-
Some Good News (Despite the Weather)
These Glistening Inkcap appear in the same place on the drive at least five times a year. They often arrive overnight and lose their lovely colour by the end of the next day. They were lucky this time to catch just a moment of sunshine in weeks of stormy weather although the powdery veil […]
-
Winter Visitors
I am not a photographer, but sometimes I have a piece of luck and this was one of these occasions. This little blue tit was resting just two feet from where I was walking and did not stir when I took the photograph. Despite being next to the path it was just ten feet from […]
-
No End to Winter
After weeks of storms, torrential rain and thunder and lightning, it is hard to imagine ever gardening again. Going out to walk the dogs, feed the birds and search for even one sign of hope in the garden all require energy and tenacity – not to mention a mountain of clothes. The dogs quickly vote […]
-
Some Light in Sight
31 December 2022 Each year I have been delighted to see my Camellia Reticulata ‘Inspiration’ start to flower in early December. It usually continues to flower until May. Sadly, it was blown down in a gale in 2022. Luckily it has started growing from the base of the tree and I have high hopes for […]
-
Halloween is on the Way
The garden is now thirteen years old. The view in the background gives you an idea of the landscape in which it was developed – an open rocky hillside with small patches of flat deep, acidic soil. Many of the plants have been much more successful than I could have imagined, so a major overhaul […]
-
Nature’s Way
22 July At this time of the year the air around these two willow trees is humming with the sound of thousands of swarming wasps. They are attracted to a translucent sticky substance called honeydew which also drops onto the leaves of the hydrangea and hawthorn trees. This honeydew is created by large willow bark […]
-
A Long Hot Summer
For a number of reasons I am unlikely to pose a threat to the local organic vegetable growers. I have been happily having a medley of young vegetables for my evening meal only to discover that my ’baby spinach’ is actually pak choi. Even worse I have no idea where the spinach has gone. I […]
-
Midsummer
Having decided to take a rest from new projects I have immediately started another one! This area is under some pine trees and I have not had much success in growing anything so close to them. However, the space is now almost totally protected from the winds by a maturing hedgerow and shrubs, so I […]
-
A Late Christmas Present
Great excitement as I finally got my Christmas present to myself and had it assembled in the copse. It was made by the very talented Nick Iain who has a stall full of lovely plants and pots in Skibbereen market. It adds a bit of dignity to the garden at a time when the wildflowers […]
-
Rejuvenation
The mating season for foxes is supposed to end in February, but there is no sign of this here. My sleep is still interrupted on a regular basis by a cacophony of sounds, including screeching foxes and an apoplectic Millie (my collie terrier cross), who sees it as her duty to ‘raise the dead’ at […]