21st November 2020.
It has been a miserably wet week, fit only for indoor foostering, and part of it was mis-spent reading through some of my Six-on-Saturday articles. I found very little time for other matters such as taking photographs of the garden, potting up the remaining geraniums or planting the three heathers that have been sitting in place for the past ten days.
Not having current photographs has posed a problem, but I have solved it! Admittedly, I’m skiing off piste, in the sure knowledge that there is no naughty step! Here’s the angle this week: I’ve opted for a review, and selected a photograph from the first Saturday of each month beginning in May. (I joined Six on Saturday in June, so my first one this week has broken the skis.) Here we go Ar aghaidh linn back in time…
May – Sorbus Acuparia
I hope to care for these lovely trees for quite a while, and leave it to someone else to sit in their shade some fine day long in the future. He or she might even write about it.
Update: This, and another tree, have settled in very well despite being planted at the wrong end of the year. The sparrows and other small birds are thrilled.
June – Plants That Struggle
The new day does not always bring comfort. Keep a close eye on your struggling plants. Value them as you would the scented rose. Keep a close watch on friends or acquaintances and be there for them with a listening ear. Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.
Update: The conifer has since died. It happens. The entire contents of the pot have been removed from the premises lest there be an unknown disease lingering about doing damage. That’s life. Sin mar atá.
July – Celebrations
Feverfew is also known to some as Bachelor’s Buttons. This one seeded itself in a small crack between patio slabs, as I had written about in early June. I love it even before it flowers because of the attractive lime-green foliage. After you’ve read this blog thingy and other posts over at The Propagator’s HQ, after perhaps some gardening, coffee or other brew, you could return to this picture to count the buttons.
Update: We had a wonderful summer together, the bachelor and I. At a socially acceptable distance, of course! Apparently, some like the unusual scent smell. Le bonheur des uns fait le malheurs des autres.
August – Urgente Opus Prioritas
The first Six on Saturday of the month was largely composed in hospital after a heavy bang to the head. Apparently, no kitchen tiles were damaged and, although I was tempted to show my consultant a final draft of this as some proof that upstairs was still functioning, I waited for official discharge on purely medical grounds. I’m back gardening today, and spending some time reading other lovely garden Sixes.
Hiding the ugly plastic oil tank will be my number one priority. I know exactly the way I intend to do it and when it’s finished, the ugly plastic oiltank will be hidden from view. That’s the whole point. It’s on the way to being a top priority.
Update: Much has happened since August. Our heating system was removed during the week, and my friend Tom will be here early next week to remove the remaining oil. I have plans for a pergoda in this corner. The 47-year-old cast-iron oil boiler will be smelted down. Rotha mór an tsaoil.
September – National Garden Exhibition Centre
I visited Kilquaide in County Wicklow, and was gobsmacked that I hadn’t known about it, despite hiking the county from end to end in my twenties.
This little nook brings to my mind the beauty of looking beyond the present. There is light beyond the darkness. This time will pass.
Update: Despite plans to return, it hasn’t happened. Neither have similar plans for Mount Usher, nor my inaugural visit to Blarney Castle Gardens. Beidh lá eile ag an bPaorach.
October – Naked Ladies & How’s Your Father
I think someone may be able to identify this. I do not know what it is, but I do know that seeds of future beauty are stored within.
Update: confirmation arrived swiftly. It is a teasel. Many thanks Canadian Chris, Tasmanian Prue and French Fred. It’s a small small world. Mae’r byd yn fach!
There you have it. I enjoyed reading back through some of my twenty-five SOS weeks, and I particularly enjoyed reading so many comments from other gardeners. Happy that there’s a record of so many events, I shall return to the garden in its current state next week. Next week’s current state. Slán go fóill and have a great week. Thanks for reading.
My Other Six This Week (gardeners please ignore)
- Installation of air-to-water heating is complete
- Christmas beginnings… Bought a downgraded tree
- Too wet for cycling
- Covid Level 5 restrictions not effective yet
- Will Seamus Woulfe resign?
- I am entered for local running league. Just need to figure out how to run
Pádraig.
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Pádraig de Búrca - Grow Write Repeat 