2006 Update

2006 Update_pt1

2006 Update.

I find it hard to believe I am actually updating this site so early in the year; its only June. Just in case I run out of things to say, I am calling it, PART ONE. By doing this, I can forget about it until October or even November when I may be in a more creative mood. To start off, here is a photo of a bunch of Echiums

This picture was taken last year but I never got around to putting it on the website. Looking at my latest pictures, I have to say, maybe instead of calling this "Part One", I should name it "Echium Edition" as nearly all the photos are of these lovely plants. For example, here's another one.

This one could be called Echium Accidental. Two years ago some Echiums blew down in a bit of a gale. I threw them out. This is one of them that seeded itself. As you can see it is a plucky fellow and does not mind being exposed to the Atlantic ocean . I wouldn't be surprised to see it going for a bit of a swim when the water heats up.

This picture is a little special because it shows two different Echiums growing side by side.......and the gardener has asked me to state that she is not quite sure of the name (That means the "species) of the pink one, the one on the left. Things are coming to a sorry state around here when I have the gardener asking ME if I can find out the name of a plant. If you know this information please email. The address is, and because of the spam curse, this is in "Code"...................

the address is the gardeners first name added on to my first name, then the letter "W" without a space between any of them. Then @eircom.net

I hope you can work out that.

August 10. Coming up the slip-way after a very good day's fishing, I was met by the gardener. Her smile was bright, her eyes sparkled as she greeted me. She was positively glowing. How did she know I had had such a good day's fishing, I wondered.

"I know what its called" she said, before even congratulating me on having caught enough to fill the freezer for the winter.

"It's Pink Fountain" she said.

"What ARE you talking about ?" I asked, a little bit too loudly maybe.

"The Echium" she replied, "Its a cross between "Wildpretii" and "Pininana".

"That's nice" I said as I lugged the full fish box towards the house.

"I'm delighted" the gardener said.

"Yes", I replied, "So am I. It was the best day I've had so far this year..... mackerel, pollock, seven ling, three cod and a small turbot"

"A visitor told me" the gardener said.

She mentioned the visitor's name. This person is pretty famous in gardening circles and I should not have forgotten the name but I have. On the other hand, I could tell you the precise latitude and longitude of where I caught the turbot so it cannot be that my memory is failing.

I carried the bounty from the sea the rest of the way to the house in silence, once more stunned by the extraordinary mental processes of gardening people.

The above picture was taken yesterday. It is another Echium Accidental and neither the gardener nor myself saw it until I was painting a seat we have near the shore line. The things are going to be everywhere at the rate they are making themselves at home here in Cois Cuain. It will be interesting to see what happens to them when winter comes and a good gale from the south-east blows in.

To get away from the echiums, here is a picture showing a nice mixture of Aquelegia and wild Daisies growing together. I think they are set off nicely by the light blue of the sea.

I know you are wondering, and most likely are very worried why there is no boat in the background. This time last year I had many days fishing under my belt. This year I am way behind time because of several reasons.......a plank needed to be replaced, the mast got broken (I won't go into the "How") and the engine needed servicing. All these impediments to a pleasant life have now been taken care of and I am almost ready for sea. That is another reason why I have been able to update this site in mid-summer

This is the final picture for this, part one of the 2006 update. Elsewhere in this website there is a photo of Camassia. This is a new one, (picture, not plant). Its colour is great, I think. Unfortunately they remain in bloom for a short time only.

This is definitely the last picture in this update. It is essential that I get these Echiums out of my system, so I am showing you one more. This is the tallest of the present crop. It is about twenty feet from the ground to the little flower at the top, which looks, ......to be honest about it...a bit stupid: all that growing and then a tiny little flower. Of course, it had, at an earlier stage small delicate bluish flowers all the way up and no flower on the top. In this picture the small flowers had faded so it looks like this particular plant wanted, or needed more attention and it produced this ridiculous little thing at its top so that it would get on the website. All this goes to show how a very small amount of effort, (However misguided or grotesque) by a plant in this garden gets rewarded by being exposed to the world on the web. Other plants please note !.

More later in the year. Keep coming back

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