GUNNERA

Check out how gunnera can be protected over winter and how invasive it can be

GLOSSARY OF GARDENING WORDS

Have you ever been in the company of someone and can go for ages and not have a clue what they are talking about. This happens when the person is fanatical about a subject that you know very little or nothing about. The same problem can arise when I get on my soapbox and start using terms that are common in the gardening world, but rarely used anywhere else. Such as the word loam, this just means a mixture of sand, clay and organic matter…soil in other words. Using key words is a great idea when you are trying to charge customers more for your time as a landscape gardener or garden designer, the same is probably true in most professions. An old lecturer told me once that all I had to do was to learn three or four Latin words for plants and if used at the right time in a conversation would make me sound like a professional.

Here are a few words to use if you want to impress the neighbours.

Aerate -This is when the soil is loosened with a fork or machine to allow air and water into the ground
Biennial –This is a plant that usually lives for two years. It flowers and going to seed in the second year.
Dormancy is when a plant has a rest in winter.
Elaeagnus ebbingei -A hardy variegated shrub.
Germinate means the sprouting of a seed.
Herbaceous a plant with soft, rather than woody stems.
Hydroponics. This is when a plant is grown in a liquid instead of soil.
Perennial means a non-woody plant that lives longer than two years.
Topiary is where shrubs are pruned to a particular shape, for example animals.
Variegated leaves have two or more different colours.

Armed with these few words you can lean over the garden fence and come out with some gems like…. “ Hello, what wet weather we are having, we could almost be growing our biennial plants by hydroponics! I’ve just been aerating the lawn with a view to putting in an herbaceous border. My recently germinated perennial plants are dormant at present but I’m hoping to put them in too. I’m also hoping to do a bit of topiary on my variegated elaeagnus ebbingei”…. Come out with stuff like that and I can guarantee the neighbours wont keep you talking, they will be making any excuse to leave!

Horticultural.

TOOL CHECK

I’m looking to buy a garden shed. I have been pricing them up recently and think that it would be a good idea to invest in one. The main reason is that it can house all the tools that I have that are lying around in my new garden.

I moved house over the past couple of weeks and I no longer have the luxury of a 30-foot polythene tunnel to dump everything in. The vegetable patch that I have worked hard to create is having to fend for itself as well. My new garden is the size of an average living room and as I speak is under three inches of water. The garden has very little grass, absolutely no topsoil and gets about two minutes worth of sunshine first thing in the morning as the sun comes up. It is a true challenge and I am looking forward to doing something with it - at the moment I favour concrete slabs!

TOOL CHECK
Now that the autumn is moving into winter, it is the time to give the garden tools the once over. Firstly, check your stock. Count up your tools and make sure that none of them are left out over the winter. Bring them in and check on their condition. There may be tools that need new handles or a bit sticking back on that have dropped off. Throw away any tools that are damaged or broken, these are dangerous and are just accidents waiting to happen. Scrub the tools clean with soapy water, dry them thoroughly and wipe them down with an oily rag. Another good idea for spades, forks and trowels is to have a bucket filled with sand and some old engine oil poured into it. Push the tool in a few times, the sand acts as an abrasive cleaner and the oil stops the metal from rusting. You can use it in summer too in between using the equipment.

Make sure that the tools are hung up properly. Tools stacked in corners or hanging from the ceiling are also very dangerous, especially when you are rooting around the shed in the middle of the night looking for the lost Christmas decorations. If you have outside taps make sure that the pipes are insulated against the frost. Disconnect the hosepipe and drain the water out of it. When storing the pipe try to roll it around an old car wheel (minus the tyre!) or invest in a proper drum from the garden supply shops. Don’t hang them on a nail, as the sharp edge will damage the pipe and more than likely split it too.


Horticultural.

ME AND MY MOTOR-CHANTAL BUSAK

We have a pedigree motor this week. Chantal Busek from Moville is the proud owner of a Silver Toyota Celica 1.8 VVTi. Chantal is the reservations manager and E-commerce controller for the Carlton group and works from the Carlton Redcastle hotel. Chantal might have a busy demanding job but she still manages to find the time to polish her beautiful car and run a few marathons!


What made you choose a sports car?
I think that every girl should have a sports car at some time in her life. I drove a Celica owned by a friend of my partner and was hooked, I just had to have one. I have only had it for three months but I now think of it as an extension of my boyfriend!

Any plans to change?
No chance! These cars are hard to find.

Did you buy it privately or through a garage?
I took a bit of a risk and bought it privately. I looked at all of the websites until the right car came up. When I saw it we drove to Dublin that moment to buy it. Specialist motors tends to be sold straight away and I missed a couple before this one. I am pleased though as the car I now have was a better price and had the complete sports pack.

What is in the sports pack?
Loads of stuff! Lowered suspension, extra power in the engine, air conditioning, alloy wheels, leather seats, slide back sunroof and bucket seats for a start.

Is it reliable?
Extremely reliable. It has very low mileage and is like a new car.

How often do you wash it?
Not as often as I should but I do find that silver doesn’t show up the dirt. I shouldn’t worry though as dirt can be fashionable. Did you know there is now dirt in a can? It is used by city folk who have off road cars and never see the countryside!

What would you do to help motorists?
Put some drivers through their test again! Concentrating on how to cope with roundabouts and parking.

What would you like to be driving around in?
My Toyota Celica, thank you!

Motoring.

TRUCK

AUTUMN IS COMING

Check the grass to see nothing strange is growing on it

Autumn is coming and the grass growth is slowing down. My grass managed to reach the height of about two feet this year, due to neglect on my part. Every spring I make the resolution that I’m going to keep on top of the grass cutting by going out every week on a particular day, (Sunday this year) and cut the grass. I did this for the first couple of weeks in spring when the growth began in earnest. Then I forgot, or became distracted by something else important like digging up carrots or taking the dog for a walk, and before I knew it the grass was up to my knees. When this happens, the strimmer comes out to tackle the problem and over the growing season the area I strim gets smaller and smaller in ever decreasing circles, until there’s just enough short grass to put the patio table and chairs on. This week, come rain or shine I will be out there with the strimmer to get the grass down to a manageable level, leaving it looking tidy and cared for over the winter.

NEW LAWNS
This time of year is ideal to get a new lawn established. The cooler, wetter weather is ideal for the grass seed to germinate and you will be spared the job of having to water the ground in dry spells. There’s still enough heat in the sun for the grass to establish itself as well, before winter sets in. If you have taken the time and trouble to prepare a level, stone free seed bed (believe me it is a lot of work preparing the ground for a lawn!) then it might be an idea to leave it for a couple of weeks after you have prepared it. The reason for this isn’t to wait until your back has repaired itself, but if you wait for a while all the annual seeds on the top of the soil will have germinated. These can then be hoed down, creating a weed free bed to sow the grass seed on. This method is known as “ Stale seedbed” and it also is helpful to spot, and remove the odd perennial weed that was left in the soil such as dandelions, docks and creeping buttercups.

HERBS
I’ve been tidying the herb garden this week. Some of the plants are looking as though they need to be lifted and divided. This goes for most perennials, after a while the plants die in the middle so when the plant is lifted, the middle part can be thrown onto the compost heap and the fresh parts of the plant can then be divided up and replanted.

I’ve got quite a bit of basil still in the tunnel and with the nights getting colder I’ll probably bring some indoors for a bit of protection against the elements. I haven’t enough windowsills to accommodate all of the plants so the rest are going to make a basic pesto sauce. The basil leaves will be mixed with some olive oil and garlic, and then I’ll put the mixture into those ice cube containers that live in the freezer. This way I can take out what I need over the coming months.

Horticultural.