June In My Garden by Philippa Thomas JUNE, MANY SAY, IS THE LOVELIEST MONTH OF THE YEAR AND OUR LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR FALLS ON 21ST JUNE. Our extra light and warmth encourages our gardens to put on an exuberant burst of growth. It’s hard to beat that feeling of abundance and the whispered [...]
There is a great sense of satisfaction from spending time working in the garden. There are also many benefits for our physical and mental health from being active in the outdoors. For example: Gardening involves many of our critical functions including strength, endurance, dexterity, learning and problem solving, and sensory awareness Some Benefits of Gardening [...]
April in my Garden by Philippa Thomas Imagine, our days are longer than our nights now. So our plants are responding with more rapid growth. Possibly, April is the busiest time of the year in the garden. ‘April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks go.’ Christopher Morley. Every day now, there is [...]
My Garden by Philippa Thomas Is not Sorrento Park, Dillons Park, Our Vico Strip, Killiney Hill, Bullock Harbour, Dalkey Island, Hyde Park, Cuala - All our green areas, our parks, - simply THE LUNGS OF OUR TOWN WITH ITS 'VILLAGE' ATMOSPHERE. MAYBE, 'BEE' THE DIFFERENCE, GREEN UP YOUR WALLS. Perhaps too, consider a small ornamental tree. [...]
My Garden by Philippa Thomas Wishing You All, The Warmest Greetings Of The Season And Best Wishes For Happiness In 2019. Berries are the jewels of our December gardens as well of course, being a festive treat for our birds. Our feathered friends love Holly, Mistletoe, Pyracantha, Cotoneaster, Hawthorn, Crab Apples and Rosehips [...]
If you grow lilies or fritiillaries you will have this bright lacquered red beetle pest. I first saw lily beetles in my garden about 2014. They were more a curiosity, and after I found and killed the two of them, there was no sign the rest of the year. From then I would occasionally come across them doing no particular damage and delete them on sight.
My Garden by Philippa Thomas In general, our plants have recovered remarkably from our long drought spell of our Summer and now, our ‘most dry spell’ takes its place in memory. As our leaves are still falling and our days of wind and rain are gaining in numbers: as well as wrapping ourselves up in [...]
The talk on Hellebores and Friends on Tuesday, 23rd October by Dr Julian Sutton was excellent. While there are numerous cultivars of hellebores it was good to learn more about some splendid species and their role in hybridization. I grow a few species and they help me welcome spring with cheerful anticipation. I watch H. x ericsmithii stir into action [...]
My Garden by Philippa Thomas Our light is softer and kinder in this September month and our heat is generally bone warming with obviously, a little nip in the air first thing in the a.m., when we do a whistle stop trip to our Oxigen bin or the likes. …For some, we still have two [...]
The Vine Weevil appears near the top of every list of annoying insects. It is very destructive and immediate action should be taken if you come across it. This article by Club member Peter Lynch tells you all you need to know. Click to download part 1 (pdf) The second article deals with [...]
