WINTER SHRUBS

Daphne mezeruem 'rubra'

WINTER FRAGRANCE
There are wonderful fragrances around in the plant world at any time of the year. One in particular that evokes memories of summer evenings is the honeysuckle. The smell of their flowers in the evening is very distinctive. Just because we are heading into the dormant season doesn’t mean that we are lacking in outdoor scent either, if you use your nose when out for a walk you will still notice some lovely aromas. To start with autumn itself has a wonderful earthy smell. Individual plants such as the Christmas box (Sarcococca), which can be planted even in the smallest garden, are delightful. There are loads of other plants that will give your nose a bit of pleasure; here are a few more common plants that you should find in the local garden centres now.

Daphne mezereum: This deciduous shrub has bare branches wreathed in sweetly scented, pink or white flowers. The shrub is very hardy and shouldn’t outgrow its site for many years. There are less common types as well; the Daphne ‘Aureo-marginata’ is a variegated evergreen is also a good choice as it thrives on acid soil.

Mahonia Japonica: This plant has other hybrids as well that are equally popular such as ‘Charity’ and ‘Winter sun’ but the original Mahonia still has the most powerful fragrance. The rosettes of holly shaped leaves set off the yellow flowers brilliantly. The smell is similar to the Lilly of the Valley plant and has a very long season of flowering. It can grow big but you can keep it in shape by pruning out the old wood.

Hamamaelis mollis: (Chinese witch hazel) and its hybrid H. japonica will eventually grow into small trees, but will stay as a medium shrub for years. The flower colours vary from yellow to bright orange, depending on the variety you choose. The wispy petals seem unaffected by even the heaviest of frosts and the scent can penetrate from one end of the garden to another as soon as the sun comes out and the day warms up. If they are planted in a sunny spot in rich soil then they will also develop the bonus of bright autumn colour.

Chimonanthus praecox: This plant will thrive on alkaline soil and the flowers have a spicy winter fragrance. It will make a smaller bush than the Witch hazel and will need a sunny site to get the best results.

Viburnum x bodnantense: I saw some very good examples of the ‘dawn’ variety in the garden centre last week. These hardy shrubs do very well around Inishowen. There are other varieties such as ‘Charles Lamont’ or ‘Deben’ that are equally as good. These shrubs seem to do well in any soil and have small, sweetly scented tubular flowers between autumn and spring

ME AND MY MOTOR-DONAL MCKINNEY

The old garage has now been demolished

IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL AT PIT STOP TYRE CENTRE IN BUNCRANA

The original building where Donal McKinney runs Pit Stop Tyre Cenre in Buncrana has recently disappeared but it’s still business as usual for the highly successful company. Donal started Pit Stop Tyre Centre on Ferris lane in Buncrana, just off of the main street nearly ten years ago and the time has come for a new purpose built workshop to be erected in its place. The new state of the art building will be here soon! You can still contact them on the usual number (074) 93 61386

Donal is driving a 2004 Fiat Doblo 1.9 diesel van


Why did you choose an Italian van?
I have always had a passion for Italian cars. My brother and I used to work on my father’s Fiat 127. We reconditioned replacement engines to be on standby for when the one in the car packed up. We could replace the engine in no time. It made me very familiar with Italian engineering. Since then I have owned a Lancia Delta, a Fiat Punto and Alfa Romeos.

How long have you had the van?
I bought it new four years ago. It replaced an old transit van and the Fiat’s small size makes it very handy for running around the towns. I have a larger pick up truck for the bigger jobs but most breakdowns that I deal with are either tyres or batteries and the van is perfect for dealing with these types of problems.

Is it reliable?
Yes. Italian cars can have a bit of a reputation for being temperamental but I have had no problems with the Doblo. It has a great driving position too.

How often do you wash it?
Nearly every day! In the quieter moments the young lads who work with me take it to the pressure washing facilities that we have. I think the lads enjoy it as well because it gives them an excuse to do a bit of driving.

Are there any modifications?
The car has alloy wheels, that’s about it. The performance and style are sporty enough.

What would you really like to be driving around in?
It has to be Italian. The new Alfa Brera would do nicely.

NEWPORT COUNTY MAYO

Our old house

GARDENING HIGHLIGHTS

Swans at Westport house

Highlights of the Gardening Year

Well what was your gardening highlights this year? How did the wet summer and the beautiful autumn treat your plants and crops? Our garden has developed a bit more this year, and the wet summer seemed to do the plants good. The only plants that seemed to suffer a bit were plants in hanging baskets. They tended to get a bit of a battering in the storms we had. There were certain plants that didn’t do well at all and I won’t be growing them next year. I will be concentrating my efforts on plants that will tolerate adverse conditions.

As for the veggies, our crops did OK generally. We didn’t get as many peas as we got in previous years, but we got a good crop of courgettes and broccoli. We got quite a few spuds too and we haven’t planted any for 2 years! Most of them came from potatoes left in the ground after harvesting. They kept us going about 6 weeks. We sat down to Christmas dinner with vegetable spaghetti squash and Brussels grown in the vegetable patch this year. I think I’m turning into my parents on this matter. I remember when I was young and my parents used to go on about the homegrown vegetables on my plate. I remember muttering under my breath that their time would be better spent growing me some chocolate. It’s my turn now to be ignored by my children on the virtues of home grown produce.

More mulching
A few years ago I was living in Westport, Co Mayo, and I was looking after a five-acre garden. The garden had twelve large raised beds for growing vegetables, and when I took over looking after them, they were very overgrown with weeds. At the time I took a whole day to clear the weeds out of one bed, then I had to find somewhere for the weeds to go. The whole process was hard on the back, painfully slow and tedious. What I have learned this year is that there is an easier way. That easier way is mulching. If I were to have used old cardboard and mushroom compost the bed could have been ready for planting in an hour without breaking into a sweat (far more cost effective for my employers who were paying me by the hour)! Mulching has for me made my life so much easier in the garden, no more tedious weeding for me.

RECYCLE SILVER FOIL

Top Tip – Recycling Silver Foil.
Before you throw out all the silver foil that is wrapped around the left over food in the fridge, try using it as a way to keep greenfly off your prized plants. If the foil is laid out underneath the plant, the suns rays reflect onto the underside of the leaves. The pests find things too bright and move on to pastures new.

FESTIVE TIPS

Christmas on the Gold Coast

Keep you’re washing up cloth clean and germ free this Christmas. If you don’t want the hassle of putting it in the washing machine, pop the damp cloth in the microwave. In just thirty seconds your cloth will have had all the germs zapped. Careful when you take it out as it will be hot.

A friend of mine dries his socks in his microwave; we used to do this a lot with the children’s clothes to get them warm when we lived in a cold, damp house. Unfortunately on day we left them in too long and burned them to a crisp!

Talking of hot things, do you ever set alight to your Christmas pudding? If you are disappointed with the feeble flame then try warming things up a bit. Warm the plate that the pudding is on and warm the brandy in a soup ladle over a flame. You will find the effect far more exciting.

Warning: Be very careful when doing this and make sure whoever is doing it isn’t indulging in too much festive spirit!