- Páraig likes strolling the garden before breakfast to the accompaniment of music. He also likes WeatherShot and cycling, but not too many plants in straight lines.
I’ve had an on-off love affair with WeatherShot. It’s a phone app, sadly no longer being updated. I bought a subscription several years ago but could not really justify spending €30 the following year because I had not used it as much as I thought I would. Recently, I renewed again in exchange for the price of two bottles of wine, and this past week I’ve enjoyed using it every bit as much as drinking wine. Life is rarely either/or.
Rather than half a dozen Saturday photos, there’s one per day. I may be tempted to continue going forward. Here on the SE Irish coast it was another mild murky December week, recorded here along with gardening memories. Thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations, for hosting Six on Saturday. Rules is here.
Sunday
Sunday was wet and windy. I did manage to cycle about 70km but I needed a mince pie and coffee midway. Taken before I left, the pigeons, doves, sparrows and others are enjoying a hearty breakfast. Everything gobbled up by the time I returned.
Monday
It’s been my habit to spend a short few minutes each morning surveying the garden. I wear my headphones and have ‘The Garden Song‘ on repeat. I notice things and my advice to myself is: Notice everything, but do not touch. This photograph reminds me to rearrange the patio pots. Straight lines are not always the best.
Tuesday
These little annual Begonias are against the west-facing wall and they’re still in flower! The stone trough is topped with 2cm of loose stone to retain moisture in summer and heat in winter. If I told you these three plans survived last winter, would you believe me? You better believe it! They were planted in June 2022. If they survive again, they’ll need feeding.
Wednesday
Skimmia jap. ‘Temptation’ is doing OK, but only just. It would rather be in the ground. During the summer, it became much too dry. All life dies without water, and fails to thrive without enough.
Thursday
I think it’s obvious that I like Cordylines in containers. I’m told it’s a plant that does not do well if moved, but as they are in pots I can move them whenever and wherever I like. ‘Torbay Dazzler’ is out on its own, dead centre.
Friday
It’s complicated. I bought four red Christmassy pots, each containing one Cyclamen. Later, I took each of these lovely Cyclamen(s) from the four pots and put them together here. Why, you ask? Well, these are not winter hardy so the plan is to drape a towel over them whenever frost is likely. Can you spot the two chopsticks? You’ll know why I’ve put them in. I’m thinking that I have a touch of OCD, but these plants will bring me so much joy in these dark days.
Pop over to Jim’s Site to discover more Six-on-Saturday updates. Until next time, I hope you get to enjoy some time in the garden.
Inch by inch, row by row,
Gonna make this garden grow,
All it takes is a rake and a hoe,
And a piece of fertile ground.
Inch by inch, row by row,
Someone bless these seeds I sow,
Someone warm them from below,
'Till the rain comes tumblin' down.
Pullin' weeds and pickin' stones,
Man is made of dreams and bones,
Feel the need to grow my own,
'Cause the time is close at hand.
Grain for grain, sun and rain,
Find my way in Nature's chain,
Tune my body and my brain
To the music from the land.
Plant your rows straight and long,
Temper them with prayer and song,
Mother Earth will make you strong
If you give her loving care.
An old crow watching hungrily
From his perch in yonder tree,
In my garden I'm as free
As that feathered thief up there.
P.
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Lucky you having a mild patch in your garden for tender plants to survive the winter.
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If we do get a hard wallop in January / February then it’s kaput. That said, I’d imagine I had only half done hard frosts last winter because I’m 200 metres from the sea.
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What tough begonias! Long my they last. As always, I am impressed by your cycling and I have heard that mince pies make the best fuel. Enjoy your week x
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How to fuel a bicycle when the fuel is all gone? 😜 I may invent something mind-blowing.
All the best across the Irish Sea for the year ahead.
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The skimmia has caught my eyes, especially interesting in the middle of December !
I can see that you’ve also had mild weather this week, perhaps before a bit of cold weather returns? In any case, these temperatures should be ideal for your cycling runs.
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Skimmia is nice, yes.
Very mild, Fred. I may go out on bike for a while… Have a great week.
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I liked your day by day weather reports, and the view of your Cordylines. I was horrified to read earlier this week that Torbay Council had cut down theirs in the Italianate Garden ready for refurbishment, please don’t do that to yours. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/13/felling-of-torquay-famous-palm-trees-pure-vandalism-say-residents
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Thanks Noelle.
Yes, councils do strange things. Someone at a desk, far removed and on a different agenda, culling at will. 🙈
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Is it the Peter, Paul and Mary version of The Garden Song that you listen too on your daily garden walk? I hadn’t thought of that song in a long while, so just gave it a listen.
Lovin’ your Cyclamen grouping and your chopstick idea!
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So many artists have recorded this simple song.
I’ll get the lyrics added to the post…
Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
Gonna mulch it deep and low
Gonna make it fertile ground
Inch by inch, row by row
Please bless these seeds I sow
Please keep them safe below
Till the rain comes tumbling down.
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Yep, that’s the one. Love it!
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Check my reply to Catherine also…
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The begonias must be really tough to have made it through last winter. Not a hope over here. The berries on the Skimmia are adorable – I love winter berries!
I’d long forgotten The Garden Song. I knew the John Denver version. It’s one of those simple, gentle songs that gives you a warm, happy feeling. It’s going to be in my head for days now.
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Amazing thing about that song, Catherine… The lyrics also apply to achieving whatever we set our sights on…
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You’re right. Inch by inch… 😊
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The begonias playing the long game! The winter berries are cheery.
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Yes and yes. Cheers, a chara.
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Amazing begonias and I do hope you have a mild winter and they can be rewarded with a feed! Skimmias are not hardy enough for here, so lovely to see a picture of yours with its festive berries. Cordylines look best in pots. I have one in a large heavy pot that has to come indoors in winter… so it will have to stay at just that one sadly.
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Cheers, a chara.
Yes, we each adapt to what’s best/needed to keep a plant alive. In return, he universe thanks us in so many ways.
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Great pictures of your garden. I do like container gardening – did a lot of that before I had my own house. Now it is mostly my tomato plant in a container, though the main root goes straight out the bottom and into the soil below, as the container is the biggest I could afford and manage, but the tomato plant would like more space than that. I like the different textures of the plants in the “big picture” images.
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Thank you, a chara. Wishing you a very Happy New Year.
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