Gardening News - The Irish Times

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

Well rotted manure makes an excellent organic mulch. Photograph credit: Richard Johnston

Mulch: the great garden cure-all

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
March 30, 2019, 00:00

Spread lightly at this time of year a good organic mulch helps to protect against the effects of summer drought

Encouraging birds to live in our gardens is a great idea and we can determine the species by the accommodation we provide

Who’s nesting in your bird box?

Gardens
Arlene Harris
March 30, 2019, 00:00

The design of the box will determine the species of bird that will make it their home

Triona Noonan in her garden in Dun Laoghaire with some of her prized alpine and rock plants Photo Credit Richard Johnston

The new rock garden: petite plants are perfect for small space living

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
March 23, 2019, 00:00

Alpines and miniature species will happily grow in small pots and stone troughs

Custom-made leather tool belt from the small family-run US firm Wheeler Munroe, whose belts are things of beauty as well as lifesavers for busy multi-tasking gardeners.

Ace of spades, forks, rakes and trowels

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
March 16, 2019, 00:00

Great tools can help you become a great gardener. Here’s some of the best

Close-up of the delicate spring flowering, black cherry plum blossom also known as Prunus cerasifera ‘Nigra’,

In the pink: why I’m weak at the knees for spring flowering trees

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
March 9, 2019, 00:00

A bad case of Prunus plantlust - fed by this year’s early splendid displays of blossoms

The native Irish primrose (Primula vulgaris) flowering in an Irish woodland this spring. Photograph: Richard Johnston

Are primroses the perfect spring flower? They love the damp and are good to eat too

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
March 2, 2019, 00:00

Few plants are as charming as this hardy, spring-blooming, native wildflower

The golden flower heads of Stipa gigantea

Dig now for victory in the kitchen garden

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
February 23, 2019, 00:00

Fionnuala Fallon: Preparation put in over coming weeks will be repaid tenfold in future months

Photograph: Moment/Getty

Make the cut: the right way to prune roses

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
February 16, 2019, 00:00

Follow the three Ds by using secateurs to remove any dead, diseased or dying wood

The size of the material in your compost heap will affect the speed at which it breaks down. Photograph: Getty

Top tips for making the ultimate compost

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
February 9, 2019, 00:00

Known as ‘gardener’s gold’, kitchen waste and even human hair can be transformed in to a rich mulch in a matter of weeks

Many Irish gardens are filled with one of the best and earliest-ever displays of snowdrops. Photograph: Moment/Getty

Shake off the winter blues with a snowdrop hunt

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
February 2, 2019, 00:00

Altamont, in Co Carlow, has one of greatest displays of any Irish garden open this month

Sheltered beneath that all-important protective skin of glass or polythene sheeting, plants enjoy a modified microclimate that facilitates growth.

Tunnel vision: Undercover gardening extends the growing season at both ends

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
January 26, 2019, 00:00

Cheaper than a greenhouse and easier to put up, a polytunnel takes your gardening to a new level

Niamh O’Donohoe, the young National Botanic Gardens-trained horticulturist

Plant the seed: How to grow a career in gardening

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
January 19, 2019, 00:00

You need barrow-loads of intelligence and creativity, a strong back and green fingers

Artfully pruned: the branches of the deciduous conifer Larix decidua frame herbaceous planting in June Blake’s garden in west Co Wicklow. Photograph: Richard Johnston

1970s revival in the garden as conifers come back in style

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
January 12, 2019, 00:00

But look beyond the triffid-like leylandii, for plants that work with other fashionable foliage

Now is the time to rifle through the pages of the new crop of seed catalogues. Photograph: Richard Johnston

Pink dandelions, cucamelons, edible lupins: seeds to plant now for a delicious summer

Gardens
Fionnuala Fallon
January 5, 2019, 00:00

Not much happens in the January garden but it's a good time to find summer inspiration in seed catalogues

Benjamin Vidmar faces three months of total darkness, winter temperatures of -20°C and ferocious Arctic storms and blizzards while trying to grow in the Arctic

Looking to the equator - and the Arctic - for growing inspiration

Gardens
Manchan Magan
January 5, 2019, 00:00

If veg can grow in the world’s hottest and coldest spots, we should grow up a storm

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