2008: part 1 and 2

2008 part one

I find it hard to believe that I am getting so lax in updating this site. It is May and nothing has been done since last year. Apologies to the fans of aseasidegarden.net Both of you. !

Firstly, I must correct a serious omission from the last update. In the edition of Juillet 2007 the French magazine, MON JARDIN & MA MAISON had a six page feature about Cois Cuain garden. This tribute to the garden......and especially to the gardener....was the cause of much satisfaction around these parts. For myself it meant searching for the French/English dictionary that I knew was somewhere on the bookshelves. The photographs by Georges Léveque were superb and as far as I can tell the text, by Marianne Lavillonniere contained nothing scandalous. As well as that both of them were lovely people. Georges even convinced me to pose with the gardener for a picture. So the omission is corrected and the bit of self-praise accomplished.

Above is one of the pictures from MON JARDIN & MA MAISON magazine.

As I am at it, I may as well make another correction. I stated that the cocaine haul, in Dunlough Bay, taken by the Customs, Coast Guard and Garda officers last year was worth €100 million. Now that the case is before the Courts it appears that the value, due to the purity of the stuff, is around €400 million................one could buy a lot of plants with that.

During the months of March and April I wandered around the garden looking for signs of Spring. I found a few............................

The picture above shows new growth on the....I think...the OXYDENDRUM. There is a picture of this plant in flower on the "More Pictures" page, in case you are interested.

The plant the above is RHUS TYPHINA or Staghorn Sumach. It epitomizes Spring for me....the fresh, new growth issuing from the old, dull, withered winter wood. It's time to smile, throw off the winter woolies and get ready to greet the summer sunshine. This plant is in one of the most exposed positions in the garden. There is nothing protecting it from the sea except three metres of air, yet each Spring it goes from dull bare branches to brightly coloured leaves. As frequently happens, a weird thought just came into my weird mind.......wouldn't it be absolutely, totally awful if humans behaved like plants. The world would be chock full of elderly persons each Winter and, even worse,...... teenagers every Spring and Summer.

The plant above is called RALPHIOLEPIS 'minor' and it was in flower in April as can be seen from picture. It grows wild in China and Japan but for some weird botanical reason it is also known as the Indian Hawthorn. This is further proof that my contention that gardeners are a bit unhinged upstairs is true.

This picture shows the Chilian Fire Bush or to give it it's proper name, EMBROTHRIUM. It is in blossom early this year. At least, I think it is early for them. I will check this with the gardener if she comes into the house from the garden before mid-night. At this time of year it is lightsome....is that a word?.....until about 11-00 p.m. or 11-30 p.m.. This explains her nickname of "The Midnight Gardener"

This picture is one of the many ROSMARINUS which are scattered around the garden. As you know, it's normal name is Rosemary. An old gardening book which is among the many on our bookshelves has the following to say about this plant:

"If thou be feeble boyle the leaves in clene water and wash thyself and thou shall wax shiny"

I find it interesting that it's name is derived from it's common habitat, the "ROS" bit means "dew" and the "Marinus" part is the "sea". Which explains why it grows so well here and why the Gardener and myself are always "Waxing shiny"

This SYRINGA or Lilac was another spring arrival and according to my favourite old gardening book, it's appearance heralds the change from Spring to Summer.

That's about all for this update. Watch out for the next one before the year ends.

HERE IS PART TWO. OCTOBER 2008.

The so-called Summer has been forgotten by now and we are settling in for the winter. That means putting the garden "To bed" as the gardener says. What this entails is a total, all-out attack on innocent plants. The newly sharpened loppers is wielded, huge mounds of cut branches have to be transported to the compost bins or dumped. Some of the very tender shrubs have to be covered with netting. Grass has to get its final cutting. Leaves have to be gathered and put in plastic bags to rot down for use as mulch in about a year or two.

"Don't forget to put 2008 on them.....and a few holes in the bags."

I mark, very patiently each bag with the year and carry them to an old shed where they join two (I didn't know they were there) 2006 and twelve 2007. In fact, after two years they do make fabulous compost and it is well worth the trouble but you really have to wait for two years. The leaves I am talking about here are mostly from Boston Ivy which almost covers the walls of the house. I suppose it applies to any kind of leaves.

If it were not for a few sunny weeks early on in the year and in September the year would have been a total disaster. The weather has been particularly bad this Summer and with the global state of financial affairs added on, one could be depressed. Just in case you are feeling a bit "Down" I have included some cheerful pictures in this update.

Have a look at this picture...... number one in a series of happy, carefree, financially unaffected plants.

It was taken a few days ago, late September. It is CLEMATIS, 'mrs bateman'. According to what I have heard, there are over one hundred and fifty different kinds of Clematis and they are members of the Buttercup family. The gardener has being attempting to grow Clematis, 'montana' in different parts of the garden for many years but I think the place is too windy for it. Some of them grew to a few feet but they never seemed comfortable here. The Mrs. Bateman may do better.

Below is another cheery picture:

This is HYDRANGEA 'preziso'. Some varieties of Hydrangea grow into small trees, about 20 to 30 feet high in China and Japan. Those in Cois Cuain are more conservative and stay about the five feet mark.

The next photo was taken on a rare fine day towards the end of August.

This picture does not do a whole lot for my boat (nor my neighbour's one) but it shows off one of the many AGAPANTUS growing happily here. The variety is presently not known to the gardener and will, most likely never be known by myself. It is a South African native and belongs to the LILY family.

Continuing on, the picture, below was taken earlier in the year: in June, I think.

It's ESCALLONIA 'gold brian'. It is so called, because a Spanish explorer by the name of Escallon discovered it in South America. It is possible that he simply brought it to Europe for the first time and some one...a gardener, no doubt....named it after him. I very much doubt that his christian name was "Brian", so the Gold Brian part must be named after someone else...a gardener, no doubt. This shrub was one of the earlier plantings in the garden and it took a long time to settle in but once it became used to the place it flourished.

Some time ago I devoted a lot of space to ECHIUMS. I said that I would not mention them again BUT I now find I must explain this picture of a line of them at the entrance to the garden. About two years ago the gardener requested assistance in the task of getting rid of withered Echiums. This usually means throwing them on the shore and letting nature take its course. For some reason that I have not been able to explain, I decided I would do a bit of gardening myself. I had last attempted this in 1986 and due to the very unproductive results, had not done any since. I think I am one of a very select band of people...a retired gardener.

I should explain that by "Gardening" I mean actually planting things. Since 1986 gardening, in my case anyway, means cutting grass. cutting down shrubs, digging holes, moving rocks, shovelling compost, sharpening secateurs, and other arduous tasks needing a high degree of intellectual prowess.

I carefully took out weeds from one side of the driveway to the garden and then shook the decaying Echiums along the "prepared bed". Unbelievably, the following Spring up came my Echiums. The effect is much admired but I have since retired for the second and final time.

For the benefit of those who might not know and to the chargin of those who don't care, "Failte" on the sign means "Welcome"

The above picture shows one of two METROSIDEROS in the garden.

This one is M. excelsa. The popular name for it is New Zealand Christmas tree or as the Maoris call it...POHUTUKAWA .(I amaze myself some times with my gardening knowledge but if I have to be truthful, this is one of about a dozen names of plants with which I am familiar) The gardener was presented with it about six or seven years ago for helping out with a neighbour's garden and it has thrived here. I am sure she does not know it can grow to sixty feet high and I do not know why the flowers are at the bottom of the plant only.

These white WATSONIA or Bugle Lily, a much nicer name, are growing within five or six metres of the sea and provide a pleasing splash of colour with the water behind them. These plants come in various shades of pink and red but the gardener thinks these white ones are the most attractive. I agree.

This is a RESTIO and the variety is 'elegia carpensis'. The photograph does not really do justice to it but it is difficult to get a good shot of it as it is quite tall and "Bushy". The following picture shows the stalk heads in close up.

The final picture has no plants in it. But it shows our main "Water feature" the

Atlantic Ocean, so it may be (just) eligible. It was taken from the lawn as the sun rose over a calm sea in late September.

That's the lot for now................hope you are feeling a little better !

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