BRIGHTEN UP YOUR DOORWAY

Bring some colour and warmth to the doorway of your house by carefully picking some hot pots and plants

HOT REDS
Perfect for: a cool corner that needs brightening up. Choose bold Mediterranean blue pots. They are usually associated with summer sun, but they also look great planted up with warm winter plants. A single colour scheme always creates instant impact - try a combination of cyclamen and Gaultheria procumbens.

OLIVES
Perfect for: an alternative look. Choose an olive tree! Although olive trees may be associated with sunnier climes, they are surprisingly hardy. Dress up your olive tree by placing it in a terracotta pot and under planting it with variegated ivy. It should be kept sheltered from cold winter winds, but makes a great alternative to the traditional Christmas tree.

CHOCOLATE ORANGE
Perfect for: a warm welcome to a door or driveway. Choose large red planters and plant them up in rich tones of red, orange and chocolate brown. It's a warm and inviting look that's easy to replicate. Plant a chocolate-brown cordyline in the centre of the pot and alternate orange flaming katy (Kalanchoë blossfeldiana) and red Gaultheria procumbens around the base of the cordyline. Place in a bright but sheltered spot and water sparingly.

POINSETTIAS
As we are looking at brightening up the doorstep let's look indoors too. There were some interesting houseplants on sale before Christmas to cash in on the buying frenzy. Some of the choices will last longer than others. Don't be too disappointed if the beautiful plant you bought looks like a pile of twigs, they will have done their job. Some plants are for Christmas, not for life!

A favourite is the Poinsettia. These attractive foliage plants prefer cooler rooms otherwise they wilt. To keep the humidity up, stand them on a layer of pebbles in a water-filled tray. Put the plants near a window with lots of light but out of draughts, let them dry out between watering, and feed occasionally. They could last for months but don't bet money on it though! Most of the problems you will get with this plant are because of the poor conditions they were displayed in at the shops. They were grown in hot glasshouses so a cold draughty doorway of a shop is the last thing they need. Pick ones from shops that keep them watered and out of the cold air. If you do want to over winter the plant so that they produce the coloured bracts ( kind of flower petals), it is possible but tricky. They'll need 14 hours of total darkness followed by 10 hours of daylight every day for 8 weeks. Leave it to the professionals!

Horticultural.

PLANNING FOR WILDLIFE

Australian bush turkey (doesn't really need help but I thought it looked cute)

SPARE A THOUGHT FOR THE BIRDS WHEN PLANNING YOUR GARDEN

Birds are on the decline in the garden and one of the reasons could be blamed on lost lawns. Decking, patios and gravel gardens may be contributing to a decline in song thrushes, house sparrows and starlings. Conservationists said their numbers have plummeted over the last 30 years as a trend to replace lawns with a low maintenance alternative has taken off. Without a habitat for insects, there is less for the birds to feed on. The RSPB over in England said studies suggested this was threatening some species' survival rate and urged people to leave lawns. It said that gardening makeover shows and a lack of time to spend tending a garden had led people to pave over their gardens or lay decking. Richard Bashford, of the RSPB, said: "We are losing more and more of the natural environment around our homes, particularly our front gardens." He said research had shown that even tiny front gardens or green verges are vital for urban wildlife and can house more than 700 different species of insect. "The RSPB is still investigating the causes of declines and why bird populations aren't recovering. Currently there is no one factor this can be attributed to. "However supplementing natural food with seeds and nuts and planting natural food sources for next spring can only help." The RSPB is also urging gardeners to plant native shrubs, leave patches of long grass and introduce bird feeders and tables.

RSPB ADVICE

Plant a native shrub or climber
Leave patches of long grass
Do not cut back old stems of herbaceous plants and annuals until spring
Fill a shallow dish with fresh water every day.

Put nuts, seeds and household scraps in feeders or on bird tables

Environmental.

ME AND MY MOTOR-GARETH GAMBLE

Name: Gareth Gamble.

Address: Burnfoot.

Car: 1987 Ford Capri 1.6


Gareth is presently living on the outskirts of Burnfoot. He has reluctantly had to put the car up for sale as he is emigrating to Australia very soon. Gareth is moving over to Newcastle in New South Wales with his fiancée Natasha Phillips. Natasha hails from Newcastle but her roots are in Ireland, (her mother’s maiden name is Gallagher) with numerous relations in Cork and Letterkenny.


How long have you had the car?
3 years

Any plans to change?
Yes! I don’t think I could get the car into my suitcase! I have the car up for sale at the moment for €1,200 euro. If anyone is interested they can call me on 074 936 8832

Is it reliable?
I paid for a lot of mechanical work to be done when I got it and it has been reliable ever since.

Best thing about the car?
The bonnet. The bump is very prominent when you are sat in the driving seat.

How often do you wash it?
Up until now I worked away so it only got a wash about once a week.

Any modifications?
There is a full body kit, skirts front and back.


If you were the Minister for Finance what would you do to help motorists?
I was at my stag do recently at a rally in Portadown. We all thought that a designated track for training and improving awareness on the roads would be a terrific idea.



What would you really like to be driving around in?
It would have to be a Ford Mustang!

TREEHUGGER

I have just subscribed to Treehugger. Check out the forum site:

http://forums.treehugger.com/

JOBS TO DO IN AUTUMN

Winter is setting in. The coalbunker is full and the mower is parked up for a while as the grass is now too wet to cut. If you are storing your mower in the shed it is a good idea to smear moving parts in grease and get the WD40 out for a spray over everything else. All to often people go back to their tools in spring to find them seized up. Fill a bucket with sand and put in some old oil. This can be used to dip your manual tools into before storage. Let us have a look at what else we can be getting on with to keep warm outside.


JOBS TO DO THIS WEEK


BRASSICAS
Check your brassicas for pests. Just because it is cold doesn’t mean that greenfly are not active. Our broccoli is still disappearing fast, as they munch away. Put a net over them if pigeons are around too.

ROSES
Roses will need a prune now to prevent wind rock. Just reduce the bushes to half their size and leave like that until early spring, and then you can cut them back harder.

FALLEN LEAVES
Fallen leaves can mean food for earthworms and make brilliant mulch around shrubs and trees. Of course they can also be a real irritation when they cover paths, ponds, lawns and drainpipes. Collect what you can and put them into the compost bin. If you don’t have a compost bin, put them into a dustbin liner bag with a pint or two of water and leave until summer. You will have then have a great bulking agent for your flowerpots.

FEED THE BIRDS
Birds that stay with us for the winter will benefit by having their feeders topped up.

WINTER BEDDING
It’s not too late to plant out the winter bedding. Try wallflowers, and forget- me- nots, primulas, violas, daisies and anything else that is looking good in the garden centres.

HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS
When you are in the garden centre have a look for good herbaceous perennials. Now is a good time to add these to the garden, as the soil is still warm(ish) but moister then it was in summer.

Horticultural.

FROCKSROCK

Are you stuck what to buy a girl between the ages of 3to 8?

Well fear not. Local ladies Angelo Callaghan and Nicki Cole have come up with a solution.

Frocksrock.

These innovatine gifts combine fashion for girls and their dolls.

Based and designed in Ireland.

Check out the website:

FROCKSROCK HOME

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