Cultivation

After years of various activities, the peaceful nature of gardening and cultivation now attracts me more and more.

We went out into the Wicklow mountains recently and came, by chance, to Hunting Brook Gardens. This is one of the most peaceful gardens I know and there is a walk in the woods that helps blow away all the mental cobwebs that accumulate from being indoors. Classes are held in the lovely wooden building on the site and there is always a warm welcome.

Back in suburbia, I continue to tidy leaves out of the now empty flowerbeds and plan to plant bulbs for Spring. It's a lovely time of year for the gardener, as everything seems possible. The reds and russets in the hedgerows are spectacular this year and the Virginia creeper in particular is a delight every time I look out the window... a blaze of dying embers.

More people are taking to gardening, thanks to recessionary times, but also because it is such a natural impulse. Here's to success in the next year...

Kilmacurragh

I'm beginning to have flashbacks to life before computing.
Mostly I was out of doors, Winter and Summer, learning the basics of gardening and thinking about what I would write to entertain and amuse in whatever newspaper or journal I was working for at the time.

The solitary nature of computer work is not much of a shock as being alone in a garden is not dissimilar. However, the computer seems less real. It was a great treat to go to a lecture by Seamus O'Brien, head gardener at Kilmacurragh Arboretum recently, as the computer and the garden suddenly fused in my brain and I could see, at last how compatible blogging, photography and gardening are. I can now send an album of photos taken at Easter Time two years ago to the gardeners in Kilmacurragh. And a return visit is long overdue.

This is one of the best times to go, as the Rhododendrons are in full bloom and the weather is bright and clear.
One of the most beautiful places in Ireland for a quiet stroll, solitary or with friends...

Gardening Blogs in Ireland

Our climate is one of the most suitable for gardening in Europe.
A moist climate, temperate year round temperatures
and rich soils make growing most plants relatively easy.