Daffodil Double Poet White given to me by a dear friend

Time. It is something that I always want more of.  With a recent change in my schedule, my time in the garden has been cutback dramatically. I’ve been enjoying late evenings in the garden watering the more needy flowers during a bit of a dry spell. A common expression here is “when the weather is good, there is nowhere in the world as nice as Ireland”! I have to say that feels so true these days of sunny and warm, but not hot, weather!

The garden doing well with the good weather

I had the chance to catch-up with my dear friend Susan this week. We hadn’t seen each other in ages and it was so nice to have some time together. After catching up on how our families are doing, we spent a lot of time talking about plants! We are planning a mini garden tour among a few of our friends. Last year when we did something similar our hostess shared a bunch of different plants with us. I made out very well!

Schizostylis (given to me by that same dear friend)

Schizostylis

My ditch wall garden was pretty much filled with gifted plants!  I have a few pictures from early spring and now.  It is amazing how everything fills in and really comes to life.

Ditch wall garden in March

Ditch wall garden at the end of June

That is some difference, isn’t it?!  Here are a few pictures of some of the gifted plants, too. The first is of Monkshood.  It is very pretty, and (very) poisonous.  I didn’t know what it was when I got it, otherwise I’m not sure I would have planted it.  Thankfully, my kids, and my cat, aren’t interested in eating plants.

Monkshood (poisonous plant)

Monkshood

Monkshood closeup

I’m not sure how I managed it, but I ended up with 4 different plants from our last “tour”!

Dogwood and primrose

The red stems on this dogwood really stood out this past winter.  The primrose is just starting to wake up in the above picture.  I have a better picture here:

primrose

Seriously, aren’t they fabulous?  They really brightened up the garden in late winter/early spring!

I think we should be doing some plant sharing this time, too. Some of the plants that Susan has shared with me over the past few years have grown and thrived. This year we have so many babies!!!

Dusty Miller babies … lots of ’em!

Dusty Miller Lychnis Coronaria

Dusty Miller Lychnis Coronaria

Dusty Miller Lychnis Coronaria

When I lived in New York, every year just before our kids were finished school in June we would get together with a bunch of friends for lunch and a plant swap.  It was always something to look forward to!  (Thank you Ellen A. for always hosting and having lots of plants to share!)

Now it is my turn to share the bounty. It is lovely to think of friends as you see the plants they have given you come into bloom. Have you shared any plants lately?

To all of my American friends and family I wish you a Happy 4th of July!

Share the love of gardening!
Dana