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Waiting for Spring
2 April 2021 The rest of the country is basking in sunshine while this valley is shrouded in a sea mist. Coupled with a biting east wind it is not a day for outdoor gardening and it is the kind of weather when I particularly miss having a greenhouse or polytunnel to work in. For…
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Water Features
6 March 2021 I was so pleased with the success of my single water lily last year that I did not realise that there was a serious design flaw in my system. In my memory frosts were rare during my childhood in Ireland and West Cork was particularly famous for its mild climate. Perhaps my…
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Winter’s Relentless Grip
18 February 2021 This winter I have discovered that the ultimate in extreme gardening is no gardening at all. Despite the fact that most nights I am woken by the wind and rain pounding the house I am always optimistic that the next day will be fine. So far, my optimism has been misplaced. In…
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The Aftermath of Storm Francis
28 August 2020 I finally managed to visit one of the mature gardens on the West Cork Garden Trail shortly after storm Francis moved away from this area. Started thirty-one years ago by Eugene and Hazel Wiseman, Carraig Abhainn is hidden behind some houses in Durrus and is approached by a narrow lane which gives…
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Storms Ellen and Francis: A Gardeners Nightmare
Autumn has arrived with a bang. With two bangs actually – in the shape of storms Ellen and Francis both rated orange and both bringing a deluge of rain. With the usual contradictions in this garden, much of it has been decimated by the wind and salt while some areas and plants seem unharmed.…
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The drought continues
10 June 2020 The onset of the Covid-19 restrictions meant that I was unable to shore up a hole in the eaves just above my kitchen door. It was not long before a starling took advantage of this – she and her partner are now feeding a very noisy bunch of chicks. I am in…
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Unseasonable weather
10 May 2020 Cat’s ears creeping through the bench by the garage. Yesterday I put away all of my winter clothes and hauled out my summer gear. Today the temperature is creeping up to eight degrees at ten in the morning and that is without allowing for the windchill factor. There is a strong, blustery,…
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Blossoms for a challenging environment
13 April 2020 At the moment the rough land surrounding the house is ablaze with two main colours. The vivid yellow of the gorse and the lovely white flowers of the Blackthorn (Prunus Spinosa). The former appears to flower all year round here and although it dies back in the occasional winter, it seems unperturbed…
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All changed, changed utterly
Saturday, 4 April 2020 Roaringwater Bay, the tiny dot just above the top island on the left is the famous Fastnet lighthouse W.B. Yeats wrote the famous lines – see blog title – in his poem Easter 1916 and they seem apt at the moment. It is hard to comprehend the changes that have taken…