Gardening News - The Irish Times

Jimi Blake in his west Wicklow garden, Hunting Brook. Photograph: Sean Jackson

Meet Jimi Blake, the garden obsessive who became gardening royalty

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
September 14, 2019, 00:00

New book shows all sides of this Irish horticultural genius and his beloved Hunting Brook in west Wicklow

Tulip ‘Absalon’. Photograph: Jacque Amand

Want head-turning spring flowers? Now is the time to buy

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
September 7, 2019, 00:00

Here’s a shortlist of just some of this year’s ‘must-haves’, along with a guide to reliable suppliers

Fig tree: originating in Asia Minor, the culinary fig (Ficus carica) is one of the earliest species of fruit cultivated by humankind. Photograph: BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Figs are in season: here’s how to grow your own

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
August 31, 2019, 00:00

A fig tree will happily grow in a sunny spot, or in a polytunnel or greenhouse

Tanguy de Toulgoët at Dunmore Country School. Photograph: Richard Johnston

Meet the French gardener who wants to save Irish soil

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
August 24, 2019, 00:00

Tanguy de Toulgoët’s Co Laois plot is a flower-filled, hugely productive family garden

Dahlias: Dahlias are notorious for the ease with which the tubers of different varieties can accidentally get mixed-up. Photograph: Getty

Take a little time with the dahlias to keep the garden in bloom

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
August 24, 2019, 00:00

Important to deadhead, water and liquid feed container-grown flowering plants

Consider drying fruit during abundant harvests

Rainy day gardening: Keep on top of pests and enjoy the crop of vegetables

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
August 17, 2019, 00:00

This damp August has created optimum soil conditions for seeds to germinate

The spectacular display of produce at the Totally Terrific Tomato Festival at the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin. Photograph: Jonathan Hession

The secret to growing tremendously tasty tomatoes

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
August 10, 2019, 00:00

It takes time and expertise to coax these greedy, sun-loving, thirsty plants to give of their very best

Persicaria ampexicaulis ‘fat Domino’. Photograph: Richard Johnston

Keep on blooming: late summer flowers that keep the garden going

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
August 3, 2019, 00:00

Add colour and texture to the garden with these hardy perennials

Sweet pea flowering in Fionnuala’s flower farm. No photo is going to let you know what it feels like to breathe in the intoxicating perfume of sweet pea in full bloom on a warm summer day. Photograph: Richard Johnston

Fill your garden with summer scents

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
July 27, 2019, 00:00

The many different smells of a summer garden have the power to stimulate our senses in mysterious ways

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

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