Tag: dublin

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All Posts Gardens by Peter Donegan Garden Design

Garden Gift Ideas This Season

Bit too early you for this you say….? In the garden calender, you have less than 9 weeks to the years end.

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

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Christmas gift buying can be a tedious affair particularly when buying for…. well, just about anyone. I don’t know about you but, I know as sure as Willy Wonka will be on tv this Christmas, I have never bought myself aftershave, shirts or socks, in the last 10 years. That is by no means a complaint. Far from it. What I’m really looking forward to however is my first ever Christmas knitted wooly jumper…. you know the one with the reindeer on it… the Daddy ‘rocking around the Christmas tree’ ones…. 😉

On that note I have 10 real green garden gifts that will make your life that little bit easier.

  • Give It The Garden Once-Over:

A makeover, a facelift… you may simply require that little extra professional touch to brighten up the front or back garden for the festive season. Weeding the beds, some bark and some berried plants or simply some additional instant planting. Planted exactly to your liking or positioned to brighten up that apartment, existing garden or balcony.

  • Instant Colour Planters:

For the office or home, for inside or out. One for the entire office or one just for Mary. Culinary or colour or simply pretty and inviting. A living gift that will last that little bit longer and will spice up that Christmas dinner.

  • A Tree Is For Life – Not Just For Christmas:

Email or call. Your trees or tall shrubs can be fruiting and small and – or native and tall. Planted on your date of choice or simply delivered to your recipients door.

  • Especially For You:

Maybe you have an existing garden but you’d like something that little bit more unique and one off. You’ve searched the stores and you’ve had no luck there. How about a garden feature made just for you ?

  • In Need of some Sound Advice:

Reckon you may like to do the job yourself but simply don’t know where to start…? Book a day with yours truly to get the best from your garden whilst in your garden. Your very own garden class, a consultation, plant shopping or a garden layout. As you wish…

  • The Ultimate Garden Design:

Scheduled, time-lines, products and plants. All drawn and planned – all in order, organised and tailor made to suit your budget and space in your great outdoors.

  • The Seasonal Hair Cut:

The hedge, the trees the lawn. It may not be the Phoenix Park but sometimes the arms of others are better used, letting you get on with the things that matter more.

  • A Class Apart:

Fancy your very garden class just for you and your group of friends. A day out in your garden or at your place of work, one with your very own group of budding gardeners should be just the ticket. Green by grow your your own or specific to the more amenity side of the garden, maybe you’d like to mix them both… The choice is yours. All materials can be supplied and the time-lines and times to suit yourself. All you have to do is turnip turn up. Simply send me and email or drop me a line.

  • Everything You Need For The DIY:

If you fancy giving it all a try yourself…. all of the pieces to complete the puzzle hand picked, delivered and wrapped if you wish. All of the garden products you could ever need to complete the tasks at hand or to put that final addition to that great outdoors.

  • Still Stuck….

Depending on the person you have in mind, that may not be such a surprise 😉 Pop me an email or pick up the phone. There’s something out there for everyone….

You can as always contact me via the following options.

  • by email info@doneganlandscaping.com
  • via this website: click the contact page
  • call mobile – o876594688
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Categories
All Posts Gardens by Peter Donegan Garden Design

Garden Containers, Pots and Planters

For those looking for that instant effect, immediate colour or simply a softening of your space outdoors, sometimes the simplest way to achieve this is through instant gardening. How it works is very simple.

  • Planters are pre-made off site with a pre-selected choice of best look plants
  • Hand picked to suit your favourite colours and textures
  • And chosen with only your business and/ or home in mind
  • Carefully positioned, delivered and placed right at your door or place of choice

In this, plant choice will and can vary from individual to business and from desired placing to season. I have personally found that most choose the following:

  • Mildly scented yet neutral in colour on business/ office entrances
  • herb, salad or/ and fruiting choices by kitchen and eating areas
  • stunning, attractive and stand out for openings, ceromonies and occasions
  • pretty, instant and welcoming by dwelling and homely places

landscaping dublin

Planting style aside, in your space you may decide on choosing the following containers

  • hanging baskets
  • window boxes
  • pots and planters
  • raised beds
  • something that little more unusual
  • or a one off just for you

Of course this can be tailored once again to suit your specific space and all fixtures and fittings can be supplied and fitted. I personally like the fact that, if you do feel that after some time that you need that little change…

  • not all plants or any [depending on what you choose] will need to be replaced
  • the planters won’t need to be replaced at all
  • and the same planters can simply be painted a different colour

Although some do choose to ask for something that mild bit different and one off in general most types, styles and wishes can be discussed and ordered by phone or email and designed/ pre arranged to suit your budget. After that, you simply continue on about your daily routine and let me look after the dirty work.

What do you do next….

You can contact me in the  following ways:

  • send an email to info@DoneganLandscaping.com
  • telephone me direct on 087-6594688
  • or enquire via the contact page on DoneganLandscaping.com

No matter how unusual the request may be….. I can make it happen for you.

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All Posts People, Business

Science Gallery – Green Machines

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Today I visited the Science Gallery for the launch of The Green Machines Exhibition.

Whilst there I met with exhibitions manager and show designer Rob Warren. I spoke to Rob about just what, why and how you as visitor can get the most from kick starting the revolution.

Led by fellow team member Ian Brunswick I was walked through the exhibition and as mindful experiences go… this is up there with the very, very best.

It is mind blowing, engaging, mind challenging, eye opening and yet delightfully refreshing to see.

I absolutely loved it.

My advice. Do visit the coffee shop. Don’t be in a rush. The gift shop, if you could call it that – is an Aladdin’s Cave – so much so I’m going to cover that in a seperate post.  I absolutely loved every second of it. I will go there again.

I could have stayed there all day. I did 2 videos [see below]. Also I’m going to see if I can get the lads on the Sodcast Podcast next Thursday.

View my images of The Science Gallery – Green Machines Exhibition

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I liked this:

really makes me wonder what green parties [?] are actually dreaming of…

I loved this:

It comes with the tagline ‘why are computers so hard to take apart…’

Thank you Science Gallery.

Eye opener is an understatement.

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All Posts People, Business

Irish Garden Plant Society – Dublin Annual Plant Sale

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It took place Sunday 10th October in Our lady of Delours Church Glasnevin, starting at 11am. I’d got the nod about this from Jane Powers – as was announced in the gardening podcast.

I got there a little after 12 and as Jane had rightly predicted, the scrum, it seemed had already taken place. In plant numbers, the place had been ransacked 😉

Whilst I may jest, it was a great plant sale and a great morning. And yes this is what I enjoy doing on my days off. They say it’s the people that make a place. My gardening knowledge held tightly in my back pocket, I proceeded through as your average Joe punter….

Me: How much for the daffs….?

Man: They’re one fifty each….

Me: How many for a fiver….?

Man: I’ll give you three bags and you can have 50 cent back…..

Yes it is bulb and tree planting season. A service I provide. I still bought some. That aside, I thought that was my fill of humour until I was offered a Christmas cactus…..

the only time it doesn’t flower is Christmas….

…I was told as the place erupted into laughter.

What was great was the collections there, the oddities, the rarities, the advice that free flowed as discussions continued to be disected and re-evolved. There were those who came prepared as trollies were wheeled out with copious amounts of home grown specialities, whilst others went in search of that something more unique and singular.

I on the other hand, like a woman [no offence to those with only one pair] who can never have too many pairs of shoes bought plants and books that I already have more than enough of and didn’t need 😉 that said, I was more than happy to take my new babies home.

There is something heart warming and non-governmental about a coloured pricing scheme and a €2 entry fee. Something amazing and great. The work, as I know it is all voluntary, free gratis and where people grow plants becuase its fun and it creates discussion and there’s a story that lies in every one of those plants.

I saw Chestnut trees growing in lemonade bottles – why not I thought. The leaves were yellowing, as they should be. But I know this wouldn’t make a saleable plant in a commercial operation.

Personally me, for the first time in over 16 years I am no longer a member of any horticultural related body or association. Mainly because, in short, I needed to get back to basics. Peter the gardener, garden lover, plant grower or tree hugger as some may call it. I think I may just be changing my status in the member of regard.

Membership is €30. Family membership is €42

Fancy some gardening, as it was intended….? Just send them an email

THE IRISH GARDEN PLANT SOCIETY
EMAIL: igpsireland@aol.com
ADDRESS: The Honorary Secretary,
IGPS, c/o the National Botanic Gardens,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 9, Ireland

What they say…..

Sadly some of our garden plants have been lost from cultivation – due to changes in fashion or difficulties in propagation on a commercial scale. It was in recognition of our horticultural heritage that the Irish Garden Plant Society was founded in 1981 in order to research, locate and propagate such plants so that future generations may continue to enjoy them in years to come.

In closing I suppose some may say, it’s the above writing that’d put them off joining. Others say it’s the stigma attached that they’ll feel out of place due to being a different era of gardener. My thoughts for what they are worth…. I remember giving a talk some time ago on 17th century landscaping and design. I noted that it was easier than 18th century landscaping…. by 100 years. Call it what you may, but plants are simply just plants, to me.


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All Posts Parks, Places, Camping

Natural History Museum, Dublin

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I visited The Natural History Museum Friday, 8th October 2010. When I turned to their website yesterday I found these opening lines….

This building is now open again following a major restoration project.

Our exhibitions have changed very little in over a century…..

The second line pretty much summises the musty building interior and the scent and feel about the place.  It’s a nice building but there’s a linger of something more Friedrich Miescher as versus Watson and Crick. Maybe it’s the old glass with what I can only assume is formaldehyde preserving collections. Maybe its the leather that covers those insects at the end of the ground floor to protect them from the light. But then, the oft referred to Dead Zoo, has been collecting deadies since 1792 and has been in the same spot since 1857.

That said it what it is and for some reason I liked it. A lot. It continues….

….The ground floor is dedicated to Irish animals, featuring giant deer skeletons and a variety of mammals, birds and fish. The upper floors of the building were laid out in the 19th Century in a scientific arrangement showing animals by taxonomic group. This scheme demonstrated the diversity of animal life in an evolutionary sequence.

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The first floor is the main reason I went there. I wanted to see the collections of Irish slugs and more… but that sort of thing, in detail. I wanted to see Irish birds, the garden pests, the helpers the bugs, the spiders and the prey. Up close and motionless. And I did. I put in my ear phones and spent maybe two hours there. Entry is free and the art gallery nearby does decent coffee, a necessary for me to ingest regularly.

But there’s a problem. The guys were supposed to get a bag of cash from the boys next door. They didn’t. And for that I’m personally glad. There was talk of a new wing, a coffee shop etc. Lets put this in context,  my Beatles For Sale vinyl, in mono, has a big scratch on it – but I know when and where I need to lift the needle. More importantly I know why the scratch is there…. my own fault for breaking up with her while she was changing to side B. My point, we have history.

I shall continue on – the second floor one can’t get to the upper galleys which would be nice. Some health and safety crapology doctorite decided on that one – and so they remain closed off. A shame, yes, but I’ll settle for it.

For me, I liked loved The Natural History Museum. I can see why a younger mind may be bored senseless. I know the upper of upstairs is closed off. I find it rhetoric that it’s next to Leinster House where the people who run our country make decisions [?] But I personally hope it never gets the funding it was told it would get.

It’s a great place to go, in a beautiful part of Dublin City. Argue all you like regarding upgrades and changes – but similar to, I wish Irelands roads were toll free.

If you do intend go there, watch out for exhibition and event dates if you want some peace and quiet like I did. Also the staff there are amazing, brimmed with information and were more than willing to answer all of the questions I had and point out of pieces of interest they thought I might like.

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In the front lawn is a gentleman called Thomas Heazle Park.

Surgeon-General Thomas Heazle Parke (1857—1893) was an Irish doctor, explorer, soldier and naturalist, born in 1857 at Clogher House in Drumsna, County Leitrim, Ireland, and was brought up in Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim. He graduated from the College of Surgeons in Dublin and was appointed to a post in Ballybay, County Monaghan.

In 1881 he joined the British Army and served in Egypt as a surgeon. Parke fought to Khartoum in relief of General Gordon in 1885.

He became the first Irishman to cross the African continent. During the expedition Parke bought a pygmy girl. They travelled together for over a year and she nursed him through malaria. In the end he was forced to leave her behind because her eyes could not adapt to sunlight after the darkness of the forest.

When Parke returned home he received an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and was awarded gold medals from the British Medical Association and the Royal Geographical Society. Among his published works are My Personal Experiences in Equatorial Africa (published in 1891) and A Guide to Health in Africa. He died in Scotland in 1893 and his coffin was brought back to Ireland and drawn on a gun carriage from the Dublin docks to Broadstone station. He was buried in Drumsna.

On the granite pedestal is a bronze plaque depicting the incident on August 13, 1887 when Parke sucked the poison from an arrow wound in the chest of Capt. William G. Stairs to save his life. He is also commemorated by a bust in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

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View More Images of The Natural History Museum. One is permitted to take photographs, just not with the use of flash.

Opening Hours:

  • Tueesday – Saturday 10am -5pm
  • Sunday 2pm – 5pm
  • Closed Mondays [including Bank Holidays]

UPDATE: 7th January 2011

Whilst I was at the Museum I filled out the comment form. I can’t remember what I said exactly now to be honest. But I just got this email today.

Peter

Thank you for taking the time to fill out a comment card during your visit. To answer your query about access to upper floors, the National Museum of Ireland has prepared a plan to build a new structure beside the Natural History Museum that will include a lift and provide universal access. This was allocated €15M in funding under the National Development Plan but this funding has since been withdrawn and the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport is not able to fund the development at present. The structure would allow us to remove any modern intrusions (e.g. the shop) into a separate space and reinforce the Victorian style, allow access to all floors and provide spaces for education and proper visitor services that are sorely needed.

Balcony access is not possible at present due to the lack of emergency exits from these upper levels. The solution, once funded, would have minimal impact on the historic interior. The Natural History Museum Staff are working on virtual access to areas of the museum and its collections that are not physically accessible to all.

I share your disappointment in the lack of access, unfortunately until funding is made available for this work the upper floors will remain out of reach for many visitors. Funding for the National Museum of Ireland is the responsibility of the Minister at the Department of Tourism, Culture & Sport.

Nigel
Mr Nigel T. Monaghan,
Keeper,
Natural History Division,
National Museum of Ireland,
Merrion Street,
Dublin 2,
IRELAND