Late summer in our garden

Long shadows, cooler nights and a final flush of late summer flowers. Our garden is looking great right now - between the showers. Many of the plants here are part of the Nova-flore seed mix - the easiest and most floriferous bit of gardening we have ever done! Three years ago this was an acre of mud and a building site, so growth has been fast and furious. Growing flowers from seed in this way is inexpensive, easy and high impact.

Choosing Plants for a Holiday Home Garden

Bothar Bui in Bearra Peninsula, West Cork

Rolf's Holiday Accommodation, Baltimore, West Cork

Tough Plants for the Irish Climate

The last couple of years have not been easy on Irish gardens. Plants that have grown happily for the last few decades were killed by the cold, crushed by the snow or had their leaves burned off in late spring storms. People are now more aware than ever that when choosing plants for their garden, hardiness is an important issue. And rightly so - nothing is more depressing than seeing plants die.

It's a Mow Brainer - why to cut back on cutting the grass

Bluebells and path at Innisbeg in West Cork

A mown path through an orchard at Innisbeg near Baltimore in West Cork.

Everyone is talking about cutbacks these days. Luckily, there is one thing that we can cut back on in the garden which has no nasty side effects, and that's mowing. Many people would agree that there is nothing as nice as a well maintained lawn. On the other hand, do we need quite so much of it?

DYG at Bloom 2011

Anthea and Jarra getting the DYG stand ready at Bloom