News
Plant with the seasons for year round colour
By Debby Looney, gardening expert
Is your garden looking a little woebegone at the moment? There is absolutely no reason for it! The best gardens, in my opinion, are those planted over a period of years.
A mistake which many of us make is buying and planting our entire garden in one weekend. It then happens that it looks fantastic for one month of the year, and if you want colour later you are stuck with bedding plants. Be patient, and plant with the seasons!
I would recommend conifers and heathers at this time of year. There are so many dwarf conifers available at the moment; Thuja Golden Tuffet and Juniperus Blue Star are two that immediately spring to mind. There are some lovely podocarpus varieties too, ‘box of chocolates' is a lovely auburn colour. If you interplant with colourful heathers, or evergreen grasses such as Festuca Glauca (blue) or Carex Red Rooster (red), you will have a beautiful display all year round.
Smaller gardens
There are also beautiful tall conifers available which are suitable for a relatively small garden as they remain narrow. For example, Juniperus scopulorum ‘Blue Arrow’ or Juniperus ‘Sky Rocket’ are both types of juniper which remain skinny, they are also a beautiful blue colour. Cupressus sempervirens - the Italian cypress, or Pencil cypress is also an excellent choice when space is an issue. These are also beautiful as structural plants, a cluster of three or five in a corner with rocks/groundcover/ferns underneath can look striking. Also they are useful in corners, or to draw the eye in a particular direction. Remember the neighbours when planting though as it's a tree which will grow tall!
Catkins cannot and should not be forgotten about at this time of year; the black stemmed willow, Salix nigricans, has silver catkins which shimmer in the sunshine, and Salix Mount Aso which has very large fluffy pink catkins. Hazels or Corylus have long yellow tassels which bring cheer even on the darkest day!
Killarney breaks national May temperature record
Killarney became one of the hottest spots in the country this week as Ireland’s nationalmaximum air temperature record for the month of May was officially broken.
According to data issued by Met Éireann on Tuesday, the weather station at Muckross House recorded a blistering 29.1°C on Tuesday afternoon.
The extraordinary reading comfortably surpassed the previous county May record of 28.4°C, which had stood for nearly three decades after being set in Liscahane Ardfert, on May 31 1997.
The historic warmth came as Northwest Europe was trapped under an intense high-pressure system, frequently referred to as a heat dome.
The unseasonable weather pattern began pushing temperatures toward record levels on Monday when provisional records were initially breached across several nationwide monitoring stations.
Among Met Éireann’s 25 primary synoptic stations, Shannon Airport in County Clare also surpassed the 1997 milestone by reaching 28.6°C.
The Climate and Automatic Monitoring Program (CAMP) network captured the peak of the heatwave, with three independent stations eclipsing the old record on Tuesday and Wednesday, led by the historic high at Muckross House.
Pauline Healy-Reen and her sister Frances at the Gap of Dunloe on Tuesday,
Cars & Coffee for Jack & Jill Foundation
Ballymac Vintage Club will host a Cars & Coffee morning on Bank Holiday Monday, June 1, at Glenduff Manor (V92 YH32).
The event runs from 10:30am to midday, with all proceeds raised on the day going directly to the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation.
An optional short local road run will take place immediately after the meetup, with participants returning to Glenduff Manor afterward. All vintage, classic, and modern interest vehicles are welcome to attend.
Ballymac Vintage Club members launching the upcoming Cars & Coffee morning at Glenduff Manor. Left to right: Tom Glover, Kian O’Connor, George Glover, Joan Glover, Brian Glover, Paul Ahern, Mary Lynch, Ivan Groves, Michael Horan, Trish Horan, and Philip Blennerhassett.
Killarney breaks national May temperature record
Killarney breaks national May temperature record Killarney became one of the hottest spots in the country this week as Ireland’s nationalmaximum air temperature...
Cars & Coffee for Jack & Jill Foundation on Monday
Cars & Coffee for Jack & Jill FoundationBallymac Vintage Club will host a Cars & Coffee morning on Bank Holiday...
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