Gardening News - The Irish Times

We must turn lawns into meadows to encourage threatened pollinators. Photograph: Getty

The garden is not abuzz. I want the bees back

Gardens
Philip Judge
July 20, 2019, 00:00

Leaving things to nature – and lawns unmowed – pays its own dividends

lys Fowler: “Being that tidy-minded is not only an awful lot of hard work, it also comes at an enormous cost to our wellbeing.”

Alys Fowler on love and gardening: ‘Ursula Halligan inspired me to come out’

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
July 21, 2019, 00:00

The gardening writer was in Ireland just before the same sex marriage vote

Giverny, France - June 8th, 2017: Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny, in the background the house of Monet can be seen. Photograph: Getty Images

Six great European gardens to discover on holidays

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
July 13, 2019, 00:00

This week in the garden: Irish gardeners share their top places to visit on holidays

Caution: garden eating deers about. Photograph: Alan Betson ,

Deer oh deer: How to keep Bambi out of your garden

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
July 6, 2019, 00:00

Deer find certain plants delicious, like camellia and roses, but they don’t like rhurbarb

Few plants can beat the rose for its intensity and richness of scent plus the sensuous beauty of its blooms. Photograph: Richard Johnston

Sun, shade, dry or windy – there’s a rose to suit every kind of garden

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
June 29, 2019, 00:00

While most roses will like space, a rich, fertile soil and full sun, there are some that will cope well with all kinds of conditions

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Florists are eschewing outdated ‘toxic’ oasis foam for natural, curly stalks in a vase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

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