Hi GPODers!
03.05.2024 - 14:16 / irishtimes.com / Fionnuala Fallon
It’s often said that making a garden teaches all kinds of valuable life lessons, from the importance of patience and the virtue of persistence, to a recognition of the fleeting nature of time and the bittersweet beauty and resilience of the natural world.
Many would also say that it helps to nurture a kind of inner tranquillity, supporting mental wellbeing and serving as a path towards personal spiritual enlightenment, all of which is underscored by two great new books by Irish gardeners.
One, called Grounded in the Garden, is by the Tipperary-born artist TJ Maher, creator of Patthana Garden in Kiltegan, west Wicklow. It was published by Pimpernel Press last month.
The other book is the self-published Growing Beauty by garden designer and former jeweller Des Doyle of Lavistown House, Co Kilkenny, which comes out later this month. Both are beautiful publications that are intensely personal, contemplative and celebratory accounts of the magic that comes with making a garden and the lessons learned along the way.
Patthana Garden, which I first wrote about for this paper in 2017, will already be well-known to many as one of Ireland’s loveliest small gardens, albeit not anything as small as it used to be. Maher and his husband Simon Kirby extended the garden after buying the field adjacent to the original site in 2020, so that it now stands at a little over an acre.
It’s in this new area that the author has developed his new Torc garden, as well as Patthana’s native flowering meadow. A charming and atmospheric country garden, it’s known for its expert use of space and its joyful, exuberant, expansive use of colour. In the hands of an artist like Maher, sizzling pinks, fiery oranges, rich reds and magentas are combined in
If you love something, make it flat—that’s how the saying goes, right? When it comes to flat croissants, at least, that’s definitely the case. We all know (and love) the classic flaky croissant, but bakeries and home chefs have taken the pastry to new heights (or lows?) by flattening it and frying it to make it even crispier.
Do all gardeners secretly think they’ve got it the worst? For instance, because I garden in New England, I feel like the glacial till (aka unbelievably rocky soil) and massively unpredictable spring weather make my gardening more of a challenge than, say, that of gardeners living in Seattle. But is that true? Probably not.
Twenty-five years ago when my wife Kathy and I started searching for a new home for our growing family, she focused on all the qualities one looks for in a new house. I, of course, looked at what every gardener considers imperative—the lot. Thanks to Kathy, we ended up with a wonderful new place. And much to my delight, the property had one particularly important feature—good soil. The other nice bonus was that the backyard bordered a small city park, with lots of open space for the kids to play, so my garden design did not have to include an area for kicking a soccer ball. Plant-wise, however, there wasn’t much other than invasive shrubs and trees. So after removing all the nasty invasives, I had a clean slate to work with.
Starting a new garden from scratch can be daunting, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to create exactly what you want. The vision I had for my new garden (two decades ago) was based on the many small English gardens that I was lucky enough to visit—not the gardens with impeccably maintained lawns and neatly clipped hedges, but those that had plants spilling out of every nook and cranny. Since its inception, the landscape has been slowly undergoing a transformation over the past decade, from a traditional shade garden to a more naturalistic one that embraces an ecology-first mindset. This evolution, however, hasn’t sacrificed the original intention of my dream garden—that it be a visually appealing space with plenty of activity.
Like many northern gardeners, I had red-hot poker envy for many years but ruled out growing them because of their iffy -chances of surviving winter in my region. However, I am very excited about some of the newer Kniphofia introductions we are growing at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Being able to overwinter a South African plant in the Midwest is pretty cool, right?
Do you know there are some plants that have a natural tree-like appearance, making them a great alternative to bonsais that can be hard to maintain!
As someone who shivers at the thought of a chilly breeze, I’m well and truly done with our long, wet, cold spring. So much so, that I find myself daydreaming of brilliant sunshine, blue skies and warm breezes.
Bridgerton is coming to Chelsea this month, as Netflix makes its debut at the flower show, with a garden themed around its popular TV show. First time Chelsea designer Holly Johnston has created a garden based on the personal journey of the show’s main character, Penelope Featherington. The Bridgerton Garden is part of the Sanctuary Gardens area at the show.
How to Plant and Grow Parris Island Cos Lettuce Lactuca sativa ‘Parris Island Cos’