Cherry, Tree and Sky

I'm off to visit my Mom in Holland for two weeks, to pretty up her garden.
*waves bye*

Tree blossoms

My apple tree is blooming brightly.

And my little hawthorn is looking fantastic this year. Very bushy and healthy. It has flower buds for the very first time since I dug it out of a vacant lot as a tiny trash tree. It's like a stray that's been given a new home, now living in the fresh country air far away from Dublin. It's still quite small, but I think this will be a good year for growth. It's so beautiful, I love the little guy! Must think of a name for him.
*edit* I just thought of a perfect name. Harold. From "Harold and Maude". If anyone has never seen this film,try to see it. It's my all time favorite. Maude sees a street tree in the city, and she thinks it's in distress. So she and Harold come back later, dig it up, and bring it to the forest to plant.

The last crazy thing

I finally thought of one last thing. Crazy? Probably not. Most likely all gardeners do wierd things that's really not at all wierd.

I had made a new herb bed, and it's still mostly dirt. So to pretty it up somewhat, I put little jam or mayonaise jars in the ground, and fill them with various flowers.

I had seen this meme at Annie's "The Transplantable Rose" blog, (she got it from here.) Play along if you like. Maybe you won't find it as difficult as myself to think of 5 really crazy things only a real gardening addict would admit.

Spring Garden

Tis a very overcast Sunday, I'm hoping for a little rain to water my garden. The bulbs and flowers still looking, and smelling, wonderful.

The first calendula has opened.

And here are a couple of mysteries.. I got these tiny white flowers from my Mom's garden, I have no idea what they are. Very pretty leaves too, and they seem to spread nicely. I had one little plant last year, and now there are many.
Could it be edelweiss?
*edit* It's been identified! thank you beadexplorer. This is woodruff (gallium odoratum)

And there are some gorgeous leaves coming up here. They look like a philodendron house plant, but I never planted that in my garden! Anyone have an idea what this is?
*edit*Carol thinks it's Arum. Thanks, Carol!
It does look like Arum! But I never planted any arum. How odd. But it does grow in various places around the countryside, I remember being facinated by their autumn red berries in forests. I wonder how it got into my garden. I'm also wondering if I should move it into my Peppermint Woods area, since it grows in woods naturely. Perhaps I'll leave it where it is for now, and move it during next winter.

The plight of street trees

The theme for May's Festival of the Trees is "trees in the concrete" hosted by Xris at Flatbush Gardener. I live in the country, and thought I would have to travel all the way into Dublin for this project. But walking to the shop recently, I saw the plight of our very own street trees.

This poor thing never had a chance, its bottom half had been completely torn away. It looks like it's been hanged for a crime never commited.

A popular sport in Dublin was the breaking of newly planted trees. I thought by moving further out into the countryside, things like this wouldn't happen.

Large gaping wounds and snapped branches were everywhere all along our street.

I don't understand what makes this a fun thing to do.. things like this always make me sad for the trees.

A lovely cherry tree, but only slightly mutilated.

Today, my husband came home from the shop, telling me they were cutting down trees on the main road into the village. So I hopped on my bicycle to have a look. I thought I should take some photos before they were all gone.

I came just before this tree fell. It was so sad!! I had never seen a tree felled before, it must have been terrifying for the tree!

*sigh* A man who lives across the road came out to talk with me. They had pleaded with the council to try and stop this, but the destruction had gone ahead anyway.

On the way back to my house, I took a pic of this little tree, its trunk snapped by some tree-bully when it was first planted. But here it is, regrowing several new branches, and looking quite pretty in spite of the broken trunk. Life prevails.
Posting today, a few weeks early for May's Festival of the Trees, as this was quite upsetting, and I had to get it out.

Geraniums and Peppermint

Two of my geraniums have just opened up thier first flowers. The pink is a rose-scented, I always love the scent of this one's leaves as I brush past. The red is a cutting from my Mom's garden a few years ago. This one has some outrageously colored leaves, which become better looking as summer progresses.

Peppermint harvested from my Peppermint Woods. The first peppermint of the season. Smells so nice where it's growing, you can't help stepping on it, it's popping up everywhere.

Crazy Things part 2

Continuing with the meme I found at Annie's "The Transplantable Rose" blog, (she got it from here.) Here are 2 more things that may not be crazy to me, maybe not to you, but here goes anyway...

I let things like turnips, radishes, parsley, rocket, etc. go to flower over the winter. I like the flowers.. and I get the plus of getting free seeds later on too. I even sometimes put the flowers in vases for the house.

I use old Christmas trees for my beans to scramble up, and have two more behind my shed.
That leaves one more crazy thing.. I am finding it hard to think of something totaly wacky, it all seems perfectly normal to me.

A new willow arrives

My neighbor has done it again! He's left a tree lying in my garden! I'm so lucky to have neighbors like them, as I cannot afford to buy such beautiful trees. And it's a willow! There are still little green catkins all over it.

Poor mangled roots, I have to get it into the ground quickly.

My hubby took a pic of me digging a hole. There was a little maple tree in that spot, almost destroyed this past winter by the fierce winds blowing the fence on top of it. The stump is growing new buds, so hopefully it will be a multi-trunk maple. I moved maple back into my new mini woods.

Here's the willow tree in its new spot, I hope it survives! It's growing in a trio of trees. A witch hazel and a hawthorn are its companions. Behind them is what used to be my little wildflower meadow area. The wildflowers never came back the second year, but was replaced by weeds and nettles. So I am now trying for a mini woods there, to block out the view of the new houses. There is a patch of peppermint growing back there, so I've named that area the Peppermint Woods.

Garden Bloggers Bloomday - April

Mid April, the weather has been lovely here, warm and sunny for many days. The swallows have returned, and are singing thier chirpy songs in the sky. Songs of swallows means summer to me, and I smile when I hear thier happy music.

Blooming in the garden are tulips, here's a red one nestled in honesty.

My favorite tulip, Mickey Mouse. Such colorful cartoon characters!

Forget-me-nots (myosotis) are in full bloom now, making a beautiful blue bed for the larger flowers.

Some pansies (viola x wittrockiana) in my herb garden.

Stock (malcomia maritima) with its lovely scent.

Lavender (lavandula stoechas) is just starting to open its blooms.

The wallflowers (cheiranthus) are just starting to bloom too, here in front of some daffodils and honesty.

Mickey again, hey Mickey!

Some alyssum, perfumed sweetly.

Honesty (lunaria annua) and a visiting bee.

Honesty and daffodils. The honesty self seeds everywhere, and smells heavenly. I let it grow, it covers up the ugly wall behind it. The flowers are lovely too in the evening, they are so bright white, they seem to shine.

Cerinthe (cerinthe major purpurascrns) self seeded next to my thyme. I like this plant, it looks weirdly alien to me.

Thalia daffodil, only one has come up this year. I hope it will multiply, it has a lovely scent.

Lawn daisies (bellis perennis) amongst the stepping stones.

And a final photo of more Mickey Mousies again. That's all folks!
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*edit* I have forgotten to take a pic of a nearby field of dandylions, they looked so sunny. I'll take a pic soon, and add it in a bit.
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*later edit, past lunchtime now*
Just noticed my apple tree has buds!

Here's the dandylion field, had to wait for the sun to greet them, they were all still asleep earlier. Now they have woken and spread thier petals in the warming sun.

A lovely plant by the footpath.

"Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night." ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters of Rainer Maria Rilk

There are more garden bloggers posting April Flowers, visit May Dreams Gardens and see what flowers are blooming in other parts of the world.

Mickey Mouse

My Mickey Mouse Tulips have opened a little more.
Real cartoon flowers!

Crazy Things, part 1

I saw a fun meme at Annie's "The Transplantable Rose" blog, she got it from here. We are to list 5 crazy things a gardening addict would admit to doing. Well, right off, I thought of 2 things I have done. Not really sure they are crazy, I might need a bit more thought on that.

1. Stealth gardening.
I have on a few occasions sprinkled seeds into unused pots sitting in courtyards or in front of office buildings.
I lived in an apartment building once, which had a courtyard in the center. There were a few big pots sitting there, with dried up dirt in them. After looking at them for a few months, I thought I would plant some zinnia seeds in them, watered them faithfully, and soon enough, the pots were filled with gorgeous flowers.
I worked in a building with several giant pots sitting out front. There were dead sticks in the pots all winter long. Come spring, I threw in some easy growing flower seeds, california poppies, nigella, nasturtiums. They looked so wonderful all summer with a continuos show of flowers. In the autumn I put in some cheap bulbs for the following year.

Rescued plants.
Sometimes a variety shop would sell pots of plants, the plants are frequently neglected. I have come across bits of plants lying on the floor, broken from its parent plant. Well, those go strait into my pocket, it'll be swept away soon enough anyway. At home, the cutting goes in some water, and hopefully soon, I have a new plant!
I have a cactus that was obtained in this way, many years ago. I put a broken piece in my jacket pocket one autumn. Then I forgot about it, and switched to wearing my winter coat for the rest of the season. Come spring, I switched back to my jacket, and found the piece of cactus still in my pocket. It had been slumbering in my pocket all winter. I stuck it in dirt, and it grew! I still have it today, actually now there are 2 cacti, a piece broke off the Mom plant again.

I'll have a think about what 3 more wacky things I would admit to.

Peek-a-boo tulip

My favorite tulips, soon to bloom. They are called "Mickey Mouse" I've had them for years and years, and they are multiplying every year. Very easy, very colorful, yellow tulips with bold red markings on them. I'll be sure to get a shot of them later when in thier full cartoon beauty. It's a perfect flower for an animator! ;-)

Happy Easter

I love these yellow and orange daffodils.. so cheerful and happy! The little blue forget-me-nots are all scattered under them, makes a nice bed for the daffs.

They are like little suns shining.

Looks like other daffodils are going to open soon, and I've no idea if they are the same ones, or different. I planted the bulbs all helter skelter in June 2004 when we moved here, dug from my old garden, so had no idea which was what.

**shines**

Have a Lovely Easter, hope the weather is good for all. Have a look around at other gardens posting for Green Thumb (Easter) Sunday.
Check the blog list down below on the left.

Found a little chocolate egg in my windowsil cactus!

You lookin at me?

My daughter was shooting a music video in the back garden, and my willow ended up in this outfit. She looks cool, hmm?

lettuce? sorrel?

Isn't the weather lovely lately? Nice and warm and sunny. Young veggies in the garden ready for salads or sandwiches. But I have a couple things growing in my veggie garden, and I have no idea what they are. I'm guessing at both..

First this: I have lots of it growing here and there, and it tastes wonderful on sandwiches. Almost like buttery lettuce, very mild flavor. It may have come out of a mixed salad green seed pack, and self sowed, there's loads! Or it's a weed, and hopefully edible! ;-) But it tastes good, so it's staying.
Then there's this: sorrel maybe? It's very bitter. I tried steaming it, and still tastes bitter. It too could be a weed, no idea. It's not something I would enjoy eating. So if I don't find a recepie that makes it useful, I'm going to pull it out. I need room for beets or radishes. So if anyone can help with identifying these greens, I would appreciate it.

April!

It's April! Buds are swelling, and spring flowers are blooming. It's been a lovely weekend so far, and looks to continue.
I mowed the entire lawn yesterday, a big job with a push mower. I usually do a smaller section each day, and then start all over again. But the lawn needed a good mow, and it was nice and warm.

My hyacinths are still blooming, soon they will fade.


Euphorbia looking much like an alien tentacle.

And the forget-me-nots have self sowed themselves all over, and are just beginning to emerge.

Have a lovely Sunday, and enjoy your gardens!