Starlings by the hundreds!

Early June.. Our cat Tas watches a flock of starlings in the grass. I couldn't get over the size of this group of birds! They were all very hyper, pecking at the ground wildly.
We had a family of starlings nesting in our attic this spring, was interesting to listen to the baby birds as they grew, suddenly thier voices became mature and soon after they flew away. Guess they think this is thier garden as well, they invited thier extended family over for dinner!
So.. this brings me up to date...

Glorious Poppies

Glorious oriental poppies! I had one growing in a pot at the old house. When I transfered it to this new garden, it looked like it was going to die. But it did survive, and scattered its seeds all over. I have several of these wonderful volunteers all through my front garden now.

Tree lupins and sweet rocket. I planted these from seed, to try and hide the wall, which I didn't like looking at. They look fantastic this year, and were tall enough to cover the wall!

Pansy and violas.
The pansy is called "Fancy Cat"
So pretty with all those little sripes on a happy yellow color.

Rain rain rain.....

Mid May we had so much rain! One of my family took this pic near the laundry line, there was some awful flooding in the entire garden. My vegetable plot was all under water for a couple weeks! The seedlings I planted there disapeared.. rotted maybe, I don't know. I had to start the veggie seeds over again. A new black current bush died, might have been too wet and cold.

But my apple tree bloomed really nicely! I can see the two apple trees from the kitchen window as I wash dishes. Makes me smile...

Angel in the meadow!

Our neighbor's tree.. a beautiful beech, I think it is. It's a favorite spot for cats. Here's a pic of Tinkerbell, another neighbor's little cat. Her eyes glow in the darkness.

February.. snowflakes came drifting down, it rarely happens here. I got another tree for Christmas, you can see it tied against the constant wind, in front of my shed. It's a corkscew hazel, what a crazy looking tree! But the most facinating thing about this picture, is.. there seems to be an Angel flying over my meadow! I feel honored to have one come visit!

Deliciously fragrant

January 2006... This is the most flowers my witch hazel has ever put out! The fragrance was wonderful! The little tree called me outside to admire its beauty and perfume, despite the cold! I'm very happy this tree is growing here with me!

Jeweled webs

December... the spiderwebs were hung with ice crystals, some of them looked decked out in sparkling jewels. I hadn't realised just how many webs there were in the garden!

Leaves of various plants were also covered in ice crystals. My calendulas were still blooming!

Frost

November.. Frosty spider webs hang in the witch hazel branches.

There was frost over everything, roses, rosehips, cabbage and parsley. I thought it looked lovely. And it all continued growing after being frozen!

Spiders drift into the garden

September.. My meadow seems to be turning into a weed patch. But the insects love it, there seem to be hundreds flying and crawling throughout that small area.

The witch hazel's leaves are turning golden. Hundreds of little spiders have flown into the garden on thier silky parachutes, draping their webs across everything. It's a breathtaking sight when the sun catches the silk, tiny little rainbows forming in skinny lines.

Sunflowers and Mushrooms

August.. Sunflowers poke thier heads above Welsh poppies and candytuft. The poppy seeds I gathered from Wales, where we used to camp in Betws-y-Coed. I love the color yellow, and these poppies are so sweet! The candytuft seeds came from my Mom's.., she has these all over her garden!

Mushrooms started popping up everywhere! Cute little things! I wonder if faeries come during the night to sit on them?

The Dark Lady , Violas, and Strawberries

Late July.. The Dark Lady finally opens a bloom! I had planted her in my main flower garden in front of the house. She didn't like it there, it was too chilly and shady half the day. She suffered from the cold! And was being strangled by poppies, nasturtiums, and feverfew, who all shoved her aside, and threatened to block her sunlight! So I moved the poor girl to a warmer spot by a wall that faced south. She felt a lot better there, and hopefully will reward me with a few more blooms!

Violas.. my favorite flower of them all! I just adore them, thier happy little faces and cheerful colors! Sometimes I look at a viola flower and it's like a miniature watercolor painting. Mother Nature is some kind of artist!!

Food! Strawberries, apples, and veggies were bountifull! The strawberries I also brought with me from the old house. I had long long ago bought only four strawberry plants, and they had multiplied to dozens! So I brought about 20 of them to this new garden, and I hope to have a giant strawberry patch here one day!

July 2005, garden is one year old!

Color in the flower garden! A lot of these plants came from collected seed from the old house. Some just decided to grow there with no help from me, sprouting from seed left in the compost heap. I bought the seed for the pansy, and I bought the William Morris Rose (in center). The striped snapdragon was a happy surprise, I have no idea where that came from!
My herb garden is coming along nicely. I tried growing borage this year. And I rescued the lovely lavendar from DIY shop, where it was bone dry and starting to wilt.
I made noodle salads a lot that summer, using flowers of borage and nasturtium to sprinkle color over the top. The family loved it!

Celestial and Feverfew

June, and my Celestial Rose is starting to bloom. I put this rose against the north wall, I had read that Alba roses can take some shade. Some feverfew has decided to grow along with the rose. I thought they looked beautiful together.
I made a tiny flowerbed by my shed, where poppies and feverfew has decided to grow. I planted a campanula as well. That's Molly, our old cat She's about 16 years old here.

Apple Trees!

I have always wanted an apple tree. So for a Christmas present, my hubby took me to buy two. A desert apple and a cooking apple. I'm sure it will take a few years before these two trees produce a good crop. Here are the blossoms of the cooking apple. (I think this is May)

Sheep conversations, and Mickey Mouse tulips

April.. The weather was getting warmer. And suddenly there was a field of sheep behind us! I thought it was wonderful. Each sheep has its own unique voice, and they talked to each other all day!
The meadow grass grew long, see Pippin hiding?

In my little vegetable garden, the kale I planted last July was flowering. I thought it was pretty! In the flower garden, my "Mickey Mouse" tulips were bloomimg. I had brought these bulbs with me from the old place. They always bloomed in my strawberry bed, and now they have a home in the flower garden. These are my favorite tulips, I love the colors, and especially the name, as I am a classical animator.. so there's a special meaning to me!

Daffodils

In March, a few daffodils are blooming, along with a couple of hyacinths. Bulbs I had dug up and brough with me. Some feverfew has sprung up. I also brought with me a heap of compost from my old garden, and it must have had feverfew seeds in it. Well, any flowers are welcome at this stage!

Winter flowers have a look around

In December, the witch hazel is still blooming, with a dusting of snow on the ground.
Also, a rose decided to bloom, one blossom came out to have a look around. I also brought this rose with me from the old place. A neighbor gave it to me.. they had bought several bushes for thier re-designed garden, and had one too many. Lucky me!
I was quite worried to be digging up established plants like this rose and tree, in the middle of July. But they seem to have settled in nicely.

November flowers

Here is the Witch Hazel, already starting to flower in November. Not a lot of flowers, this little tree has never flowered well. I'm hoping the fresh air will do it good.

October, a vast green lawn

I got me a garden shed. There's a witch hazel in the lawn, dug up from my old house. I've had this tree for several years, love the flowers in the winter! I had to bring it with me!

Young meadow in September

Here's the corner of the garden 2 months later. I have thrown meadow seed in this area for a bit of quick color. The kitten is Pippin, he was a stray who decided to come live with us in our old house, one week before we moved out. He has taken well to country living!

Dirt... an empty canvas

My "garden" in July, 2004.
I want to keep a journal about what plant is growing at which time of year, and how my garden is growing. I thought I would start with the empty plot, as it was when we first moved here 2 years ago, out to the country in the middle of Ireland. See the red thing over at the left? There's a Celestial Rose, planted when the tractors and machinery were still moving around. With red plastic tied around it, so it wouldn't be mistaken for a weed.