Paddy Tobin, An Irish Gardener
Our garden, gardens visited, occasional thoughts and book reviews
Waterford, south-east Ireland, 16th January 2021 These last few days have been beautifully dry and mild and we have been able to get out into the garden. Each day's walk-around tell me that the plants are into growth for each days shows changes from the day before. At this time of the year, I am … Continue reading January and a New Start!
Waterford, southeast Ireland, 9th. January 2021 It is that time of year when we look backward with fondness and forward in hope and, when the garden is presently bare, it is encouraging to view again the days when it was full and lush, when the sun shone and all looked fresh and alive. Those days … Continue reading July – December: A Photographic Review of the Year in the Garden, Part 2.
It was only the lightest coating, little heavier than a dusting of icing sugar, but the moment had to be captured; such fleeting moments always catch our attention. We had snow this morning. There to meet me as soon as I opened the door, waiting for breakfast. The patio with snow nicely dusting the fernThe … Continue reading De Rigueur!
Waterford, southeast Ireland. 2 January 2021 Here we are into the New Year, 2021. The Roman god, Janus, was generally depicted as being two-headed or two-faced, one looking forward and the other backward. I suppose we all look forward and hope that the coming year will be better than the last and, given the track … Continue reading A Photographic Review of the Year in the Garden, Part 1
The year, thankfully, ended with two days spent in the garden. We have had few such days over the past weeks and it was great to be out again - despite the cold, wet and muck. Mary had the very good idea to put a path at the back of a particularly deep border in … Continue reading Year’s End – Yesterday, Early this Morning and A Little Later.
Despite the often-referenced "stretch in the evening" we are still a long way from spring and warmer days. It was a brighter and drier day today than we have had in ages and we headed out to the garden, happy to have the chance to be out and to be doing a bit again. A … Continue reading Jeezez, ‘Tis Perishing Out There!
Snowdrops may well live up to their French name, "Perce-neige", snow-piercer , but the same weather can make it uncomfortable for the gardener to enjoy them in the garden. A number of snowdrop cultivars have already opened in the garden with many others above ground, even in bud but waiting for warmer days to open … Continue reading Come in out of the cold, Darlings!
It has not been a week for gardening. Bad weather put it out of the question early in the week and and all things Christmassy occupied the latter half. Christmas Eve was a bright, if cold, day and rather than let the week pass without any sort of report on how things were in the … Continue reading A Quick Look Around
I forgive myself for being optimistic on this mid-winter day, the winter solstice, a day of moving from darkness into light. In effect, it is bringing the dark days to an end or, if not the end, certainly the beginning of the end as daylength will exceed that of night from today onwards. Midwinter day … Continue reading A Grey Auld Day
Waterford, south-east Ireland, 19th December 2020 There are times of the year when the gardener has to search for the beauty in the garden. As it says in the song: You've got to accentuate the positiveEliminate the negativeLatch on to the affirmativeDon't mess with Mister In-Between You've got to spread joy up to the maximumBring … Continue reading It’s All Going Swimmingly – A Look Back at the Week in the Garden.
