autumnal window sills

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autumn, autumnal, flowers, gardening, heather, home, photography, photos, planting, window sills

There is no denying it, the summer has left and autumn is in full swing, leaves are falling and the flowers on my window sill have been looking more than a little bit miserable of late.

So on Sunday afternoon I decided to spend the afternoon in the autumn sun and do a few spadefuls of gardening and add a bit of autumnal flair. I re-potted, cut back, planted and dug up and a few purple heathers later and my window sills looked so much better, spruced up with spruces.

I dosed  everything in water and this morning I gave the new plants another cold sip of H20, the perfect excuse to spend a few minutes out doors when the world is just waking up.

Now, when I look out the window I feel so much better  and think I’ll add a few winter pansies in the coming days to liven up my window sills  even more. If the weather stays as mild and the sun comes out this afternoon I may even enjoy a cup of tea on my bench surrounded by purple.

a little bit of purple to brighten up the grey days

 

urban gardening

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after-hours mutant, city living, Dublin, gardening, photography, photos, plants, sunshine, urban gardening

Like so many city dwellers I don’t own a garden, only windowsills and a bit of pavement. While that does bring the advantage of not having to cut grass or weed it also means fewer flowers and no trees.

Since the weather has been so lovely I abandoned my cleaning (yes, half way through dusting the lure of the sun was too strong to withstand) and took a trip down to a garden center with one of my neighbours. We had some lunch and emptied out our pennies and stocked up on  a few plants.

Back on the street we weren’t the only ones  enjoying the outdoors and soon the neighborhood felt like a Italian piazza – everyone was sitting out enjoying the sun, chatting to each other and  enjoying food and drink on their doorsteps.

Now all I can hope is that the sun stays around for a while allowing me to enjoy my blue bench and my very own urban gardening.

brightening up the street

urban gardening

busy St Patrick’s Day

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busy, Dublin, gardening, Ireland, photography, photos, St Patrick's Day, work

Happy St Patrick’s Day. Unusually the sun has decided to stick around so this year the parade with be bathed in sun, not rain. But for me – with a to-do-list longer than any the snake St Patrick drove out of Ireland – my day will be filled with work and chores.

While I type this the washing machine is on spin cycle and my mind is whirling around at the same speed – thoughts of what I need to do, what should be done and what I want to do all mixed up together, with the occasional ‘red sock’ grabbing my attention.

However I may just give myself an hour or two to tidy up my tiny back yard and do up my windowsills, plant some green in hour of our Irish patron Saint. And since it is a Bank Holiday here maybe I’ll even allow myself some time to read on my blue bench out in the sun.

the only green decorating my windowsill

backyard de- (and re- ) construction

Tags

backyard, disaster, flowers, gardening, photography, photos, plants, windmill

Last week a minor disaster struck my backyard. I was getting the car ready to bring my niece to the airport when she closed the front door behind herself, leaving us locked out on the curb.

Luckily my neighbour was home and in a daring act of trapeze agility I clambered up onto her backyard wall and balanced across to my own tiny one. It really wasn’t that difficult as the ledge was wide enough, but as I stood and looked down into my yard I realised that I was pretty high up – two meters ten or so (about 6ft9)  plus my own height (nearly 5ft7).

Jumping was out of the question and since I have a shelf positioned against the back wall dangling down was out of the question, too. When I tried stepping on the shelf it swayed – not the sturdiest of constructions – but I really didn’t have any other option.

As I slowly lowered my self down, keeping as much weight as I could on the back wall I managed to jimmy myself downwards into the backyard. However as I found my footing on solid ground the shelf came crashing down around me.

One bruised hip, a scraped knee (yes like a seven year old) and a sore ankle later and my backyard was a mess. Having to leave the chaos behind as I drove my niece to the airport I decided it would be time for a bit of a revamp- so finally yesterday I got around to putting thought into action. Now, a week after destruction day and a visit to the garden-center, my backyard looks pretty again.

spring is on its way

Tags

flowers, gardening, spring, tiny yard

Over the last week or so I have been watching spring appear on my windowsill. It may be still January but most days have been quite mild and since my tiny yard is very protected from the winter cold I think Spring decided to take a a peek and is now bobbing its colourful head.

So every morning I am thrilled to see the progress and it makes me happy even when the sun stays behind grey clouds. However, like this morning, it is a particularly joyful sight when the sun shines down from blue sky’s and it puts a smile on my face.

And to think that it snowed in Germany this weekend, only one hour time difference but obviously a whole climate change away!

 

 

finding time for flowers

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flowers, gardening, home improvement, mood, photos, planting flowers, psychology, psychology study, qoutes, quote, window-boxes, winter pansies, Yogi Maharishi Mahesh

This week has been extremely busy, and today is no exception. But with my summery window-boxes wilting and looking more than sad, I really want to find the time to replant them autumn.

Luckily I did find a few moments to rush in and out of my local garden center, a few winter pansies and a bag or two of spring bulbs quickly captured and paid for at the till.

Now all I need is half an hour to get my hands dirty and create a pretty sight for me to come home to and for my neighbours to hopefully enjoy.

After all, even if the sun is still out and about in Dublin this week, those dull days of autumn aren’t too far off and a few cheerfully nodding heads of pansies do help to brighten them up.

A study done in 2005 about how flowers impact on peoples moods shows that just looking at flowers can ease anxious and agitated feelings and create a sense of happiness and joy.  The study even showed that a pretty display of a few beautiful blooms increased the contact with friends and family, lessening the sense of loneliness.

So hopefully my soon prettified window-boxes will not just cheer me up when I return home or look out the window and bring beauty to the urban space I occupy, but maybe, just maybe, they’ll bring a smile to some lonely strangers face.

Happiness radiates like a fragrance from a flower and draws all good things towards you

Yogi Maharishi Mahesh

path-tomatoes: biggest harvest yet

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cherry tomatoes, gardening, growing things, harvest, home grown, home grown tomatoes, juicy tomatoes, Lewis Grizzard, photo, quote, quotes, tomatoes

With August quickly fading into distant memory and the summer sprinting towards it’s finish-line, my path-tomatoes are still going strong, or at the very least the last ones are ripening up.

Yesterday, I had my biggest harvest yet, as I was able to pick nine juicy tomatoes for my lunch. I have been picking the ripe ones since they started to redden up but never have I been able to gather so many at the same time.

And I was delighted to see that there are still some yummy cherry tomatoes ripening on the plant. I just hope that the sun will give us a few more sunny days for the last few path-tomatoes to turn red and delight my taste-buds.   I have to say, even if there haven’t been tons of tomatoes to harvest they have been extremely delicious, possibly the best I have every eaten – but then I am bias.

So, as this years experiment is slowly coming to it’s end I now know that path-tomatoes are a definite on my to-plant-list for 2015. After all as tomatoes are one of my all time favourite foods, why wouldn’t I grab the opportunity to grow my own supply?

It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.

Author Lewis Grizzard

turning red – update on my path tomatoes

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cherry tomatoes, Dublin, gardening, growing tomatoes, path tomatoes, tomatoes

I am all excited today, my path tomatoes are finally turning red, well at least two of them are. They are small cherry tomatoes but I am still going to harvest them later on today and have them for my dinner.

I just hope that the rest of them will follow suit, but maybe they can wait until I am back from Germany to become red. After all I don’t want the birds or the neigbourhood kids to pick them before I get a chance to.

red path tomatoes

down in the garden

Tags

community garden, Dublin, flowers, gardening, Ireland, mud island, photography, photos

There is a wonderful community Garden just down the road from where I live. It is  a true oasis in the middle of a very urban area, trees, flowers and lots of fruit and vegetables grow happily hidden behind an archway  just beyond a very busy road. This wonderful place is called Mud Island and when I can I spend may Tuesday and Saturday afternoons with my hand stuck in the mud or busy picky ripe fruit.

The garden is named after the area it is in. Today this part of Dublin is North Strand and/or Ballybough (Baile Bocht from baile = town and bocht =poor)  but in the late nineteenth century it was known as Mud Island, because it was close to the mudflats in Fairview. It was an area know for it’s seedy residents, smugglers, highwaymen, robbers and prostitutes, not a place you’d really want to go. But now it is a hive of urban living, a mixture of creatives, old time residents, council flats, immigrants, a potpourri of Dubliners, both old and new. The perfect place for a community garden, a place where everyone is welcome and you get to meet strangers who could become friends.

So with the sun shining and the temperatures rising I will wander down to the garden later on this afternoon, maybe I’ll harvest some local produce but I am sure to have lots of fun.

 

 

 

path tomatoes

Tags

gardening, herbs, photo, photography, plants, tomatoes

I am not much of a gardener, don’t really know many plants nor what they need to blossom and grow. But I do seem to have inherited a bit of a pale green thumb from my mother who is a wonderful gardener and is to be able to coax flowers to grow just about anywhere. My abilities may not be on par with my mums but I do have a few plants flourishing around the house and on my windowsills.

The one thing I particularly love to have are fresh herbs so I always have some in my window-boxes, chives, parsley and oregano are favourites of mine. This year I decided to try something new and when the community garden was giving away baby tomato plants I decided to give two a new home. Now , to my increasing delight and fascination, I have managed to grow a few tomatoes, still green and tiny but they are there and seemingly enjoying life on the path beside my blue bench.

So who knows, in a few weeks time I may be able to make a small salad with path tomatoes and window sill herbs.