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The variety of grass
One family of plants which you would think will grow better than any here in Kerry, would be grasses…
However growing grass which is not indigenous can be tricky. Most grass such as Pennisetums, those of the ‘cat tail’ flowers, enjoy warm, sunny weather, with well drained, light soil. I find that many of the showy Pennisetum, such as P. rubrum, (reddish foliage with purple flowers), Hameln, (green foliage, creamy flowers) or ‘Buttons’, (grey foliage, purple button shaped flowers) really need a long, sunny summer to produce good numbers of flowers and attractive foliage.
Autumn colour also depends on light condition.
Any Pennisetum I have grown in my garden has not really survived the winter, however, those I grow in pots along a south facing wall do very well. I think they are particularly effective if used as a seasonal plant mixed with bedding.
Festuca is a more resilient grass, doing a little better in our wet winters. Festuca also abhors waterlogged soil, and prefers a site in full sun. Festuca glauca is a steely blue, achieving its best colour in a very sunny spot.
Stipa is a good grass for most gardens, Stipa’s ‘pony tails’ has pretty curled foliage and masses of fluffy flowers. Stipa gigantica has elegant flowers which can reach up to 2m, though the foliage only grows to 60cm.
Hakonechloa macra is also very tolerant of wet winters. It is a low growing grass which is evergreen, with a lovely fresh, limegreen colour.
All grasses prefer well drained soil, and most like the sun. Many look attractive in the winter, even as they go brown, and are much used by insects to hibernate in. Clumps can be cut back severely – I am always in conflict when is the best time.
On the one hand, the skeletal fronds look beautiful in the winter sun, so I like to leave to leave the cutting until spring.
On the other hand, water can lodge in the base of the plant, causing the whole thing to rot. It would be ideal if we could predict the winter weather – if wet, cut back, if dry and frosty, leave til spring!
One grass I would recommend highly for Irish weather is Miscanthus. There are many varieties, from very tall to about 60cm. They all spread, so you will need space. Their flower heads are particularly liked by greenfinches in the winter, so they are the last grasses in our garden to be pruned!
A weekly series from Killarney Advertiser’s Jess Jukes
WEEK 11
Felicity told Jack everything about the strange man seemingly following them, and the feeling of being watched. He told her that they shouldn’t let it ruin their fun on match day, but they’d both be vigilant just in case there was something wrong.
At first, everything seemed fine. Auntie Sheila bid Jack and Felicity farewell as she went to meet her friends. Felicity dragged Jack towards Courtney’s. There was meant to be live music and a good crowd. They went inside, and were indeed met with good music.
They sat down with drinks, but they remained untouched. Felicity was too busy observing the crowd, now made paranoid by her sightings of the man in the green hooded jumper.
A shiver went down Felicity’s spine as she made eye contact with a man dressed head-to-toe in black. He looked like he was travelling somewhere with a clear goal in mind, but upon meeting her gaze he changed his course and headed straight for her and Jack.
Felicity felt her heart quicken, and she grabbed Jack by his jacket and tugged him off of his stool and towards the back exit. They burst through the door only for Felicity’s stomach to sink like a stone. There was no one out here. There were always people out the back of Courtney’s.
Surprise Encounter
A solitary figure stood in the alleyway, blocking them from leaving. It was the man in the green hooded jumper. “Look who we’ve got here,” he said, before he reached back to pull down his hood to reveal – Anthony!
Felicity frowned. “Anthony? You’re the one who’s been watching us?”
“Of course I have been!” he cried. “First you foil my plans for a new delivery truck, then you shove me under the authority’s microscope, and finally you get my brother arrested!”
“But why were you up Carrauntoohil?” Jack piped up.
Anthony looked like he was going to explode with rage. “I was looking for a new place to store my merchandise after my previous storehouse was compromised. Until you,” he pointed between Felicity and Jack “meddling busybodies insisted on getting me down the mountain.” Felicity glanced at his leg which was indeed in a cast. He hadn’t faked his injury, which made her wonder why he was complaining about their help.
“What on Earth? And what do you mean ‘your brother’?” even as she said the words it clicked in her head.
“Jerky, exquisite kangaroo jerky imported from Australia. He was selling it at the concert but again you two dunderheads had to go and ruin it!” He took a deep breath and smiled nastily. “But now I have you, and even though my brother is in custody, and I didn’t find another storehouse, by God I will have that ice cream truck.”
Jack stiffened beside her. Felicity tightened her grip on his arm to keep him still and quiet as Anthony continued. “That truck will be my salvation. My last jerky shipment got caught on the trip coming here, and my driver didn’t tell me. He just absconded with his pay check. My supplier won’t wait much longer. The thing is already going to take 52 days to get there. The damn would be half way there if you two hadn’t gotten it taken off of my sister. The amount of time it took to convince her to steal the damn thing for her stupid campervan dream was already too long.”
“I don’t know,” Felicity said. “All I’m hearing is that we managed to beat you to it.”
Anthony snarled at her. “Not that it matters now you little swot. You walked into my trap, and now Trevor will have to give me the truck if he wants to see his precious son again.”
As Anthony pulled his phone out of his pocket, Felicity started to move. She grabbed Jack’s arm and pulled him with all of her might as she started running at and then past Anthony. They toppled him over, and his phone went flying into the alleyway wall with a crunch.
Escape
Felicity heard him struggle to get up again with his leg in its cast. She made the most of it and continued dragging Jack onwards and out of the alley. There were crowds of people milling about in front of Lana. Felicity pushed herself and Jack into their midst.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw three figures in all black, similar to the man from Courtney’s who had originally herded them into the alleyway. They were all talking into phones, scanning the heads of the crowd. Damn. Felicity shook off her denim jacket and threw it over Jack’s shoulders. He was broader than her, but if he didn’t wear the sleeves then the size difference wasn’t too noticeable.
Felicity ducked as they passed close by to one of the men in black, nudging Jack to point him out as they neared. He got the message and hunched his shoulders, avoiding the man’s gaze.
The group they had joined was apparently a group of Kerry-supporting college kids home from UCC for the match. Luckily for her they were weaving toward Felicity’s destination : Pig’s Lane.
From where she and Jack were, Felicity could see her Auntie Sheila standing outside the pub with a cider in hand. She was amongst a small group of people, some smoking, some just stood with drinks talking.
It took what felt like forever for them to trawl their way through the people, especially as Felicity was so aware of the men in black. But eventually they spilt out of the crowd, nearly crashing to the floor at Auntie Sheila’s feet.
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