Sunflower Guerilla Gardening!

May day is traditionnaly the time to celebrate the first day of summer. And I discovered a whole 24 hours too late that it is also International Sunflower Guerilla Gardening Day! Wow! What an ace idea. Not to be put off by being late I vow to sox some summer seeds tomorrow at my local train station and keep you posted on their progress.  If nothing else the anticipation might make me more punctual for getting the train to the city for work!
For the tutorial see this. x

Mosiac Monday - Easter Hols

clockwise from top left.....
my cousin's amazing tulips
metallic painted eggs ready for rolling!
I FOUND RAMSONS eventually
wild bluebell wood with apple blossom & bamboo
one of the wild fires in Donegal due to the heat/farmers
Baby Wild decides on her favourite plant at a garden

Mosiac Monday

Dandelion Clock


Strawberry explosion


Dried chillies from Calabria


White daffs


Three Cornered Irish Wild Garlic


Bay Tree Blooms




Baby Wild has learnt how to blow on Dandelion clocks, it's adorable!  I can't believe how much further ahead Donegal plants are in terms of blooming.  The daffodils are long gone here, where as mine are still blooming in Scotland.  The hedgerows are in full scented bloom and the country side looks beautiful.

Imagine my surprise to discover that there is more than one type of Wild Garlic! Three Cornered Garlic, also known as Three-cornered Leek, this spring-flowering bulb carries 2cm long bell-like white flowers on stems which are three-sided and about 30cm high.  Along the centre of each petal is a narrow green line and between 3 and 15 flowers are arranged in a drooping one-sided umbel not unlike that of a Bluebell.  The leaves are very markedly angled, coming three to a plant from the base.  The flowers can be seen growing along roadsides, in hedges, banks and other shady places. It is thought to have introduced into Ireland some three-hundred years ago and it has become naturalised in many counties.  It belongs to the family Liliaceae. 

Am surprised not to find other wild herbs that I have eating in Scotland, like I don't see any Jack By the Hedge here, never mind ramsons.  But wow, haven't the strawberries simply adored the freezing winter and warm spring! They are just so strong, both at home in Scotland and here in Donegal. Even the wild strawberries are exploding all over road sides and pathways - so lovely to see their delicate little flowers everywhere. My family have somehow allowed strawberries to completely overtake much of their garden here. I have never in my life seen so many plants! So I'm going to pot some up and set them outside the family restaurant for visitors to buy or swap over the Easter break.



Happy Easter

Having eaten more chocolate in one day than she has for the past year, Baby Wild is adding to the excitement of Easter in Ireland with so many animals to play with!  I think she's having the time of her life with so much to explore and scream at.  I'm finding it rather exhausting!

Veg Patch Plans & Daydreams

I've actually had my veg patch planned and started for a few weeks but never got around to putting it up here until now.  It's not massive, but it fed us well last summer despite the fact that I had no idea what I was doing and paid no heed to the law of rotating crops or any such wisdom but decided to stick everything in the ground and see what happened! Add to that Daddy Native also following this approach and sticking in corn willy-nilly and it was bit of a site! However it did kinda work.

So this year I have dug over the patches multiple times, added fertiliser and a my first home made compost pile and gave it a good mix to try and amend for the sins I committed last year.  I haven't been grown up enough to actually measure the patches and draw a 'to scale' plan as yet, but below gives you a fair idea of my hopes and dreams..... 

Can you tell I went to art college?

It wasn't to study illustration as you can tell perhaps!

So far most of it is planted.  The rectangular patch is actually a mini poly-tunnel at present starting off the beans and peas and some salad leaves as an experiment to see how this lazy approach works out.  The cold frame out the front has all the spinach, more herbs for the herb garden out front, carrots to grow in pots, and the patisons.  Our bedroom window sill now has more (better established) carrot seedlings, cherry tomato baby plants grown from seed, tomato seedlings, pepper seedlings, and more herb seedlings. 

So at this moment in time the veg patch still looks bare, although I know what lurks and is hopefully sprouting beneath! Things are so much slower to get started in Scotland!  I am comforted by remembering that after the Easter hols I will be able to plant some of my babies into their summer homes in the veggie patches to be lavished with care and attention.... oh and to see if they can survive Baby Wild's toy gardening tools......

Because some days there is no time leftover for playing in the garden to unwind....

Growing Wild in April

Jack-by-the-hedge - grows along fences and roadsides here, has a faint garlic taste.Best of all in a sauce for lamb mixed with a little mint, hawthorn buds & vinegar and sugar.
Morel - only appear for afew days, so freeze them when you find some!  Great in stews & soups, and can stuffed.  Have yet to come across any here in Scotland myself.
Nettle - Use the young leaves as spinach, blanching them in hots water removes the stings and they are hugely beneficial - they have high levels of Vitamin A & C, 2.3% bt weight of iron & 5.5% of protein!
Hairy Bittercress - this stuff grows all over my garden so I am delighted to throw them into salads to try contol thier spread!
Bistort - a traditional bitter leaf eaten after Lentan Fasting. Don't fancy it myself! But there are plenty of traditional easter recipes out there.
Dandelion flowers - mmmmm flower fritters. Now that most of the dandelions are in flower, their leaves can be slightly more bitter, but still edible so don't stop using them as a free & nutricious sandwich & salad filler. Great in bacon butties!
Hawthorn Leaves - a pleasant nutty taste, good in salads or with cold potatoes & beetroot. Goes best in cheese sandwiches. Also has many traditional easter pudding recipes.
Goosegrass - another way to eat my garden free of weeds! I've already got a pile of this sticky plant in a corner of my garedn under my eucalyptus tree.  More fun to play with than eat as it needs boiling or steaming briefly to disolve the clingy hooks.
Wild Garlic / Ramsons - you don't need me to go on any more about this wonderful veggie. Am obsessed!