchids are among the most beautiful, interesting and appealing of our wildflowers and I have had three very enjoyable outings to see them recently. The Lesser Twayblade had frustrated me for several years. I knew from friends that there was a small population in a remote area in Co. Wicklow – I had …

Looking Back in Amazement

And, I suppose, it would be appropriate to continue the title with "and forward in confidence". What has me looking back in amazement is a very little research I did recently on Sir Joseph Paxton (1801 - 1868). This was in connection with the recently restored vinery at Lismore Castle Gardens, now completed after almost …

The Intransigence of those Greek Mathematicians!

Euclid is to blame for the present discomfort of my mind. Granted there were many before him who had studied geometry - Pythagoras with the square on his hypotenuse was well before and there were also several other Greeks as well as Persians and Chinese who predated Euclid - but it was Euclid who brought …

No Days for Old Men!

These days have recently come on me again. They shoudn't come as a surprise; after all I have experienced the seasons many times now and shouldn't be taken unawares but a scary day or two generally catches me out, gives me a little warning and tells me to be careful - wasn't it that American …

Who Gets to Whisk the Mornay Sauce?

It was a day when this and similar questions assumed an inordinate and disproportionate importance in the household. A slight boil-over from a pot on the hob lead to a crush at the kitchen door as the Head Gardener and I dashed to rescue the situation. There was a greater than usual willingness to be …

The Anxious Wait is Over!

Our local pheasant numbers have been low for the last few years. A few years back we had eight hens and several cocks competing for dominance but for the past two years we have had only two hens and one cock and no surviving chicks from the two which appeared for a very short while …

Under Threat of Rain

Gardeners live much of life in hope of rain or under threat of rain. This past week we have been wishing for rain. Plants had begun to flag, even established plants, and several had to be rescued by a visit with the watering can. Elsewhere, gaps were appearing between the lawn sod and the brick …

Back to the Old 105!

Oh, the new kid on the block certainly won with the bling and I was taken in for quite some time but I have gone back to my dear and cherished friend, my old 105, and realise why I enjoyed it for so many years and regret putting it aside for most of the last …

Where did that Spreng from?

A little background story to a plant can add interest and the lead often comes from the botanical name. Sometimes the names are simply descriptive: Geranium sanguineum, Bloody Cranesbill, because of the red colour of the foliage in autumn and some say because of the magenta flowers. Caltha palustris, Marsh marigold, because it grows in …

Come for a Walk with me!

"I'm off for a walk around the garden with the camera" is a regular call back to the Head Gardener as I go out the kitchen door. It is something I do almost every day and you might well wonder what I find to photograph that's different to the previous day but I have noticed …