Erin Benzakein
9 results

From cosmos to dizzy dahlias, the flowers to grow now for summer magic
- Gardens
- May 2, 2020, 00:00
My young twin sons sometimes ask me which superpowers or magical skills I’d most wish for. Invisibility? Telepathy? Mind control? Superhuman strength?(...)

Gardening women: meet Fionnuala Fallon’s horticultural heroes
- Gardens
- March 7, 2020, 00:00
We all have our heroes and it’s not surprising so many of mine belong in one way or another to the world of plants. They include gardeners, de(...)

The secrets to growing an exotic Irish garden
- Gardens
- February 29, 2020, 00:00
There are times, surrounded by the gloomy, grey drip-drip of an endless Irish winter, when I wonder what it would be like to live in a country with an(...)

Dig in for summer: 10 things to do in the June garden
- Gardens
- June 1, 2019, 00:00
It’s officially summer, which means that there’s plenty to see and do in the garden this month plus lots of great garden festivals, talks, workshops a(...)

Take a leaf from this new crop of gardening books
- Gardens
- December 16, 2017, 08:00
If ever there was proof that the very best gardeners are often also the oldest gardeners, then it’s in this year’s crop of gardening books. These off(...)

10 terrific tulips to buy now and plant later for spring
- Gardens
- September 23, 2017, 08:00
It’s tulip time. Or rather, it’s time to buy or order bulbs of any of the best varieties of tulips if you want to have a snowball’s chance in hell of (...)

Cutting edge flowers without the airmiles
- Gardens
- April 29, 2017, 06:00
If you’re a regular reader of this column, then you will know that I have more than a “bit of a thing” about cut-flowers. By this, I mean the seasonal(...)

Preparations for a polytunnel, from soil to seed trays – and don’t forget the hammock
- Gardens
- January 14, 2017, 06:00
If you’re one of the many Irish gardeners who has joined the country’s merry band of polytunnel owners in recent months (see last week’s column), the(...)

Dig in: the best advice on undercover gardening
- Gardens
- January 14, 2017, 00:00
A number of books, blogs, Twitter and Instagram feeds are inspiring a new generation of Irish gardeners to push the boundaries of hardiness by experim(...)