About Mominthegarden

I'm an American enjoying life in Ireland. I live in the country with my family. It is so beautiful here! I've been creating our garden from "scratch" and having fun doing it! I blog about my gardening adventures, and a bit about Ireland, too.

My “flowers from the garden” Wreath

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Flowers from the garden Wreath

It has become rather popular on Thursdays to post pictures from the past on facebook and refer to “Throw back Thursday” on the post. Sure, when isn’t it fun to look through old photos? I found myself doing that today, and decided to join the Throw back Thursday movement and post about a wreath I made last summer.

My lavender

I have to say that I am a rather practical gal most of the time. If it is possible to recycle or reuse something I will try to do so. That includes what I grow in the garden! I like growing flowers which can be dried. I love my lavender for this reason! I’ve learned how to make lavender wands, and last year I made a lavender wreath for the first time. (of course I posted about it! https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/lavender-wands-my-first-lavender-wreath/ ).

Roses & hydrangea

Roses and Lavender from the garden

I have some lovely old fashioned roses that are beautifully scented. I dry them in my clothes closet and it smells so lovely every time I open the door!

Roses from my garden

lavender, roses, and hydrangea

The wreath is easy to make. I use Spanish Moss as filler between the smaller flowers. The hydrangea comes from my friend Susan’s garden. I have planted some hydrangea plants though, so I am hoping I’ll be able to use them (eventually)!

Susan’s blue hydrangea

Look at that blue! I know in my yard they grow pink, and I’m happy enough with that. I just might visit Susan around July though, and see how her blooms are doing! 🙂

My pink hydrangea

Annabelle hydrangea

The Annabelle hydrangea is the next plant I’m going to try growing. It is simply majestic!

Flowers from the garden Wreath

At the top-right of the wreath is some dried allium. I’ve used allium before, but only after spray painting it silver for a Christmas arrangement. So using it plain was something new for me. I like the different texture it gives the wreath.

Allium from my garden

I’ve had the wreath hanging in my kitchen throughout most of the year. It is getting time to replace some of the flowers, though, as they’ve lost their vibrant colors. That is O.K. as I like to keep things looking fresh!

Throw back Thursdays – I think I like that theme!

Happy Thursday!
Dana

Patience in growing Asparagus pays off

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Asparagus

“The proof is in the pudding” is what springs to mind when talking about our asparagus! You have to taste it to know just how delicious it is. For those who don’t know, asparagus isn’t harvested the first year planted. That first year you have to just watch as the plant grows (and grows and grows). Only in the fall do you cut down the plants (fronds) and put them in the compost. I posted about planting asparagus here: https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/preparing-the-asparagus-bed-for-winter/

the second year of asparagus planted from crowns

This year, most of the asparagus is a nice size: not too thick and not too skinny! We haven’t had an overabundance of it this year. I’ve been able to harvest a small bunch at a time.

Some asparagus to add into dishes

See? There is just enough here to add into a pasta dish! But the taste of it makes it worthwhile. Cooking it is so easy: steam for a few minutes, or bake in the oven for a few minutes (high heat). Just don’t over cook! 🙂 When preparing them, I snap off the bottoms instead of cutting them. It’ll just naturally snap at the end of the tough part. It’s hard to know where that point is if you cut them.

Asparagus

Aasparagus bed May 6th

I have a few that need to be cut in the bed at the moment. They are at what should be their maximum height. You cut them just below the surface of the soil. There are still a few that are quite thin, that I’ve let go to seed. They should be thicker next year. Turns out that slugs also enjoy asparagus. I’ve been visiting the bed in the evening to pick off the little critters. yuck!

View of the fruit garden standing at the asparagus bed

View of the fruit garden standing near the asparagus bed

The asparagus bed is on the left, while we have two beds of strawberries on the right. Beyond them is a bed of garlic, then raspberries. Blueberries fill a bed across from the raspberries (Bramley apple tree in between them). Everything is looking good! I have started the very slow process of collecting stones for the pathway between the beds. I did this two years ago for our vegetable beds in the far part of the yard. (of course I posted about it! https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2012/03/25/a-stone-pathway-between-raised-vegetable-beds/ ) I’ve really gotten fed up with how messy the paths always looked here. It’ll be a slow process, but I’m sure will be worth it in the end.

View of fruit garden standing at raspberry bed

View of fruit garden standing near raspberry bed

It has been raining the past few days, so when the sun came up this morning I made sure to snap a picture of the garden. The sun makes everything more beautiful!

Strawberry flower May 6th

The strawberry plants look really pretty. It’s nice to see everything doing so well! What do you think, will you give growing asparagus a try?

Here’s to patience, and payoff!
Dana

A last look at the garden in April

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Bramley Cooking Apple tree

Today is the last day in April, and I just wanted to show you some of what has been growing in the garden this spring. I really think it is picture worthy. Of course, I might be a little biased. 🙂 The picture above is of our Bramley (cooking) apple tree. The blossoms are so pretty! My husband is responsible for pruning the apple trees every winter and I think he’s been doing a nice job. We moved our other (eating) apple tree this winter, so it doesn’t have as many blossoms just yet.

Bramley cooking apple tree blossom

New to this part of the garden are some supports for peas. My friend Susan gave me some useful Hazel sticks which my husband used to make tee-pee like structures. He then wrapped them in chicken wire. The peas climbed the wire quite happily last year, I just didn’t like how it looked in a straight line. I already like this look much better, even before the peas get going! The peas were planted this week.

Newly built supports for our peas using hazel and chicken wire.

Strawberry beds

Here’s a little peek at my strawberry beds. I’ve weeded them a couple of times this spring! They are coming along really well. Last year was an amazing year for strawberries. I have my fingers crossed that this summer will be as good! At the far end of the garden, closest to the red playhouse, we have raspberries growing. They look good this year. This is one fruit that has not thrived for us (yet). This year at least looks promising!

Mallow

On to flowers! This beautiful mallow plant was courtesy of a bird. Well, at least I didn’t plant it. The color is a lovely plum. We had to stake it as we live in a very, very windy area. Nevertheless, it is doing quite well!

Mallow

Ditch Wall Garden

This garden is affectionately called the “ditch wall garden” as I uncovered a ditch wall while creating this garden. I wrote about it here: https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/ivy-ivy-everywhere-finding-a-lovely-little-rock-ditch-wall-under-the-ivy/ . The current star of the garden is this primrose. It has really taken off since I planted it last year (given to me from a friend’s garden).

Primrose

Also adding to this little garden is this dark euphorbia. My friend Susan visited me yesterday and she loved the color combination of the euphorbia and my Freeman tulips. 🙂

Freeman tulips and a dark euphorbia

I know I’ve already posted about my tulips, but I had to add a few more pictures of them. They have done so well this spring!

White tulip

This white tulip is new to me this year. I like it, I just didn’t order enough of it!

White tulip close-up

I have a tulip correction, too. I mistakenly called my Foxtrot tulips “Innuendo” tulips. Yikes! The REAL Innuendo tulips are these:

Proper Innuendo Tulips

While the Foxtrot tulips are these:

Foxtrot tulips

How did I mix them up???

My favorites: Ballerina tulips

But without a doubt, my favorite tulips this year are my Ballerina tulips. I have loved every minute of them! The last flower picture is of some flowers that were in a flower pot from last year. I did nothing with the container over the winter. It sat at my back door, completely neglected. So it is funny to be rewarded with these lovely Calendula flowers after so much neglect!

Calendula flowers in a flowerpot

April was quite good to us, don’t you think? I hope your spring is as lovely for you!
Dana

Brian Boru 1000 year memorial in Louth Village

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Brian Boru bagpipers lead the funeral procession

Bagpipers lead the Brian Boru funeral procession re-enactment in Louth Village

Ireland is a beautiful country with a colorful history. There are signs of old and new all around us. Our village is a great example as we have the ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey dating back to 1312 ( https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/historic-st-marys-abbey-and-st-mochtas-house-in-our-own-little-village/ ) while our church was just rebuilt in 2004.

Brian Boru supporter

My youngest daughter recently brought home a note from school informing us that there would be a re-enactment marking the 1000 year anniversary of a famous funeral procession in our little village. 1000 years??? That is amazing.

The horse and carriage transporting the remains of Brian Boru from the Battle of Clontarf to the Cathedral in Armagh

Encouraged by the Patrick Kavanagh Centre in Inniskeen, our primary school children and local villagers participated in a re-enactment of the funeral procession. It was such a fun way for the kids (and adults) to keep the history alive! A few of the children read out speeches to inform the locals what would have taken place back in 1014.

Our school readers

The history of Ireland before Brian Boru is equally as important. Ireland had been a land of strife for centuries; the main culprits being invading Norseman and Irish Celtic Chieftains. Simply stated, the Vikings were not wanted in Ireland.

Carriage carrying the body of Brian Boru from the Battle of Clontarf to the Cathedral of Armagh

While Brian Boru, who is from Killaloe, County Clare, was king of north Munster he defeated the Vikings of Limerick and Waterford. With this he became the king of all of Munster. Those same Vikings of Waterford and Limerick supported him in battle and with that he gained control of Connacht, Leinster, and Meath. The title of High King of Ireland followed his victorious “meeting” with Mael Sechnaill II who himself had taken control of the Vikings of Dublin. Brian Boru had proved himself to be the strongest King in Ireland.

A Brian Boru supporter

The kings of northern Leinster and the Vikings of Dublin wanted their freedom, though. They were the organizers of the Battle of Clontarf in April 1014, even bringing in 2,000 Vikings from overseas. At this stage Brian was an old man. Some say he was in his 70s, other claim he was in his 80s. Either way, he most likely didn’t actively participate in the battle.

Brian Boru supporter (from Howth). His sign says in Irish: Brian Boru Welcome to Louth

At the end of the very bloody day Brian’s army lost 4,000 men, while the opposition lost 6,000 men. A victory for Brian.

Supporters of Brian Boru following the carriage with Brian Boru’s remains from Clontarf to the Cathedral in Armagh

A full victory it was not, though. Brian’s oldest son had been killed in battle. Brian, himself, had been killed after the battle while praying in his tent. His other sons were not strong enough to maintain a stronghold of their kingdom.

Local musicians in the procession (a Badhran drum)

Local musicians in the procession (a Bodhran drum)

Ironically, following the Battle of Clontarf there was a period of relative peace. The Celtic Chieftains and Vikings lived together with a common goal of integration, co-operation and commerce. Thankfully, the battle was not all for naught.

My oldest daughter and I at the re-enactment

Our little village did a super job with bringing the story of Brian Boru to life! It was wonderful how many people made an effort to dress in costume and support the initiative of keeping history alive!

Brian Boru supporters

Brian Boru Funeral Procession from Louth Village to Inniskeen re-enactment

It was a long walk to the next village (about 5 miles). We were lucky to have the weather on our side. What a glorious day it was!

When we arrived in Inniskeen there was a blacksmith demonstration. I didn’t stay long enough to see it finished, but the blacksmith made a crown of commemoration for Brian Boru. I must stop over to the Patrick Kavanagh Centre to have a look at it!

Blacksmith demonstration. I love the huge bellow!

In the village of Inniskeen

There was also tea and sandwiches for the weary funeral procession participants! It was truly a lovely experience for one and all. I am so glad that so many people took the time and effort to make this such a wonderful experience. Here’s to our local historians who are so important to us!

Dana

Visiting Dorothy Clive Gardens in Staffordshire, England

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Dorothy Clive Gardens Visitor’s map

Two of my children are Irish dancers, and for the past year they have been working really hard towards the goal of dancing at the World Championships in London. Those championships were last week and dance they did! It was a wonderful experience for all of us, and their teams danced really well (spectacular, really!). I know I mentioned it before, but proud mama moment here: My sons’ team is 1st in the World for under 16 mixed ceili, and my daughter’s team is 3rd in the world for the Under 11 mixed ceili!

My son & daughter holding their Irish dancing teams’ globe trophies! 1st & 3rd place

As part of our “going to London” family vacation experience we took time to drive through some beautiful English countryside. It was so lovely! It really is a simply enjoyable experience seeing the different style country houses and gardens. The brick houses are so pretty, and just that bit different than what we would see in the Irish countryside. Our first day we stayed at Slater’s Country Inn in Newcastle, Staffordshire which was lovely and cozy http://www.slaterscountryinn.co.uk/ and fit the bill perfectly for us. The restaurant provided delicious traditional English food with a personal touch. Best of all, it was just up the road from the Dorothy Clive Gardens which is where we were heading the next day.

Slaters Country Inn Newcastle, Staffordshire, England

Slater’s Country Inn in Newcastle, Staffordshire, England

I was very lucky. The weather was mild and sunny. I’m not sure how amiable my kids would have been if we’d brought them to gardens in the rain! But given the day that was in it, they happily enjoyed going around the garden (and playing a bit of chase). There were some visitors there who I’m sure would have preferred them to walk quietly. But sometimes you just have to give a little.

Pond at entrance to the gardens

The gardens! Dorothy Clive Gardens are in Staffordshire ( http://dorothyclivegarden.co.uk/ ) . The entrance fee was 6 pounds 75 cents per adult and 2 pounds per child which I found to be a reasonable price. There are 12 acres of gardens to roam through. I loved so much about it! For starters, I like the rustic fencing and beech hedges of the entrance.

Entrance into the gardens

Plant supports

Here are some natural and rustic looking plant supports. I like how this blends in with the garden. This actually is in the formal part of the gardens. One section is now hosting tulips and hyacinth.

Tulip walkway

Tulip garden

The tulips were spectacular! They definitely made me want to plant MANY more tulips in my garden!

Tulip garden

I’m getting ahead of myself here! Before we even reached the tulips, as we were walking up the hill, we could smell the sweet smell of hyacinth. They lined both sides of the walkway and were lovely to see.

Hyacinth

More of the formal gardens

There were a few benches that the pathways lead to. Here is one that I really liked:

Pathway to a rest-stop! Imagine the plants that will shade that bench! The matching obelisk are lovely, too.

Another part of the formal garden included a beautiful Laburnum arch. It is at it’s best (in bloom) for about two weeks at the end of May. I thought it looked quite pretty even now. Those allium are going to be fabulous when they bloom all around the arch!

Dorothy Clive Gardens (Laburnum Arch)

Archway

Leaving the perfectly manicured section of the garden, we entered the woodlands. Such a completely different feel to the garden, very relaxed and “messy” yet so beautiful in a completely different way.

Walking among the rhododendron

I had a harder time capturing the overall feel to the woodlands, than of individual flowers. But take my word for it, please, that it was beautiful!

Red rhododendron

Pink rhododendron

Rhododendron and azalea are growing throughout the entire garden! Yeah, so I tried to get a shot of every color… I hope this isn’t too much rhododendron for you!

Light pink rhododendron

pink stripe rhododendron

A bench to sit and enjoy the view

White rhododendron

Woodlands walk

Rhododendron weren’t the only plants, though. There were lots of camellia – more than 50 varieties. This is down from the 125 varieties which were planted during the 1970’s! Harsh weather has brought the number down to what it is today. They were still beautiful even as they near the end of their blooming season.

My favorite Camellia (we called it the star camellia)

Camellias

Light pink camellia

pink camellia

Magnolia

There were plenty of paths to choose from. We wandered for quite a while. If you keep going up, these are the views you’ll see:

View from the very top of the gardens

We really did enjoy our time in the gardens. After making our way down the hill, we came upon the more kid focused section. They had an amazing Insect Hotel!

Insect Hotel

The kids were enticed to try some of the edible garden!

Edible garden

There was a small cafe & gift shop (of course!) too. I was so glad we had visited this garden. It was a lovely day out for our family.

I hope you have enjoyed my garden tour, too!
Dana

grape hyacinth

Growing garlic is easy peasy!

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Organic Cristo Garlic (2013)

If you know me, you’ll know that I try to provide healthy food for my family. While it was available to us, we were a part of an Organic Food Co-op during our years of living in Central New York. It was wonderful to get fresh, local, organic produce! I do try to buy organic when possible (and not outrageously expensive). My garden is one way I can provide fresh, healthy food for us. I have to admit that I also try to encourage those around me to make healthy choices and choose organic when possible! Along those lines, one item that I would encourage you to grow is garlic. Do you know where your garlic comes from??? All I am going to say is that the healthiest garlic is sourced locally, and organically. The best part is that garlic is very, very easy to grow!

Garlic in February in very stony soil

Like my stony soil? There is a never ending supply of tiny stones in our soil! Doesn’t seem to bother the vegetables, thankfully. … Back to the topic of Garlic! This year I planted my garlic in November. I first posted about it here: https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/fall-plantings-of-green-manure-its-just-rye-organic-vallelado-garlic/ The variety I received from a very helpful organic center called Fruit Hill Farm in Cork http://www.fruithillfarm.com/ was Vallelado, which is good for our Irish weather.

Organic Vallelado Garlic in February 2014

It was almost daily that I’d wander into the garden to see if the garlic was growing. I wasn’t quite convinced it would grow in such cold weather! But grow it did. Actually, I learned that garlic needs 6 weeks of cold weather (below 10 degrees Celsius or 50 degrees Fahrenheit) for the bulb to split into individual cloves. Cold is good! And some of you might be laughing and thinking “that isn’t cold”!

Garlic in March

Here is the lowdown on growing garlic:

Source your garlic from an organic center near you. They should have varieties suited to your climate.
Garlic needs full sun and well drained soil. It does best with soil that has compost worked in.
Space the cloves at least six inches apart. Place the cloves in the soil 3-4 cm (1 & 1/2 inches) below the surface with the pointy end facing up.
Keep the garlic moist until about a month before harvesting.
Weed regularly. Garlic like mulch. Mulch will keep the weeds down and is especially helpful in colder climates.
Harvest when the stems go yellow. Waiting for the stems to fall is too late! It’s better to have dry bulbs at that stage, hence the stepping back from watering those last few weeks. Dig gently around the bulb, shaking off any excess soil.
Keep the stems on to help keep the garlic fresh. These can be braided, too, to hang the garlic in an open airy place. Dry outdoors if the weather is good, or inside if weather is wet.

According to Anne Gibson http://themicrogardener.com/5-step-guide-to-growing-gorgeous-garlic/ garlic shouldn’t be grown near peas or beans. Do any of you have experience with that??? On the flip side (companion planting), as they are part of the Allium family they do well with raspberries, beetroot, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, & roses.

Garlic in March

Organic Vallelado Garlic in April

The garlic has given some life to the garden over the winter, which is so nice to see. I know I haven’t harvested yet, but based on everything so far I would definitely plant in November again and keep it as my winter crop.

Organic Vallelado Garlic in April

Easy, right? If you don’t grow it already, I do hope you’ll give it a try! Or the next best thing would be to buy from your local organic farmer 🙂

Here’s to living a healthy lifestyle!
Dana

Easter Blessings! and perfect weather for tulips.

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Ballerina Tulips

“Happy Easter!” says she who is going to pop back into blog land with no fan-fare or hoopla, but a simple blog post filled with pictures of my tulips. 🙂 I’ve missed posting, and visiting blogs and all that goes on in the virtual world. I had a wee break, but I’m back now. I have so much to show you from my garden and travels!

Ballerina Tulips

I’ve gone a little crazy with pictures of my tulips this year. We live in an exposed area that is surrounded by fields on three sides. There is always wind, even on a calm day! So normally my tulips, actually all of my flowers, get quite a beating. It is rather unusual to see all of my tulips standing and their blooms intact!

Ballerina Tulips

We were in London this past week for the Irish Dancing World Championships (yay for my kids’ teams placing first and third!!!). Ahem, trying to stay focused here after a very fun filled Irish dancing week… During our time away, the tulips not only came up but filled out perfectly. The weather here must have been as nice as it was in London!

Ballerina Tulips & (rather dry) fields

I love tulips. 🙂 O.K., I love all flowers.

Innuendo Tulips

These Innuendo tulips are supposed to be a more solid pink color on the inside, and white on the outside. I only know what they are because I marked it in my book, because they sure don’t look like the picture on the bulb bag! I think they are lovely all the same.

Innuendo Tulips

Group shots of all of the tulips are harder to get just right. I prefer the individual close-ups. But because all of them were still standing and looking so darn good I had to capture them all!

Innuendo Tulips

Blueberry Ripple Tulips

Blueberry Ripple Tulips – isn’t that the best name? Again with these tulips the color is not a match for the lovely picture on the bulb bag – mine are more burgundy-ish instead of true purple. I’m O.K. with that.

Tulips group photo (in the rose garden)

If I were to be critical of this garden, I would have to say that color cohesion is lacking. My problem is that I love all o the different colors and styles of tulips! I would like to try and bring in a deep pink color throughout this garden instead of in a group. I’ll be thinking about that until the fall!

Deep pink tulips

Deep pink/purple like these tulips! That would also tie the two gardens together. Oh the possibilities…

Deep pink tulips with Mr. Fokker Anemone

We moved into our house four years ago. My husband bought these tulips for me on a trip to Holland shortly after we moved in. They were one of the first bulbs we planted. I love little thoughtful things like that. He even picked pink for me! The Erysimum bowles’s mauve in the back on the right goes really well with them too, don’t you think? Mr. Fokker Anemone are probably going to be the one plant throughout my entire yard because it is just so easy and pretty!

Two front gardens

Here’s a look at the two front gardens with all of the tulips. I still can’t believe how well all of the tulips have done this season!

mystery tulip

This last tulip is blooming where I planted Double Late Mount Tacoma tulips, but it certainly doesn’t look like that variety. I’ll have to see as it comes into full bloom.

Dorothy Clive Gardens, England

This last picture is from a garden we visited while en-route to London last week. The Dorothy Clive Gardens were simply lovely, and well worth a visit. I will definitely share the tons of pictures I took there in another post!

Happy Easter to my friends and family and fellow bloggers! Here is to new beginnings!
Dana

Playful Roadside Artwork inspired by Patrick Kavanagh

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Playful Artwork at the Carrickmacross Bypass on the N2

Ireland has quite a few roadside sculptures throughout the country. I love seeing them and how they relate to the locality. I pass this very fun sculpture about eight times a week. It is along the N2 Dublin to Derry road, at the Carrickmacross bypass. It is easy to see, especially since the people are on stilts!

The work was commissioned by the Monaghan County Council. This location is very near Inniskeen which is the homeplace of the famous and well respected poet Patrick Kavanagh (1904-1967). The inspiration for the sculpture comes from a line in one of his poems “Come Dance with Kitty Stobling” which reads: Cavorting on mile-high stilts”. There is a wonderful website about the life and works of Patrick Kavanagh. I’d recommend a visit! https://www.tcd.ie/English/patrickkavanagh/comedancewithkittystobling.html

Inspired by Patrick Kavanagh’s poem Come Dance with Kitty Stobling

The artist is David Annand (http://www.davidannand.com/). His work is throughout Ireland and the U.K. and is simply amazing. There were engineers involved with this project too, so they must get a mention as well: CS Pringle. It is initially through their website that I was able to find information about what the sculpture meant. Sure, here’s one more link! http://www.cspringle.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89&Itemid=78

David Annand sculpture from Patrick Kavanagh’s poem Come Dance with Kitty Stobling

An official marker.

It is wonderful how the works of a local poet can be remembered and thought upon through such a fun piece of (roadside) art.

Enjoy the art in your life 🙂
Dana

A grand arrangement with eucalyptus, hydrangea & artichokes

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Kitty playing with eucalyptus leaves and hydrangea leaves

I have had four great big branches of eucalyptus hanging in my utility room (laundry room/bathroom/cat room/where coats, boots, shoes live room) for the past month. I know, that is really shameful. Truthfully, there wasn’t even enough room for it there. My husband is quite the patient man when it comes to some of my projects! I think the kids were starting to get annoyed with the branches and having to maneuver around them. Kitty, on the other hand, rather enjoyed them. It was great fun to jump on them and see how many leaves could fall to the floor during the night! I knew that I wanted to use those lovely smelling leaves, I just wasn’t sure exactly what to do with them.

Finally, inspiration struck. I stepped away from my inclination to make a wreath, and I went for using quite a large vase to create an arrangement.

Starting out

Hmm, I wonder if I should comment on the state of my kitchen? 🙂 Nah. It was a busy day… I started out with red tissue paper because Valentine’s Day is coming up. My friend Louise mentioned that it was also a good color to help celebrate Chinese New Year! Perfect timing! After filling the bottom with the tissue paper, I then cut the branches to fit the vase and fill it out. It should be noted that I’m one to save just about everything. So I still had some dried Annabelle hydrangea, and three dried artichoke plants left from this past summer, as well as two branches of contorted hazel. I was going to find a way to put it all in!

Close up of artichoke plant inside the vase

close up of two artichokes with their purple color

close up of artichoke

close up of two artichokes with their purple color

I didn’t want just eucalyptus. I wanted another element to the arrangement, that is why I put the flowers down inside the vase. The poor Annabelles didn’t fare well while being squished and squashed into the vase… after the eucalyptus was in of course! But I think it wasn’t too detrimental to their beauty.

Kitty. Posing.

You would seriously think my cat loves the camera. He doesn’t. He just really wanted to play with all of the “stuff” I was working with! He is a lovely cat, though.

A lovely blue-ish color!

I tried the vase in a couple of different places. My hallways are bright and airy and I just wanted to fill that space.

Kitty not leaving the arrangement alone…

I’ve finally decided on where to leave it, and the hallway really does smell lovely now.

I think I just might work best under pressure: I made this in 20 minutes. Because that is how much time I had before I had to go and collect my daughter from school. Done. Finished. Everything cleaned up and put away.

Boy is there a lot of extra room in our utility room now! Time to set up my seeds 🙂

This arrangement was brought to you by the generosity of my neighbors Margaret & James who gave me all of the lovely eucalyptus and contorted hazel, and by my friend Susan who’s hydrangea gave the finishing touches. Thank you my friends!

Happy Chinese New Year!
Dana

Character in the garden with Leycesteria formosa (Himalayan Honeysuckle)

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Leycesteria formosa

Having something interesting to look at in the garden during the winter is something that most gardeners set out to achieve. One plant that gives character to a garden throughout the summer and winter is the Leycesteria formosa, also known as Himalayan Honeysuckle or pheasant berry. I hadn’t heard of, or taken notice of this lovely plant before seeing it in my friend Susan’s garden. It’s funny what happens sometimes when you compliment someone’s garden … they just might share some of it with you!

A young Leycestria formosa plant

When I first planted the Leycestria formosa, it appeared to be just a stem with some roots. I was not sure how it was going to survive. Not only did it grow, but it has done well in my very windy garden.

Leycesteria formosa supported

The flowers are pretty, and hang down in clusters.

a cluster of drooping flowers

Still young Leycesteria formosa

After the flowers are finished, the plant is adorned with lovely berries.

Berries late in season of Leycesteria formosa

Berries of Leycesteria formosa late in the season

While walking through a park in Dublin this past July, I noticed some mature Leycesteria formosa plants. They were beautiful and nearly as tall as me!

Mature plants in the park

Close up in the park

At the time, I was still unsure of the name so I appreciated the tag. For this post I’ve typed the name what feels like a hundred times so hopefully now I will remember it! 🙂

ID tag

The plant still has character in the winter. Look at these stems:

Close up of the stems

Winter garden

They remind me of bamboo. The stems are hollow and can grow as tall as 6 feet (1.8 meter) in one season. The plant grows in moist, fertile soil. As for maintenance, it should be cut back to the ground in the spring.

Late summer garden

The Leycesteria formosa is on the left in the full garden photo above. I’m really happy with it and how it changes throughout the seasons.

Are there any plants that you like to share? I was able to share some of my strawberry plants recently. What a great feeling, especially knowing that they are appreciated. A special thank you goes to Susan who has shared so much of her garden with me!

I hope your garden has lots of winter character.
Dana

Mom in the Garden

Enjoying life. In Ireland. With my family.

Author Archives: Mominthegarden

About Mominthegarden

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Character in the garden with Leycesteria formosa (Himalayan Honeysuckle)