Sunday, March 20, 2011

Today I had the pleasure of visiting a well known "open garden" ,a treasure in east Cork! The owners previously ran a very successful garden centre then sold up and bought this jewel on a few acres and set out to create a beautiful garden on their land! The rear of the lovely property includes two ponds with goldfish and planting,an arbour and a well maintained lawn,pathways and a little retreat house!
The front of the house includes a long manicured lawn,a pond,a grass area as in tampas grasses and very well maintained.
The owner is well known as an expert on hellebores and snowdrops which can be seen to be beleived! The snowdrops were going over but the hellebores were in great supply!
Snowdrops in the green were in plentifull supply at the sales table though!






Magnolia Stellata
Grass bed,pampas and others I cannot identify!

Most of the snowdrops were gone over these few were left!

Magnolia Stellata

Crimson clematis.


An unusual coloured hellebore,nearly black!


View from near house to roadway.















Friday, March 18, 2011

Trees!

In the lovely sunshine today my neighbourhood is looking great with all these stunning trees in full blossom,I am no expert but just call these flowering cherries or a prunus of some sort,whichever they are looking their best at the moment!
My own little treasure!


This is a beautiful white blossomed tree!
Another view of the same tree!

Beautiful drifts of daffodils are everywhere to be seen at the moment!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

St.Patricks Day

Today I am linking up with www.cuisinekathleen.com for her annual Paddys Day Party!Celebrations do not start here until tomorrow with the Parade through the city centre and believe it or not but turkey is on the menu in this house for the day!No bacon and cabbage to be found here,sorry to dissapoint!Most people are looking forward to a long weekend having had the foresight to book Friday off work and enjoy 4 days of leisure before Monday rolls around again. Weather is sunny and bright but nightfrosts still,so heres hoping for a dry day for the celebrations and parades!
The wearing of the green!
This was taken at last years celebrations but it will look the same more or less this year,a food market set up in the city centre with music going on all day and lots of crafts and goodies to buy!
My shamrock jewellery for the day with toning top!
Today I am linking to www.cuisinekathleen.com for her annual Paddys Day Party!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Linking up with tootsietime.com for fertilizer friday!
Linking up with Tootsie at tootsietime.com for fertilizer friday!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Spring Specials!

My camera is back in action after a long hiatus so today dawned nice and spring like and here is a selection of my spring plants in flower.Still have not got around to a major clean up mostly because I have had a cold for what seems like a month now though feeling much better! A wise weather man who is good at predicting future weather for Ireland has this morning said that we may have a White St.Patricks Day!Lets hope he gets this one wrong,he says spring has arrived too early and we about to be thrown back into a period of bad winter weather!He has forecast the last two white Christmases and forced the bookmakers to pay out more than 80,000 euros to the punters who bet on same!
Spot the fake! Recently purchased these in my local garden centre Hanleys who do a great line in artificial flowers,these are hellebores,two bunches,they cheer up the hall table!
Buds forming on Sambuca black lace
One of a few buds forming on my white camellia,this is a first for years!
My camellia in bud,usually I do not have great luck with this plant,it buds and then they fall off before flowering or no buds at all,I fed and watered this one back in late summer although I notice some leaves covered in a black sooty type powdery substance this morning! More problems ahead methinks!
A lupin I planted last year in flower coming back ,success!
Cherry blossom (Prunus?) showing some lovely plump buds! Purchased in Lidl for 7.99!
Wallflowers starting to colour up an old favourite!
Monkshood
Day lillies
Snowdrops,that ugly fence in the background will be removed by the end of the month and replaced with new pannelling and cement base like the rest of the garden,the final piece of the jigsaw!
Grape Hyancinths



All facing forward!
Primrose
Beautiful Hellebores at their best now.
Tete a Tete standing straight!
This primrose just appeared as is ,no leaves just flowers.
Narcissi and snowdrop together!