Author Archives: Annmarie

Might do could do in January

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  1. Check tree and shrub stakes to make sure that any ties are secure but not causing damage by rubbing. New trees can be planted, just keep them well watered.
  2. January can be the coldest of months so keep some fleece handy to protect plants that are simply too big to move under cover.
  3. Check any stored dahlia and begonia tubers. Use a sharp knife to carefully cut away any signs of rot. If the tubers look shrivelled, plunge them into a bucket of tepid water overnight, then dry thoroughly.
  4. Houseplants will want to be kept cool and free from drafts. Poinsettia are particularly prone .Water sparingly.
  5. Citrus (Lemon, Orange and Lime)plants will appreciate a winter feed and an occasional drink.
  6. You can sow onion seed in an indoor propagator for planting out in April.
  7. Pot on autumn-sown sweet peas and place on a sunny windowsill. If you didn’t start any then no problem! Sweet peas seeds can be sown early this month.
  8. On rare sunny days, open cold frames and greenhouse windows. This will help to keep the plants tough enough to handle those very cold days still to come. Just remember to close them again before dark!
  9. Some seeds such as chilli and aubergine are slow growers, so order them this month for an early start. Aubergine F1 Pinstripe is dwarf an so ideal for a patio pot, producing delicious and attractive purple/cream striped fruits.
  10. Check out your seed packets.If they have been kept in dry cool conditions they should be ok. A simple test is to take your seeds and put them in a container of water. Let them sit for about 15 minutes. Then if the seeds sink, they are still viable; if they float, they most likely will not sprout.Seeds can last for many years but some for a very short period. If packets are unopened you have a better chance but if unsure of germination think of the time you might waste in confirming a negative result.

Fresh air, natural light and  movement can be invigorating for our bodIes. Combine this with the connection to nature, growing healthy food, and making your outdoor space attractive and inviting, and you’ve got the perfect ingredients for feeling strong, balanced, and mindful, which will help us through the last month of winter and set us up for Spring.

December Gardening

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Happy Christmas every one and a Fruitful New Year

Just a few thoughts for now, what you could  or might do.

  1. Feed the birds and don’t forget they like to drink.
  2. Get all those leaves off your lawns the grass will suffer underneath.
  3. Clean your tools
  4. Finish planting your bulbs, they don’t do very well in brown bags!
  5. Decide now and make a list of any seeds you would like to grow.

I think this enough, remember imitate our garden at rest and do the same. Looking at books filled with beautiful plants and gardens will inspire you. The best and nicest Irish book of course is Jimi Blake’s book “A Beautiful Obsession”. Many of the photos were taken by Bernard van Giessen who has also photographed Mornington Garden.One  more thing, Fumbally Christmas Market on Sunday 15,  Green Vegetable Seeds, will be there with the best organic seeds you can get.

Workshops

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How to prepare for the winter         

with  Klaus Laitenberger                 21 September 2019

How to prepare for the winter – green manure, seaweed, covering with plastic etc.  Growing winter crops – garlic, broad beans and winter salads. Using your tunnel or greenhouse in winter. Planning for next year.
Ants in the Garden

Up coming May Workshops

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Natural Pest and Disease Management

Saturday May 25 No need ever to use Chemicals.

10am-4pm

Ingrid Foley

 Your health starts in the garden and Ingrid will show you how to avoid toxic and dangerous chemicals. She will demonstrate how to keep your garden healthy and protect your plants from pests and diseases with an emphasis on prevention! Learn how to deal with problems from slugs to wireworms, from blight to other fungal diseases. Get advice and help on how to prevent problems. All other mechanical and biological controls will be explored and various antifungal and antibacterial teas, brews and sprays will be introduced. The course we believe all gardeners need to do, but often shy away from.

Art in the Garden Botanical Plaster Casting

25 May  2018

10am – 4pm

You can book here.

Dee Crofts will help you capture flowers and foliage in plaster by creating your own “fossils” from Mornington Garden. Using potters clay to make your mould and plaster of paris to create a unique art piece.

May

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The best and worst thing about gardening is that time does not stand still, and I suppose neither do we.Gardening is about life and the desire to live.

Really enjoy every day of May as the country side and our gardens push up new growth, the leaves on the trees, so fresh and vibrant, the Cherry, Apple blossom booming, drink in the fresh air which we are now beginning to realise we cannot take for granted. 

The combination of our non toxic gardening will have a benefit , encouraging bio-diversity where it is difficult to exist in other places,  such a natural thing in our gardens, on our balconies where ever we can encourage flora and fauna to thrive.

May Day was born from the industrial struggle for an eight-hour day.For a gardener as the days stretch we have the opportunity to extend our time in the garden — no May Day for us, but then is it work?

May  the beginning of summer, the seeds were sown in spring, new life really starts to be seen in the garden.The apple trees are in full bloom bearing fruit in the autumn, completing their cycles of life, with the production of seed to continue on.

The soil is beginning to warm up as the days grow longer and generally in most parts of the country around the 20 May we can start planting out our more delicate plants without the worry of frost.The protection we gave the soil  in the autumn and late winter will now begin to pay dividends, without good soil we are lost.

I suppose the best indicator that things are happening is the growth of weeds, and  so keep hoeing. Weeds are flowers growing in the wrong place, so you choose, as dandelions are still one of the best sources of early pollen for our precious bees.

For me May brings back many very happy memories of my Holy Communion picnic on the shores of Lough Corrib with the Hawthorn in full bloom. Enjoy.

1 Plant up your tomatoes into the best possible compost, plant them deep.

2 Early flowering shrubs when finished, such as  Forsythia, now is the time to prune as they will produce their flowers again on this years growth.

3 Mow your lawn often keep short and allow the grass to stay there helping to feed the soil.

4.Dead head Tulips and Narcissi ( daffodils) as they finish, allow the leaves to die back naturally, as they are feeding the bulbs for next year, this can take 6 weeks 9 mid June).

5 Keep a good eye out for slugs and snails, they are most active int the evenings. Set up beer    traps for them, hoeing in the morning also helps to reduce baby slugs.

Get those summer containers Hanging now

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Next Sunday 28 April I will be getting my summer pots and baskets ready for the new season of SUMMER

This will be a morning of plant selection and planting so bring along your Favourite pot ,container basket and let’s get going.

We will start at 11 with a cup of coffee and now that the nettles are still young some nice teas.

You can book on line or contact me on 087 2256365  look forward to meeting you

Top 5 Gardening Tips for March

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Top 5 tips for March

Fleece covering pelargoniums

1.  Pot on seeds now ready, those with true leaves about two whorls high into a potting mix which will give them nourishment.Such as found in John Inns no 2 Also lots more seeds to be sown now, check your existing seed packets and sow what you want and can.

2. Divide clumps of Galanthus sub. ( snowdrops) and place in an area where you wished they were and also will not be disturbed when dormant.You can still divide clumps of perennials and most importantly cut back grasses before they really take off with growth which would make it extremely  difficult later on.

3. Keep hoeing paths and beds with an Osslating Hoe ( I have some here for sale) my favorite  tool .By doing this you are preventing weed development, also churning slug eggs to the surface making a delicious meal for birds. Also check to see if you have frog spawn in buckets ponds etc and treasure it. Frogs are very  beneficial in a garden.

4.Cut grass if dry. If the ground is wet wait as a heavy lawn mower will form ruts and compaction. If you have a lawn with obvious edges ( unlike mine ) consider a robot lawn mower lovely and light.

5.Keep an eye on the weather,protect vunerable plants with fleece or straw, especially  tree ferns. Potted plants group together and  shelter. Also it can be drier than you realise so check potted plants for watering, even though they don’t need much water, growth is about to begin so demand will increase.

5 Things to do in February

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5 things to do in February

1. Cut back ornamental grasses  such as Stipa gigantia, Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’  Grasses such as Stipa tenuissima – Pony Tail grass, Stipa arundinacea better to pull your fingers through and remove spent fronds.Better to wait until the soil warms up before dividing clumps of grasses and there is better new growth.

2.Prune apple and pear trees whilst they’re still dormant. Leave plum , cherry  and apricot trees until the early summer as pruning these fruit trees now will make them susceptible to Silver Leaf disease.As soon as they start to open their leaves, good time to prune as their sap is now beginning to rise.

3  Plant bear rooted trees and roses .I prefer to plant my roses when in flower so that I am sure I have what I want – labels can get mixed up.Using a Mycorrhizal fungi can add dividends creating that bridge between root and soil.

4 Check out all the fabulous scented shrubs now such as Daphne, Viburnum x bodnantense, Witch Hazel – Hamamelis x intermedia and Wintersweet Chimonanthus praecox.

If you have these shrubs already once  they have finished flowering ,carry out a light pruning.

5 As the weather has been very mild,the soil is not too cold — well here in Dalkey. If you haven’t mulched do so immediately. You can use piles of leaves. shredded compost, manure, and compost such as Enrich.This acts like a blanket, surpasses weeds, protects the soil structure and also if we have a drought again next summer you will be glad you have done this, as it will act as a water retentive sponge in your soil.

Now the cold has arrived, how quickly we had forgotten how it can feel. Plants like tree ferns are not totally hardy so invest in some horticultural fleece and wrap them, making sure the wrappings are secure and will not blow off.

As the cold is necessary for lots of plants and seeds to develop  be glad it has arrived. Wrap up, and enjoy the light – welcome to Spring 2019 and  the the rebirth of the garden.

February 2019

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5 things to do in February

1. Cut back orHelleborous namental grasses  such as Stipa gigantia, Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’  Grasses such as Stipa tenuissima – Pony Tail grass, Stipa arundinacea better to pull your fingers through and remove spent fronds.Better to wait until the soil warms up before dividing clumps of grasses and there is better new growth.

2.Prune apple  and pear trees whilst they’re still dormant. Leave plum , cherry and apricot trees until the early summer as pruning these fruit trees now will make them susceptible to Silver Leaf disease.As soon as they start to open their leaves, good time to prune as their sap is now beginning to rise.

3  Plant bear rooted trees and roses .I prefer to plant my roses when in flower so that I am sure I have what I want – labels can get mixed up.Planting bear rooted trees often allows you get great value, also good root /soil connection. Using a Mycorrhizal fungi can also add dividens creating that bridge between root and soil.

4 Check out all the fabulous scented shrubs now such as Daphne, Viburnum x bodnantense, Witch Hazel – Hamamelis x intermedia and Wintersweet Chimonanthus praecox.

If you have these shrubs already once  they have finished flowering ,carry out a light pruning.

5 As the weather has been very mild,the soil is not too cold — well here in Dalkey. If you haven’t mulched do so immediately. You can use piles of leaves. shredded compost, manure, and compost such as Enrich.This acts like a blanket, surpasses weeds, protects the soil structure and also if we have a drought again next summer you will be glad you have done this, as it will act as a water retentive sponge in your soil.

Fleece covering pelargoniumsAt the moment growth is very much ahead of itself, I would advise not to be complacent, remember St Patricks day last year  —   snow.

There is lots more to do but I don’t want to frighten you. It is really worth your while to hoe weeds now on paths and hand weed between your bulbs.One more thing, if you are lucky enough to have clumps of snow drops , you can lift some and replant into positions where you would like to enjoy them in the future.My favourite hoe is the Swiss Osslating one, I have some in stock, if you are looking for one.

Planning, being prepared to take advantage of the weather, knowing what to plant and where and  when you visit a garden centre- a listwill help you to create a garden which will be both pleasing ,beautiful and within your budget.Patrica  Tyrrell is coming to Dalkey Garden School on Saturday 9 February for a day long  Workshop on Plant driven Garden Design. This is nearly booked out so if    you wish to participate reserve your place now Plant Driven Design  

Gardening Classes are also starting now and the next 6 week course will commence on Tuesday 26 /Thursday 28 March with Easter in the middle.

Saturday, March 4. I will be holding a morning workshop on Willow Weaving, such a beautiful material to make garden supports with and more.This is always a popular morning.

Later on in March 23  Klaus Leitenberger will be here, all  the way from North Leitrim. Klaus is the author of several Vegetable Gardening Books based on his experience of growing here in Ireland. This unique opportunity to have such an expert share his knowledge. Vegetable Gardening and Planning  Numbers are limited early booking is recommended.

Gardening Classes

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Saturday 26 January.

GI Cooking for Weight Loss and Learn how to Plant your own Veg boxes 10 – 4 pm  with Cathy Soroghan Nutrition and Fitness Training – ‘Women on the run’ and Annmarie Bowring

Sowing SeedsGardening opens up and awakeners an awareness to our environment, the life and beauty it holds for us.

Growing our own food, harvesting our own flowers, sounds of life,  swish of plants, what more could we need!

A healthy vibrant gardens add so much to us, here in Dalkey Garden School we inspire you to be the best you can, to enjoy and see what is all around us.What we do, how we garden does matter.

Classes are open to alland those who want to do more. Enjoyment and sharing  are key and we will be starting on with Tuesday 29 or Thursday 31st January 10 – 1pm.