Photo: Dicentra spectabile
Photo:Cistus.
Photo: Choiysia ternata with hosta
Photo: Aqualigia 'chocolate soldiers'
Photo:Artichoke leaves 
Photo: Aqualigia.
Photo:achillia.
Photo: Ageranthamum-Margeurite.
Saturday, 12 May 2007
MAY FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE
Photo: Dicentra spectabile Photo:Cistus. Photo: Choiysia ternata with hosta Photo: Aqualigia 'chocolate soldiers' Photo:Artichoke leaves Photo: Aqualigia. Photo:achillia.
THE BEST OF LIFE
I always enjoy reading the “Time for Reflection” article in the Inish Times. I’ve been reflecting myself this week as the flowers around me start to bloom and I thought I’d share a segment of a book called “the Gardener” – a number one Spanish bestseller by Grian. The usual ramblings will be back as usual next week.
THE BEST OF LIFE
A trader went to see the gardener while he was resting at the hut door.
“Good afternoon, gardener,” he said, “I’ve come to offer you a business deal that’s going to interest you for sure.”
And seeing the passiveness of the gardener, he began to tell him about an arrangement he had thought of that could be advantageous to both of them, an arrangement in which the gardener would promise to cultivate a large expanse of land exclusively of roses so that, later, the trader could sell them in the town’s market.
“Gardener, with your green fingers our roses will be the best in town,” concluded the trader with a satisfied gesture.
“Thanks, but I’m not interested,” said the gardener with his usual smile.
“But you could earn a lot of money…” claimed the merchant surprised.
“I’m not interested in money.”
“But everybody is interested in money...”
“Not me.”
“How can you say that? Money is necessary to survive..”
“Oh, well…! I eat and sleep every day, I have clothes to wear and a hut that gives me refuge on winter nights,” said the gardener calmly.
The trader could not believe that the gardener had rejected his offer.
“And also…” he insisted, “you would be doing the work you like, gardener.”
“I already do the work I like.”
“But….”
The trader was left with his mouth open. Then he closed it, stood up and left the garden, saying between his teeth as he left, “I’ll never understand those who stubbornly insist on living in poverty and missing out on the best in life.”
The gardener spent the afternoon listening to the musical sounds of the birds and contemplating the wonderful sunset that the universe offered.
From “the Gardener” by Grian.
THE BEST OF LIFE
A trader went to see the gardener while he was resting at the hut door.
“Good afternoon, gardener,” he said, “I’ve come to offer you a business deal that’s going to interest you for sure.”
And seeing the passiveness of the gardener, he began to tell him about an arrangement he had thought of that could be advantageous to both of them, an arrangement in which the gardener would promise to cultivate a large expanse of land exclusively of roses so that, later, the trader could sell them in the town’s market.
“Gardener, with your green fingers our roses will be the best in town,” concluded the trader with a satisfied gesture.
“Thanks, but I’m not interested,” said the gardener with his usual smile.
“But you could earn a lot of money…” claimed the merchant surprised.
“I’m not interested in money.”
“But everybody is interested in money...”
“Not me.”
“How can you say that? Money is necessary to survive..”
“Oh, well…! I eat and sleep every day, I have clothes to wear and a hut that gives me refuge on winter nights,” said the gardener calmly.
The trader could not believe that the gardener had rejected his offer.
“And also…” he insisted, “you would be doing the work you like, gardener.”
“I already do the work I like.”
“But….”
The trader was left with his mouth open. Then he closed it, stood up and left the garden, saying between his teeth as he left, “I’ll never understand those who stubbornly insist on living in poverty and missing out on the best in life.”
The gardener spent the afternoon listening to the musical sounds of the birds and contemplating the wonderful sunset that the universe offered.
From “the Gardener” by Grian.
Horticultural.
JAPANESE KNOTWEED UPDATE
Laboratories have come up with a biological solution to keep the Japanese knotweed from spreading and hopefully keep it under control. The weed up to yet has no natural enemies in this country so the plant can spread undisturbed. This is about to change as bugs and fungi that grow on the plants in their native country are to be introduced. The beetle eggs are injected into the stems and when they hatch they dig their way out into the open, the result of the tunnelling snaps the stems. The fungus will hopefully kill off the vulnerable plant. I suppose in a few years time we will be invaded with knotweed beetles eating the vegetable patch instead of the rabbits doing it and garden plants will be collapsing with a strange fungal growth, I’ll watch with interest.
Japanese knotweed can live quite happily in a jar full of water with no air in it, showing how invasive it is. The other method that has been used for a while now is to cut each stalk and painstakingly inject each stem with herbicide, this will still take between 3-5 years to kill the plant.
And to think all this started from one plant in a pot on someone’s doorstep at the turn of the century.
Horticultural.
Japanese knotweed can live quite happily in a jar full of water with no air in it, showing how invasive it is. The other method that has been used for a while now is to cut each stalk and painstakingly inject each stem with herbicide, this will still take between 3-5 years to kill the plant.
And to think all this started from one plant in a pot on someone’s doorstep at the turn of the century.
Horticultural.
TOMATO TROUBLE
Ian
I have grown some tomato plants in my conservatory this year. I have noticed just recently that the leaves seem to have whitefly. What can I use to control this problem? I do not want to spray with chemicals as I have a lot of pets in the house. Thanks HS Letterkenny.
Reply
Organic gardeners have used insecticidal soap for years to control pests. Recent tests in Florida University have proved that common old garden washing up liquids are even more effective for controlling whitefly, especially on tomato leaves. High concentrations are not necessary, they can even damage the plant so make a dilution up of 400 parts water to 1 part washing up liquid. Apply this to the leaves once a fortnight and you will not have any more trouble with the pests. The tomatoes will not be affected.
Horticultural.
I have grown some tomato plants in my conservatory this year. I have noticed just recently that the leaves seem to have whitefly. What can I use to control this problem? I do not want to spray with chemicals as I have a lot of pets in the house. Thanks HS Letterkenny.
Reply
Organic gardeners have used insecticidal soap for years to control pests. Recent tests in Florida University have proved that common old garden washing up liquids are even more effective for controlling whitefly, especially on tomato leaves. High concentrations are not necessary, they can even damage the plant so make a dilution up of 400 parts water to 1 part washing up liquid. Apply this to the leaves once a fortnight and you will not have any more trouble with the pests. The tomatoes will not be affected.
Horticultural.
CUTTING FLOWERS FROM THE GARDEN
Photo:Iris sibirica
Photo: Cut sunflower.CUTTING TIME
Ian
I have a lot of flowers in my garden that are suitable for cutting. When is the best time of day to harvest them for this purpose? Regards B.H. Newtown.
Reply.
The optimum time to pick flowers is when they have a good reserve of water to get the maximum amount of vase life. Plants start the day with full water stores, which will have been absorbed in the cool of the night. Throughout the day this store is depleted and the hotter it gets the more they lose (transpiration). They are at their most depleted by mid afternoon. With this in mind then the ideal time to pick the flowers will be in the early morning before the sun has dried things out. The next best time is dusk.
Pick the flowers and put the stems straight into a bucket that has a few inches of tepid water in it. Flowers will loose water and droop very quickly in the summer and this will shorten the vase life and flowers such as peonies, roses and irises never fully recover. Most flowers will last longer when cut if you pick them when they are young and not quite open.
Horticultural.
Ian
I have a lot of flowers in my garden that are suitable for cutting. When is the best time of day to harvest them for this purpose? Regards B.H. Newtown.
Reply.
The optimum time to pick flowers is when they have a good reserve of water to get the maximum amount of vase life. Plants start the day with full water stores, which will have been absorbed in the cool of the night. Throughout the day this store is depleted and the hotter it gets the more they lose (transpiration). They are at their most depleted by mid afternoon. With this in mind then the ideal time to pick the flowers will be in the early morning before the sun has dried things out. The next best time is dusk.
Pick the flowers and put the stems straight into a bucket that has a few inches of tepid water in it. Flowers will loose water and droop very quickly in the summer and this will shorten the vase life and flowers such as peonies, roses and irises never fully recover. Most flowers will last longer when cut if you pick them when they are young and not quite open.
Horticultural.
WEEDKILLER TYPES
Our new garden is quickly maturing into a lush patch of vegetables and flowers. We were away for a few days recently and when we came back we were absolutely amazed at how quickly everything had shot up, including the weeds! Annual weeds are no real problem to get rid of as long as they are pulled up before they go to seed. They can also be mulched which keeps them in check. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about perennial weeds. There have the potential to grow stronger and stronger every year. Any attempt to get rid of them usually ends up with the roots snapping off underground, leaving you with the top growth in your hand. Dandelions are notorious for such persistence and even the smallest piece of root in the ground will turn into another plant. I put black webbing over a few docks when I did the garden and the plants have managed to work their way up through a small hole. Others will do the same, horsetail, lesser celendines, coltsfoot, ground elder, Japanese knotweed, bindweed couch grass and most thistles are also very difficult to get rid of. If you have a small garden like ours the weeds can be controlled by painstakingly digging the plants out. In larger gardens it will be too much to do this, so the only alternative left will be to use a weedkiller. I personally would prefer to live with the problem than put the chemicals into the ground but (as I have already said) I only have a small garden so it isn’t an issue for me. For those of you whose life is made a misery by these pests, here is some weedkiller advice.
WEEDKILLERS
Some varieties of weedkillers might need two applications to get rid of the problem. Do not be tempted to put on more in the first instance as this will run off into the water table. Always apply weedkiller when the weeds are growing actively and choose one that will be taken up by the leaves and carried down the whole plant. These are known as translocated herbicides and are the best ones to use for perennial weeds. Contact herbicides only kill green material and so are more suited the control of annual weeds. When using any of these chemicals, spray on a calm day and keep it away from neighbouring plants. I suppose now would be a good time for me to mention that you should follow the manufacturers instructions
Horticultural.
WEEDKILLERS
Some varieties of weedkillers might need two applications to get rid of the problem. Do not be tempted to put on more in the first instance as this will run off into the water table. Always apply weedkiller when the weeds are growing actively and choose one that will be taken up by the leaves and carried down the whole plant. These are known as translocated herbicides and are the best ones to use for perennial weeds. Contact herbicides only kill green material and so are more suited the control of annual weeds. When using any of these chemicals, spray on a calm day and keep it away from neighbouring plants. I suppose now would be a good time for me to mention that you should follow the manufacturers instructions
Horticultural.
SOGGY SPINACH
Here’s an interesting fact about spinach. It’s recognised that this vegetable is high in iron and no doubt your parents used this point to convince you to swallow a soggy spoonful. I suppose Popeye has a lot to answer for. The spinach has no more iron content than most other vegetables. We can blame a late nineteenth century analyst for misplacing a decimal point, this gave the iron content ten times too high. It wasn’t until1937 that the mistake was recognised and put right.
Horticultural.
Horticultural.
CARROT MYSTERY
Bugs Bunny is always seen munching away on carrots. Some people claim that eating carrots help you see in the dark. I know this idea is sometimes used to get children to eat the vegetable. This thought came about because carrots contain carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A, which is claimed to help the eye adjust to dim light. Apparently, the story originated from the Second World War. The pilots claimed it was eating carrots that enabled them to see in the dark, thus keeping the fact that they had invented radar a secret. One thing the carotene does do well though is colouring the skin. If you eat enough of them or drink the juice regularly, then your skin will turn a very pleasant orange colour!
Horticultural.
Horticultural.
RABBIT PROBLEMS
I found out recently that one of my neighbours has a serious problem with wild rabbits. There only up the road from me but the pesky balls of fluff are noticeably absent in my own garden. Rabbits have their own territory and it seems that it doesn’t stretch to my vegetable patch, thank goodness.
My only defence against anything invading my plot consists of a length of wire running around the garden; at present they are supporting the butternut squashes and pumpkin plants. My poor neighbour has spent a considerable amount of money buying attractive plants for the garden and unfortunately they also appeal to the rabbit’s pallet as they have eaten practically everything in sight. In my experience of keeping pet rabbits I find that these creatures will eat just about anything if they are hungry enough, I’ve known our rabbits to eat the top of a coal bag and they chew merrily away at the waterproof covering of their hutch, which is made from bitumen and gravel. There are plants that rabbits will neglect in favour of more palatable ones though and if you have problems with shrubs being munched, it might be an idea to try them out. Rabbits tend to avoid plants that are highly scented, such as lavender and a lot of herbs. They tend to avoid hairy plants and the ones with grey leaves as well, so we were lucky around here as grey, hairy leafed plants thrive in our coastal climate. Sharp spiked plants might also be a deterrent but they will still need protecting whilst the thorns are establishing. If there are small trees in the garden these will need to have rabbit guards, made of tubular plastic put around the trunks, these are only a few cent from garden centres. A fence made from chicken wire could be put around the perimeter of the garden to keep the critters out. The only drawback with this is that the wire will have to be buried under the ground a few inches so the rabbits can’t tunnel underneath, this can be time consuming and very labour intensive. I personally wouldn’t consider poisons as this could work it’s way into the food chain or poison other animals, but I do know people have resorted to these desperate measures, think of mixamatosis, this is introduced when a rabbit warren gets to be a serious problem. This is a horrible way to control rabbits but is used because it is so effective.
There are other plants that could keep the damage to a minimum. Garlic, onions and marigolds all seem to deter bunny from plants around where they are planted. Some one recommended putting the cat litter deposits around the garden to scare the rabbits off, but I think that’s getting a bit carried away.
Horticultural.
My only defence against anything invading my plot consists of a length of wire running around the garden; at present they are supporting the butternut squashes and pumpkin plants. My poor neighbour has spent a considerable amount of money buying attractive plants for the garden and unfortunately they also appeal to the rabbit’s pallet as they have eaten practically everything in sight. In my experience of keeping pet rabbits I find that these creatures will eat just about anything if they are hungry enough, I’ve known our rabbits to eat the top of a coal bag and they chew merrily away at the waterproof covering of their hutch, which is made from bitumen and gravel. There are plants that rabbits will neglect in favour of more palatable ones though and if you have problems with shrubs being munched, it might be an idea to try them out. Rabbits tend to avoid plants that are highly scented, such as lavender and a lot of herbs. They tend to avoid hairy plants and the ones with grey leaves as well, so we were lucky around here as grey, hairy leafed plants thrive in our coastal climate. Sharp spiked plants might also be a deterrent but they will still need protecting whilst the thorns are establishing. If there are small trees in the garden these will need to have rabbit guards, made of tubular plastic put around the trunks, these are only a few cent from garden centres. A fence made from chicken wire could be put around the perimeter of the garden to keep the critters out. The only drawback with this is that the wire will have to be buried under the ground a few inches so the rabbits can’t tunnel underneath, this can be time consuming and very labour intensive. I personally wouldn’t consider poisons as this could work it’s way into the food chain or poison other animals, but I do know people have resorted to these desperate measures, think of mixamatosis, this is introduced when a rabbit warren gets to be a serious problem. This is a horrible way to control rabbits but is used because it is so effective.
There are other plants that could keep the damage to a minimum. Garlic, onions and marigolds all seem to deter bunny from plants around where they are planted. Some one recommended putting the cat litter deposits around the garden to scare the rabbits off, but I think that’s getting a bit carried away.
Horticultural.
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