Wordless Wednesday – Blooming Globe Artichokes

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Artichoke plant covered with artichokes

I always have a struggle with “Wordless Wednesday” postings. I think it is perfect for showing some pictures that really don’t need much explanation. O.K., so there is my problem; I love chatting about my plants and the pictures I take of them!

Entire Globe Artichoke Plant

Take the above picture, for example. What a horrible looking creature my globe artichoke plant became! It is much taller than last year. In fact, it is taller than me. Well, I do realize that a person who is five feet, three and three quarter inches tall is not a tall person. But for a plant, that is a different story. The winds really picked up this summer and down came part of the plant. That oh so beautiful orange rope was dutifully tied by my hubby to keep the plant upright. He is correct, it is doing the job! (but maybe a less obvious/ugly rope could have been used???)

A bee enjoying the globe artichoke flower

Never the less, the plant survived and is thriving with loads of blooms on the artichokes. The artichokes were quite small when it would have been appropriate to harvest them to eat. I decided to use them for flowers instead. Maybe next year I will venture and actually eat them!

vegetables in a vase…

A blog I like to read ( http://wordsandherbs.wordpress.com/2014/08/11/in-a-vase-on-monday-a-summer-breeze/ ) has a Monday post of ‘Flowers in a vase from the garden’. I don’t think I have enough flowers to do this, but I was thinking maybe my vegetable arrangement would do? 🙂

Kitty joining in the photo shoot

While I was trying to get a good shot, our kitty decided he wanted to be a part of it. This happens quite a lot! He really likes being with me when I’m in the garden, especially if I have my camera.

I think I got the shot.

Globe Artichokes in bloom… and my last picture.

Happy Wordless Wednesday!
Dana

Organic Garlic sitting pretty in a hand carved wooden bowl

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Harvest of Winter Planted Garlic

Growing garlic is easy. Most things are easy to grow, actually. It might be a bit harder if you have a cat that likes to dig up the beds, but if you can keep that under control you’ll be laughin’! I won’t mention any kitty names…

So sweet …

I posted loads of garlic pictures and a “how to” list in a previous post. You can see that here: https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2014/04/22/growing-garlic-is-easy-peasy/

Waiting…

Still waiting… (beets/beet root are in front bed)

After waiting and watching all winter, spring and part of the summer, last week it was finally time to harvest the garlic. It is now drying out. I am absolutely delighted with the size of them!

Organic Vallelado garlic up close. Look at the size of those individual cloves!

We planted a lot of garlic, which is good. We use a lot, and now I have spare to share. And share I did, with my friend Catherine. Look what she did with my garlic!

Chicken pasta salad with roasted peppers served with garlic bread

Chicken pasta salad with garlic, roasted peppers and rocket (arugula) and served with garlic bread

Talk about being spoiled! She and her ten year old daughter made this for my daughter and I. What a lovely afternoon we had together.

Lunch is served! Catherine also enjoys living in the countryside.

The garlic bread was especially yummy! They used our fresh garlic, Parmesan cheese, and butter on toasted sourdough bread.

fresh garlic bread

Isn’t it fun to share? 😉

Not to change the subject, but did you happen to notice the wooden bowl that my garlic is sitting in? No? I’ll show you again:

Garlic sitting pretty in our hand crafted wooden bowl

I love it. It is pretty special, too, since it was given to us as a wedding gift. Oh the story gets better! The wood used is from a tree that was felled from my husband’s grandparent’s home place. Isn’t that neat?

Hand crafted Spanish Chestnut wooden bowl

Spanish Chestnut wooden bowl. I’m using our Irish woolen blanket to prop it up. I love Irish handmade items!

It was crafted by Gerard Fox from a Spanish Chestnut tree and is simply beautiful.

Gerard Fox is the craftsman

It is nice to be able to use it, even if just for rather dirty garlic! I love having such beautiful things all around…

Sweet Pea with a backdrop of end of season lavender

like sweet pea in a vase…

I hope you have lots of beautiful things all around you, too.
Enjoy the moment!

Dana

Lavender Season – a delight to behold!

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Lavender up close

We moved into our home four years ago. My husband and I really like living in the country, and our home suits us just right. The yard was more or less a blank canvas for us, except for the established lavender garden. What a treat! Lavender! So pretty to look at, and a scent to match that beauty!

One view of the lavender garden. (As a side note, the fields in the background are planted with potatoes and the plants have bloomed with white flowers!)

Our first summer here, one of my sisters-in-law suggested I dry the lavender. I’ve been drying it and finding different things to do with it ever since. I have really grown to love it. It is so fragrant that I don’t even need to brush past it to enjoy the scent; it is already wafting in the air. It truly is a relaxing fragrance too.

Lavender garden with an old milk container squished in

Full lavender garden view with milk container

Someone with so much lavender in their yard surely has to do something creative with it! I surprised myself last year with the number of lavender wands I made. The colors of the ribbons I used to weave the lavender were so pretty to work with.

Lavender Wands

I shouldn’t forget the wreath, either. I was really delighted with how it came out. This year I just haven’t had the time to spend on crafts, unfortunately. That is a huge unfortunately, because I really enjoy making things with my hands.

Lavender wreath with dried roses

There is still a bit of time left to work with the lavender, so I just might get something made. This past week I have been cutting some of it to dry for bouquets. (All is definitely not lost!)

If you would like to try your hand at making lavender wands, you can have a look at my post from last year: https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/lavender-wands-my-first-lavender-wreath/

Lavandula angustifolia Lavender in our fruit and vegetable garden

Even after working long days, it has been so wonderful to go into the garden and cut lavender. The lavender I just planted last year was the first in need of cutting. I can’t believe how much it grew! Lavandula angustifolia Lavender. It was just a bit bluer than my established lavender, and the blooms were a bit thinner, too. But still beautiful.

Nature also enjoying the lavender

I bet you didn’t think I could pose this many pictures of lavender, now did you? Even the different times of day give it a different appearance!

Lavender in evening sunlight – this looks almost pink (but is definitely purple)

Clematis Bagatelle ‘Dorothy Walton’ and lavender

Lavender and play house

A sunny evening with dark clouds in the background

A sunny evening with a dark sky in the background

I loved how the lavender gave some pretty color to our fruit and vegetable garden. I was sad to cut the color away…

Lavender close up

One last view of the lavender garden

And that is the story of my lavender this season! I hope you have enjoyed seeing all of my pictures. I wish I could share the beautiful scent with you too! Maybe one day we’ll have the technology to do that. 🙂

Dana

A stone tower in the garden (of course. Don’t you have one?)

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Tower in the garden

And you probably thought I was kidding, didn’t you? … So this is the story of friends getting together to enjoy each other’s company, share gardening stories, and have a walk about our gardens. “Tour” is such a formal word. We were among friends and there was laughter, a relaxed atmosphere, and it was a very enjoyable day! Oh, and yes, that tower is in a fabulous garden.

Susan and her egg painting

The organizer of everything wonderful is my dear friend Susan. She has such a wealth of knowledge, and knows tons about plants too! I couldn’t ask for a better friend. We laughed when I took this picture because I love the painting above her head. It was a very sly way of me capturing both. 🙂

Beautiful Irish pottery

I love pottery. Isn’t this purple design lovely? We enjoyed coffee (or tea) and homemade scones at the start of our visit.

Cup of tea to start our morning

Susan’s garden is amazing. There is a great deal of beautiful stone work in addition to the tower! It has a very welcoming feel all around. I found it difficult to capture it in pictures, try as I may. Even though you might not get the entire feel of the garden, I think you will enjoy seeing bits and pieces as captured through my lens.

Stone entryway to an open garden (perfect for gatherings)

Stone hideaway that is very much like Newgrange in County Meath!

View of the lake from lower garden

Not so much a gardening picture as a picture to remind us to sit and enjoy the view…

The sound of the water on the shore is so relaxing

Leaving the lower gardens through the stones

Leaving the lower gardens through the large stone entryway

Blue hydrangea

I especially love the boxwood lining the path/garden.

I don’t think I was completely successful in capturing all of the front garden. There was was too much for my lens!

lacecap hydrangea

hydrangea which is supposed to be green (but is quite pretty the color it is)

Flowering dogwood tree (definitely not the official name…)

lambs ear flower (yes, I really must work on learning the proper names...)

Stachys byzantina (lamb’s ear flower)

One of my favorite flowers. Lychnis Coronaria (dusty miller)

Filipendula purpurea (Japanese Meadowsweet)

Debbie loved the color contrast here, and I have to agree it is so pretty!

Annabelle hydrangea underneath a cherry tree with boxwood lining the front

I’ve called this picture “Susan’s Lamp” as I need to come back and fill in the names of plant/shrub/tree. Stay tuned…

Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy your morning coffee here?

These wonderful ladies are mentoring me in my gardening adventures!

It was a full morning just at Susan’s house! I will save the pictures from Debbie’s and Gio’s garden for another post. I’m grateful for my friends, and that they share their love of gardening with me.

Happy gardening (even better with a friend)!

Dana

Wordless Wednesday: Hydrangea Selma

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Mominthegarden

In the beginning…

Now that is a horrible picture to start a blog post with! And actually, that is not even (exactly) “in the beginning”. That picture is the year after I bought my hydrangea Selma. I had to dig it up and help the soil a bit. The poor hydrangea was not happy. Even with digging it up and helping the soil, it took last year for it to really settle in! Last year the plant looked nice and healthy, but didn’t have any blooms. Thankfully, this year is going much, much better!

Earlier in the season

A cherry color if you ask me

The foliage is a lovely almost burgundy color

The white centers are becoming more prominent

(the green leaves are from another plant)

(the green leaves are from my leycesteria formosa plant)

Still filling in with blooms

And here are two pictures of the plant when I bought it in August 2010. I prefer what it looks like today 🙂

It looked lovely when I bought it!

This is what it looked like when I bought it in August 2010

Another “Dana version” of Wordless Wednesday! Here is a link to what we did to the soil to help the health of the hydrangea, if you’d like to read about that: https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2012/10/18/hydrangea-selmas-new-life/

I’m so glad I had the chance to share all of my hydrangea pictures!
I should really challenge myself to actually post with no words… But what fun is that? 🙂

Dana

A garden no matter how small…

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Floribunda Rose Queen Elizabeth

I was away from my country living today, and was in and around Dublin for the day. Being one to always be on the lookout for flowers and gardens, it struck me how many home gardens I saw. Gardens in very, very small spaces and with beautiful flowers! It was clear that no matter the size or location, the gardens were well tended and cared for; all throughout the Dublin area. The predominant flower was definitely roses. There wasn’t one color in particular that stood out, but rather, every color was represented. It was such a treat to see! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take any pictures (and you know I would have if I could have!).

Floribunda Rose Burgundy Ice

This evening my son had a Gaelic football match in a nearby village. I think it would be safe to say that it was “in the country”. I was no less impressed on our drive there with the fantastic gardens in the front yards of houses. It is lovely how attentive people are to their gardens. I really like getting glimpses into different gardens, ideas, and flowers, especially when I’m not driving! 🙂

Hybrid Tea Rose Pink Peace

What a lovely day I’ve had. It was nice to really appreciate all that was around me. I still get moments of “wow, I live in Ireland”!

Rosa Jacques Cartier (1868)

ground cover flowers in my rose garden

But mostly, I get feelings of “wow, I really like my garden”…

A view of the rose garden

It is a work in progress. But it is all a labor of love.

A glimpse of the roses at our front gate

I hope there is a beautiful garden near you to make you smile! Or at least, I hope a glimpse into my garden will make you smile 🙂

Happy Summer!

Dana

Roses, and blackspot, and milk, oh my!

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Rosa Jacques Cartier (1868) My favorite rose in the garden.

The dreaded blackspot has returned to my roses this year. Oh how my heart sank when I first saw it on those pretty rose leaves that seemed to be so healthy! But treating blackspot with milk? Really? Are you sure??? Well, here is my story so far! I love roses. So much so that they were the first flowers that I planted into my first flowerbed. That was way before I knew anything about blackspot. or roses. The next rose plant I buy will definitely be blackspot resistant. But for now I must deal with what I have, and that is rose plants with blackspot…

Blackspot damaged leaves

I gave Fruit Hill Farms in Cork a call last year (https://www.fruithillfarm.com/). They are an organic center and they suggested that I try and build up the health of the plant to prevent blackspot. I wasn’t too surprised to find that what they suggested, Mucofol, was quite smelly to use!

Rose plant early in the season

Rose plant (still healthy looking)

For those who wish the details of the Mucofol, here you go:

Mucofol (L) is absorbed by the leaves and the soil. Thanks to its root stimulant and crop care ingredients the roots, leaves and soil are increased with endogenic capacity and develop its own immune system. The ingredients in the product are working as soil conditioner, plant strengthener and have an indirect effect on pests and diseases. It consists of a highly concentrated composition of specific herbs based on water. The product is natural and of vegetable origin, non-toxic and not persistent. The product will be degraded in the soil and leaves no residues in nature.

Keeping track of rose plants…

The Mucofol is in liquid form which you then dilute with water. We sprayed the roses a few times early this spring. They initially seemed to be doing well. But unfortunately, the blackspot has appeared.

One of my climbing roses still looking good.

The same week that I noticed the blackspot, one of the blogs that I follow had a post about treating blackspot with milk. Kevin Lee Jacob, blogging from the Hudson Valley in New York (which is where I grew up), has a wonderful blog called A garden for the house. You can click on his post about treating blackspot here: http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2012/05/got-black-spot-get-milk/ It seems easy enough: add one part milk to two parts water, and spray once a week. The feedback on Kevin’s blog is quite good. I have my fingers crossed that it will keep the blackspot from spreading.

Rosa Jacques Cartier (1868) late May early June (getting enough air circulation???)

I do know, as I am sure all of you do too, to clear away all of the bad leaves (and never put them in the compost). I pruned the roses this past winter to help with air circulation. I might have to revisit that, though, as my old fashioned rose plants (the Rosa Jacques Cartier) seem quite crowded despite my pruning.

Rosa Jacques Cartier (1868) on June 14th (after two milk & water treatments)

Speaking of pruning, I am filing this other blog post away for next winter as I think there are quite a few good points to it. Have a look and let me know what you think: http://www.hometalk.com/3816372/the-10-biggest-mistakes-people-make-when-pruning-roses

Quick, take some pictures while still looking good!

For now, I have cut off as much of the blackspot affected leaves as possible, and I will continue to spray once a week with my water and milk spray. Oh, and I’ll be taking as many pictures as possible while they still look pretty!

Climbing rose in June

Climbing rose in June (evening sunlight)

It is amazing how different things look with different lighting! Our evenings can be so beautiful, with sunlight right up until 10 P.M.

Rosa Jacques Cartier (1868) and bee

My garden has been buzzing for a few weeks now, with the busy sound of bees. Early this spring we had millions (really!) of lady birds (or called lady bugs, depending on where you are from). It was neat to see them all as they were everywhere! And unlike last year, I didn’t have any issue with aphids. At all. Just blackspot…

Rosa Jacques Cartier (1868)

I hope if you have roses, they are nice and healthy! If you happen to get blackspot and try the milk/water solution, please let me know how that goes for you.

Dana

A Pink and Purple Garden

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Mominthegarden

In the beginning…

That isn’t a picture of our “pink & purple” garden. It is a picture of the area before we created our garden. Over the weekend my husband complimented our pink & purple garden. It was a little funny because he said “we’ve done a really good job with this garden”. I was weeding it at the time. He was watching me. I have to say that I just stopped and looked at him for a moment, before he smiled and then said “oh, I mean *you* did a really good job”! Indeed. 🙂 Here is a post which tells (and shows) the process of my creating it. https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2012/03/23/making-a-flower-bed-one-bucket-of-topsoil-at-a-time/

Pink & Purple garden (May 31st)

I have boxwood, called box plant in Ireland, around the border. It struggled for at least a year, and I thought it wasn’t going to make it. I’ll spare showing you the pictures of it turning a rusty orange color. I fed it quite a few times this past winter and it is now finally showing new signs of healthy life. There are three larger box plants on the left in the above picture. My husband and I are debating on what to do with them. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to sculpt them into something fun? 🙂

A better view of the box plant around the pink garden

A better view of the box plant around the pink & purple garden

I have extended the garden a tiny bit since I first planted the box plant. I must bring that line of box plant down a bit further to complete the garden.

Allium ‘purple sensation’, foxglove, erysimum bowles, Weigela florida ‘Alexandra’, Hydrangea Selma

Parts of the garden have really filled out. The foxglove plant wasn’t planted by me. It is the second plant that has been planted courtesy of the birds! It seems to fit in nicely where it is, lucky enough!

foxgloves

The Erysimum Bowles plant is on its last leg I’m afraid. It gets quite woody, gangly and unruly after a few years. I will be replacing it at the end of this season, hopefully with another of the same. It is still quite pretty from the front!

Erysimum Bowles ‘Mauve’

Purple sensation allium gives great personality to the garden. It is a real attention getter! Our spring must have been quite mild as I only put in a couple of stakes just the other day for the allium. Normally they would be completely flopped over by now!

Allium ‘purple sensation’

Allium up-close

Those are all of the blooms in the pink & purple garden so far. I have a few more plants that should give it some color later on in the summer. Undoubtedly I’ll be shaking things up a bit and moving things around as I figure out sizes. For instance, that globe artichoke plant is double the size it was last year! We’ll see. And I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂

The globe artichoke plant is *huge*!

Happy June!
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

Mom in the Garden

Enjoying life. In Ireland. With my family.

Category Archives: Gardening

Wordless Wednesday – Blooming Globe Artichokes

Organic Garlic sitting pretty in a hand carved wooden bowl

Lavender Season – a delight to behold!

A stone tower in the garden (of course. Don’t you have one?)

Wordless Wednesday: Hydrangea Selma

A garden no matter how small…

Roses, and blackspot, and milk, oh my!

A Pink and Purple Garden

Patience in growing Asparagus pays off

A last look at the garden in April