Gardening News - The Irish Times

Birds, frogs, hedgehogs, centipedes and beetles are all predators of slugs. Photograph: DK/Getty

Fionnuala Fallon: The best way to beat weeds and pests in the garden

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
June 22, 2019, 00:00

Hoe your way to happier, faster-growing plants and let nature take care of the slugs

Cheiranthus cheiri F1 Hybrid, Sunset Apricot wallflower

For wonderful wallflowers it's time to get sowing

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
June 15, 2019, 00:00

Don’t buy from a garden centre in early autumn, propagate from seed sown now

Florists are eschewing outdated ‘toxic’ oasis foam for natural, curly stalks in a vase

Wonky stems and blowsy blooms: The new way to arrange flowers

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
June 8, 2019, 00:00

Fashionable florists choose simple posies over imported flowers and ‘toxic’ foam

From garden festivals and talks to the hundreds of lovely Irish gardens open to the public, there is plenty to enjoy this month. Photograph: Getty Images

Dig in for summer: 10 things to do in the June garden

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
June 1, 2019, 00:00

Lots to see and do this month plus garden festivals, workshops and open days to get you going

Oliver Schurmann in his Aqua Marine Garden at Bloom Show Gardens in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, which runs until Monday. Photograph: Dara MacDónaill

Bloom in the Park 2019: Climax of the Irish horticultural year

Gardens
Ellen O'Riordan
May 29, 2019, 20:12

See the Bord Iascaigh Mhara marine garden and 22 other sensory delights this weekend

Bloom: five-year-old Adrianna Fayiah, seven-year-old Eoghan Fox and four-year-old Florence Marlow Ward at the launch of this year’s Phoenix Park garden festival. Photograph: Alan Betson

Bloom garden festival: Everything you need to know

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
May 29, 2019, 11:00

What’s on, where to buy tickets, where to eat and how to get to the Dublin showground

Three-year-old Conor Maverick with Swampy, the turtle, at their home in Monkstown Farm. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Welcome to the turtle house in Monkstown Farm

Gardens
Alanna Gallagher
May 25, 2019, 06:00

The animal-loving owners of this south Dublin house asked Taka Architects to design an extension – for their 60lb turtle

If a plant looks particularly miserable, it may need to be repotted or potted on.

This week in the garden: holiday-proofing those houseplants

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
May 25, 2019, 00:00

Freshly potted plants should be placed away from direct sunlight and high temperatures

Liat and Oliver Schurmann, who are bringing an underwater marine garden, called Aquamarina, to Bloom. Photograph: Dave Meehan

Sustainable gardens blossom at Bloom

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
May 25, 2019, 00:00

Climate change is a focus for some of Ireland’s top gardeners at Phoenix Park festival

For centuries, lilac has been prized as a cut-flower. Photograph: Richard Johnston

The miracle of lilac: long-living, sweet-smelling and very easy to grow

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
May 18, 2019, 00:00

Grow them as a shrub or small tree in a lawn, an informal hedge, or even trained against a high wall where their foliage will act as a foil for flowering plants

TJ Maher in his garden Patthana in Co Wicklow, planting summer containers. Photograph: Richard Johnston

Container gardening: five tips for creating brilliantly coloured pots

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
May 11, 2019, 06:00

Now is the time to start planting pots that will burst into colour in high summer. Artist and gardener TJ Maher shares some of his secrets for maximising their impact

Bloom gardening festival: five-year-old Adrianna Fayiah, seven-year-old Eoghan Fox and four-year-old Florence Marlow Ward help launch this year’s event. Photograph: Alan Betson

Bee botanicals and Ireland’s first gin garden: What to expect at Bloom 2019

Gardens
May 7, 2019, 13:39

The gardening festival returns to the Phoenix Park for the June bank-holiday weekend

Aquilegia flowering in an Irish garden. Photograph: Richard Johnston

Eight great plants and flowers for the May garden

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
May 4, 2019, 00:00

These May flowers will bridge the gap between the spring bulb rush and summer

A cluster of pots filled with culinary herbs. Photograph: Richard Johnston

How to grow herbs and keep them happy

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
April 27, 2019, 00:00

Most culinary herbs can be grown in pots or tubs while plenty will stay compact enough to grow very happily in a window-box

Your lawn is already a wildflower meadow waiting to burst forth. Photograph: Jacky Parker/Moment/Getty

Why you should turn your lawn into a meadow

Gardens
Alys Fowler
April 26, 2019, 06:00

Most lawns are biodiversity deserts, but there is a simple way to encourage nature – and you don’t even have to ditch the mower

Joyce Russell: lifelong gardening passion began in her childhood in the Yorkshire dales. Photograph: Ben Russell

How to turn any patch into a glorious vegetable garden

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
April 20, 2019, 00:00

New book from west Cork gardener Joyce Russell is full of simple, practical advice

Bumble bee feeding on cosmos flower. Photograph: Richard Johnston

Frilly tulips, glorious magnolia: 10 of the best flowers and shrubs to plant for April

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
April 13, 2019, 00:00

Let’s celebrate some of the loveliest flowering plants for the Irish garden

June Blake’s garden near Blessington, West Wicklow, will also be celebrating its “Month of Tulips” throughout April with a spectacular display of these spring-flowering bulbs.

Nine things to do in the garden in April

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
April 6, 2019, 00:00

Sow organic seeds, cut less lawn and let the wild things grow in your garden

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