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The perfect hanging basket is easy to create

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By Debby Looney, gardening expert

When the weather is as glorious as it has been this last week, where do you start?

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The garden beckons, although, if I am honest, so do windows, floors and most other surfaces which come to light in the bright sunshine! However, this is a gardening column and not a householder's mope! So ... do you start with weeding, edging or mowing? Well, I would say, colour. We have had enough grey and now is the time for fun!

Starting in the borders, perennials are all showing signs of life. Don't worry if they seem slow, those in garden centres are generally cultivated in protective environments and are way ahead of their counterparts in the garden. Hardy osteospermums, campanulas, geraniums and aquilegias will all be showing colour. Invest now in lupins, penstemon, aconites and delphiniums, so they can really have a long growing season and give you months of colour. Most perennials enjoy sunshine and well drained soil, plants such as rudbeckia, echinacea and heleniums should be planted in such sites.

However, there are plenty of choices for the more common heavy, wet soils. Phyllis, or cape fuchsia, is a particularly hardy plant. Bearing long, tubular flowers in pinks, salmon or cream, it can grow to 1.2m high. It is semi-evergreen in the winter, and thrives in wind, wet and even shade. I recommend you give it a good trim every spring, both to encourage new, fresh growth, as well as keeping it in check. Astilbes are also ideal for trickier spots, their long flowering season of pale pink, crimson or cream plumes can brighten up any area. They will grow in the wettest of gardens, which makes them ideal for pond side planting too.

HANGING BASKETS

A question which I am asked every year without fail is how to ‘do a good basket’. The perfect hanging basket is easy to create if you follow a few simple guidelines. Using plastic or rattan type baskets will prevent them drying out very fast, and they are easier to manage. If you have wire baskets, I recommend coco liners. Always use a round piece of polythene (I usually cut a circle from the compost bag and use that) between liner and compost. You need not bother putting drainage holes in it – this way you prevent dripping when you water. Baskets dry out so quickly as they are open to all the elements such as sun and wind, however they rarely get rain.

For this reason using water retentive gel is helpful, but only to a certain extent. Diligent watering and feeding is key. Baskets contain so little compost yet support so many plants, that feeding is vital. Slow release fertiliser breaks down through dampness, however baskets dry out so often that it often does not get the chance to work properly. So, again, an all-purpose liquid feed is what I advise. Remember - avoid the temptation of too many plants in a basket! I find setting a theme is best when shopping for plants but it does not always stop me from buying too many though!

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Con O’Leary: Killarney loses a vibrant and popular personality

Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has led the tributes to the late Con O’Leary, an extremely popular and very successful businessman in the town, who passed away in the […]

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Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has led the tributes to the late Con O’Leary, an extremely popular and very successful businessman in the town, who passed away in the early hours of Sunday.

Con was a vibrant and popular personality in Killarney where he operated The Laurels on Main Street, a thriving bar and restaurant, which he inherited following the passing of his father, Thado.
The business organisation said from a social perspective, The Laurels became the beating heart of the town and it was a landmark at the Market Cross in the same way as Clery’s clock was in the capital city.
Chamber said Con’s passing really marks the end of an era as he was one of a golden age of inspirational local business people who developed and built Killarney, through hard work, bravery and great commercial flair, and helped create the wonderful tourist attraction and holiday destination it is today.
“Con was very proud of Killarney and he played a very active part in progressing the town at many levels.
“He was a man that was never short of great ideas and his contribution to the business life of the town and as a director of Killarney Race Company was immense,” Chamber said.
“He was ahead of his time in many respects with the introduction by what became known as “the singing lounge” many years ago and The Laurels always led by example through its successes in the annual Killarney Looking Good competition”.
The business representative organisation noted that the O’Leary family has always been very supporting of the town and Con’s daughter, Kate, was a very dynamic Chamber President and is still a very valued member of the executive.
Chamber expressed deep sympathy to Con’s wife, Anne, children Kate, Niall, Tara and Lorna, sons-in-law, grandchildren, sisters, relatives and friends as well as the dedicated staff in The Laurels, past and present, who Con always had great time for and a great rapport with.

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All Roads Lead To Kerry For National Road Safety Conference

Kerry County Council is to host a two-day road safety conference at the INEC Killarney on May 28 and 29. The ‘Safer Roads’ road safety conference is an inter-agency event […]

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Kerry County Council is to host a two-day road safety conference at the INEC Killarney on May 28 and 29.

The ‘Safer Roads’ road safety conference is an inter-agency event focused on improving road safety, reducing traffic-related incidents, and sharing knowledge and best practices for safer road use. It encompasses various strategies and efforts across multiple domains, including road design, engineering, enforcement, forensic collision investigation, technology, education, collision trends, occupational driving, cycling and scooting, e-mobility, active & sustainable travel and on-road events.

In addition to this, AI, Virtual Reality and Driver Simulation will play a significant role at the conference, in improving safety by predicting and preventing accidents, optimizing traffic, and aiding the development of autonomous vehicles.

This ‘Safer Roads’ conference is a non-public event where road safety professionals, speakers and service providers from across Ireland, other EU countries and the UK will attend, including transportation experts, government and local authority officials, roads policing and vehicle inspection agencies, road safety advocates, educators and promoters, collision responders, cycling bodies and community safety networks.

Kerry County Council’s Road Safety Officer Declan Keogh said:
“Road safety has evolved over the years to a much broader scope, in terms of e-mobility, sustainability, technology and engineering for instance. It’s not just about the road or the vehicle anymore, but also about how technology, human behaviour, enforcement, and education intersect to reduce risks and prevent collisions. The ‘Safer Roads’ conference will involve and include every branch of the road safety tree, right across the board, and in doing so, we aim to increase road safety awareness, improve road user behaviour and decrease the collisions and carnage we see on our roads every day,”

The two-day conference also provides an opportunity for exhibitors to attend, and interested state bodies, businesses and service providers are invited to exhibit at the event to showcase their products and services and engage with delegates and officials at the conference.

Further information about the conference and how to register or exhibit can be found here. https://www.kerrycoco.ie/safer-roads-road-safety-conference/

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