tesco, country crest & the fingal vintage society

I took this picture today at the Fingal Vintage Society Classic Car Show. The event, delayed due to weather conditions was rescheduled from July to September and rainfall overnight almost cancelled the gig again.

But the Hoey family [applause] having donated the use of their land to the community again weren’t to be totally disappointed [apart from the odd wheel skid?!]. Their display, to promote Tesco Irelands use of their Country Crest and other Irish brandsonce again was something to be proud of.

Whilst the sun did come out, it’s a pity that the sun didn’t shine in France today over Eddie O’ Sullivan

By |September 30th, 2007|All Posts, Horticulture Ireland|0 Comments
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bulbs – planting starts now!

bulbs...

bulbs...

You want spring colour in your garden, but you and I know the gardeners summer holidays is just after the sprouts and turkey, when you most need a little inspiration and even the garden is looking a little lazy. Grandma’ and the relations have just moved back home and you’ve got to go outside semi-unthawed and breath some life into the earth. Why not plant your bulbs now and look out the window!

The bigger the bulb – the better the bloom Your bulbs should be healthy, free from blemishes and nicely plump. Depending on the natural size of the bulb, bulbs that are too small don’t always flower in the first year and larger bulbs produce better flowers. Avoid dessicated and withered or those with symptoms of mould or rot. Bulbs that have been overexposed to light or warmth in storage can begin leaf growth which usually results in an immature root system and ultimately weak floppy stems

Best planted in clusters Plant in Autumn or early winter before the ground freezes. The biochemical process requiring low temperatures in order to flower is called vernalisation. Depth of planting as a general is usually three times the height of the bulb but this may vary. With rhizomes and tubers for example, shallow planting is a must and both should be placed tops level with the soil surface. Tuberous roots must be placed with sufficient depth for their fibrous roots with stem buds near the surface.

Planting Tips Make a hole using a trowel, shovel or a buy yourself a special bulb digger. Bulbs don’t need great soil but they do need good drainage. Chicken wire over the soil will prevent squirrels from eating the bulbs. To encourage growth use a bulb fertiliser/ slow release bulb food rather than bone meal. Deeply dug bulbs divide slower and require less lifting for division. Sharp sand can be used or added for extra drainage and/ or deep planting. Plant bulbs as soon as you can after purchase. If you can’t – store them in a cool dry place or in a refrigerator.

Do remember this is a general guide to bulbs. If you have any further questions, queries or requests you can as always post your comment on the weblog, email or call me. I must also mention it is positive ageing week running until October 6th their website is well worth a visit. Light up your life, plant some bulbs and as always enjoy.

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By |September 29th, 2007|All Posts, Garden Advice|2 Comments
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irish horticulture worth almost €1 billion

good landscaping

good landscaping

Thanks to Bord Bia we do have statistics on the irish hortiultural and so much more. But I never thought that a magazine outside of The Emerald Isle would cover the value of our hortiultural market. This article titled Irish landscape market hits high was published in Horticulture Week in August 2nd 2007. If you told me this ten years ago, would I have believed you?

The value of the Irish commercial landscaping market is at a record high, Horticulture Ireland has revealed.
The organisation, set up by the Irish government to promote the industry, announced at last week’s Kildare Growers Trade Show in Naas, Co. Kildare, that the market is worth almost €1bn (£673.8m).
Development marketing executive Gary Graham said: “Early estimates suggest the value of the Irish commercial landscaping market is at least €860m [£579.4m]. It’s the highest so far and everyone’s trying to get a piece of the action.”
He also revealed that the industry has experienced a 42 per cent growth over the past four years.
The increase is a direct result of Ireland’s booming housing and commercial property market, which has led to a rise in the number of public spaces and landscaped gardens required by developers.
Figures (from Irish market-research company Sherry FitzGerald) show that the office market in Dublin alone looks to set hit a record high this year.
The amount of accommodation taken up during the first half of the year reached 160,500sq m — almost double the level recorded for the same period in 2006.
However, Graham warned that as new offices are filled and housing requirements are met, the boom could grind to a halt.
“There has been a rapid increase in property values over the past 10 or 15 years but the increase over the past two years has levelled off. People will now be closely watching, waiting to see what the implications are for the sector.”
The Irish Times reported that Irish house prices fell for the third month in a row in May. The average house price in Ireland is now €304,166 (£204,905), 2.1 per cent below the level it was at the start of this year.
But Peter Donegan of Peter Donegan Landscaping said that as that the commercial sector slows, the domestic market is on the up. “The market is two-fold. There’s the industrial side — motorways, hotels and the like — and there’s the housing market, where people are realising that if they landscape their garden their home sells better. People in Ireland have become a bit more educated in horticulture.”
Graham agreed, saying: “The domestic garden market is just getting there now.”

By |September 28th, 2007|All Posts, Media|3 Comments
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estimates & quotes or the cost of a garden

on tv for the right reasons

on tv for the right reasons

You want your garden and your contractor to be on television for the right reason.

Before you start anything, develop a very general idea of what you want and how much you wish to spend. Select your company carefully and do please ensure with your choice of company that their staff/ horticulturist is qualified and experienced. A good standing in the industry is very important so please, please [that's twice!] ensure the company is registered, fully insured and is a member of a recognised repuatable association [eg. the landscape contractors association of Ireland]. You do not want an estimate or a prediction and you certainly need some assurance of standards.

Similar to most horticultural tasks, there is no golden rule that suits all when it comes to doing a garden because no plant, garden or lawn [for the purpose of this analagy/ example] will ever be the same in height, age or appearance. Pricing and the calculation of that time will therefore follow a similar route.

If you were to cut your lawn, how long would it take you? Now muliply this by a rate per hour and you should have a cost. The second point is that anybody can cut grass, the question is how well do you want it done and do you want to supervise or will you have confidence in walking away knowing respect for your property and a quality finish will be given at all times.

With regard to landscaping another famous analagy is required. Assume you’re in a supemarket, you have fifty euro and you wish to cook a meal for ten people. Is it possible? and what standard of meal do you want to serve? If you buy two sausages [at 50 cent each] and it takes one hour [at 5 euro per hour] to purchase and cook them – then thats your equation and your garden will cost 6 euro – simple. For your garden, if you choose to get fifty plants and the labour will take two days then the only variance should be the standard of labour and the plants selected. One should understand that plants are sold by pot size, height and how difficult they are to propagate, therefore there is always a ‘cheaper’ price possible when you wish ‘to get some plants’. You must decide the standard you want at more than one level and with that if it suits your budget.

My article, the three quotes rule will also prove very useful here. Whatever you decide, as always, remember you only want to do this once and cheaper can more often be more tearful than cheerful. My advice, if you don’t [and be honest] know what you’re looking for and/ or how it works, then employ a horticultural consultant and pay for the advice. It might be sixty five euro – but it could save you a lot more.

Whatever you decide love your garden and as always – enjoy!

By |September 28th, 2007|All Posts, Landscape Design|0 Comments
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a pile of rubbish for lusk

rubbish

rubbish

This isn’t a book review! This is a lot more serious, at least where I come from! I’m hesitant, slightly, to give my opinion here but with some decisions made by certain state authorities in Ireland, I begin to wonder their logic. Before I write any further, I do live near enough [5-8 miles away] but not near enough to affected directly by the facility. I shall proceed. Yes the waste must go somewhere. Yes until commercial and domestic waste producers [both us] must get to grips with the full reality of  ‘our’ situation. Even then a waste facility will be necessary; but maybe not a super-one, maybe not so controversial and maybe logic will be applied to the decision in its entirety.

So what’s a garden designer got a bee in his bonnet over this for? Should not the question be for this Island – how do we survive without one? and then track back? I simply believe there is another option and ‘we’ should not have to fight to keep Ireland as it should be every time a decision we dont need is made. Controversial?

These facts here however are those as written by Nicola Cooke of The Sunday Business Post, September 23rd 2007 in her article Lusk Groups Protest against ‘superdump’.

Fruit and vegetable growers and processors in Lusk Co. Dublin fear that their multi-million-euro industry will be threatened by a decision to grant a waste licence for a super dump in the area.The Environmental Protection Authority decided last Friday to grant a licence to Fingal County Council to develop a landfill facility and public recycling plant at Nevitt, Lusk. The Superdump would have a maximum annual intake of 500,000 tonnes of non-hazardous waste.The EPA imposed more than 130 conditions relating to the environmental management, operation, control and monitoring of the proposed facility. It said it was “satisfied [that] emissions from the landfill will not adversely affect human health or the environment and will meet all relevant national and EU standards.”But a number of local groups are opposed to the development and are seeking an oral hearing and a judicial review of the decision.Country Crest, one of the largest horticultural businesses in Lusk, has a €28 million annual turnover, employs 104 people and is one of Tesco’s main Irish suppliers.Managing director Michael Hoey said he was very concerned about the business’s future. “We are less than two miles from the landfill and are on the same stream of aquifers as that site,” he said.“Leachate [toxic waste water] could contaminate the well water we use to wash our fruit and veg that is processed, so this landfill is a major worry for us. I know rubbish has to go somewhere, but the current site is just not suitable. I had an auditor over from Tesco on Friday asking for water analysis to show that there were no metals in the water.”“If there is any problems with our water supply – and that of other producers – in the future, the supermarkets won’t look at us.”
By |September 23rd, 2007|All Posts, Horticulture Ireland|4 Comments
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