Thursday January 3rd 2013 sees the start of a very happy new year and a return to gardening and landscaping services for the current year. It is also the start of year 13 in business for Donegan Landscaping.
If you would like to get in touch or simply find out more about Peter or Donegan Landscaping, you can do so in the following ways:
As weather suitable for gardening in any format goes, last year has to be the worst on record and I think it’s fair to say that, although not by choice, a lot of gardeners had a little extra spare time on their hands.
Not content with sitting on my laurels [be dum. See what I did there…?] I started to think a little outside of the box. To be fair I had started to think outside the box sometime ago.
Delving a little into the past so as to give some context as to where I’m heading with this, I did write for The Irish Farmers Journal for a number of years. I wrote for a number of others freelance as well but without rewriting a curriculum vitae that you may wish to borrow so you can beat me with it, The IFJ was my probably my longest stay as a regular garden correspondent.
The Gardener is off on one again Mary….
Some time after I left there, I started writing my garden blog. Four years old this august, it’s made up of around two hundred of my own video’s, approximately 4,500 images and over 300 segments of audio all posted within almost 900 articles. All done in my own spare time, all written by yours truly and all on the subject matter of the great outdoors and gardening.
I’ve always had a theory that if every person in this little country of ours planted one tree today. Wouldn’t Ireland be so beautiful tomorrow.
Yeah, yeah. I’m getting there…
When last years snow kicked in all complete with a Sky News media team trying to interview a single hail stone on the edge of some motorway in Scotland, I queried where could or would a garden story ever fit in.
Well it wasn’t really the weather for gardening Pete….
Being green during weather so inclement may not be perceived as being so cool. But we who have a space to garden shouldn’t and can’t simply pull the curtains. In the great big garden calender it doesn’t work that way.
Over a year ago Bernie Goldbach, a lecturer in social media at Tipperary Institute suggested I try podcasting. What started as talking into the tail end of my telephone over a year ago handing out various tit-bits of garden advice for five minutes has since been branded and logo’d and has morphed slowly over that time while demand, interest and listener numbers growing.
On March 11th 2011 Dublins only garden radio show, The SodShow was borne. Hosted by Peter Donegan [that’s me] and Brian Greene, it airs live on Dublin City Fm every Friday at 3pm. The radio show is also now the podcast, which more often, surprising maybe, out shines similar shows produced by the BBC and others.
The Donegan fella is blathering away telling us how great he is again. Betcha he’s playing that Carly Simon song whilst he looks at a picture of himself….
But there’s a bigger picture here. One where we all benefit. Remember the tree dream I spoke about earlier [paragraph five] ? Remember my spiel about the snow [paragraph 1] ?
Well here’s my thinking, what if there was one more garden blog, or lots. More garden audio and video’s online. Irish ones. One from Galway even. More garden groups [see The Tribesman June 2nd 2011] What if all of a sudden everyone started talking, to the world and the wide web about their great outdoors. Wouldn’t it be brilliant for Irish gardening ?
The Jackeen may actually be making some sense….
You see there are two winners in this. Everyone. And I don’t just mean the businesses.
It’s about the gardener in Galway who has a mild dilemma with his potatoes for example. It’s about that great park you brought your family to, the time you went camping by Lough Ennell or very simple the day your daughter smiled when you grew your first pumpkin. It’s about others going there because of what you said. It may even be the man in Germany who comes to Ireland [or Galway] and stays in that campsite because of what you said.
Sometimes I think we Irish are the greatest yappaholics in the world. And we may well be. But there’s just not enough official gardening yapping going on, on the record that is. That I know there are six regular garden radio slots, not shows, in this country.
There’s a time when things must happen in gardening. There’s a time when trees sleep. There are those who know that sub zero temperatures are actually good for gardening. There’s a time as individuals we weep on a plants passing. There are things that I could have done even during the snow to make my home prettier, using plants, if even just to save some.
It may be Flirt FM or Galway Bay fm. It may just be you talking into your phone, writing a blog post or writing for the local newspaper. It may only just create a conversation that is deemed downright controversial. And when was the last time that happened in the gardening world of this green isle ?
Either or one things for sure, those who like, love and or even dislike the great outdoors, gardeners need to talk, more.
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
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.
I grew these potatoes some months ago from seed. I think it was about €2.50 for a half litre pot of seed. I simply popped them twice their depth below the surface.
Mine came into flower and passed that point some time ago, but I had potatoes that I had got locally and so I didn’t bother lifting these at all. Until now. I was quite pleased with the crop. I didn’t mound the soil to get more or any of that molarchy. I just planted and left them.
I did run into one problem that was the common potato scab. It’s a scabby patch that appears on the outer skin which disfigures the spud. It’s not a major problem for me or the potato, although if you saw it in a supermarket potato I’d be very surprised. It’s caused by the mycelium producing Streptomyces scabies [the 2nd part of that name alone makes me shiver]. This comes as a result of light soils with a high lime content and also from low moisture levels usually from a hot summer, which we had spells of this season. I’ll just peel them to be honest and next year I’ll plant a resistant variety.
After that, not much else I can add. It is very much a case of just pop the seed twice its own depth below the surface of the soil and keep well watered.
Of course if you have any questions, simply leave a comment below.
This Sunday 28th February sometime after 10am, I’ll be a guest on the Today Fm Sunday Business Show. It’s not my first time on the radio, although it is my first on Today FM.
Happily Surprisingly, for some I won’t be on to talk about horticulture as such 😉
The show itself is described as offering…
the listener the latest financial and political news and interviews. Two highly experienced presenters host the show on alternate weeks, Ted Harding and Conall O’Morain
The show is also produced by Myra Hayes. Never heard the show before….? You can listen to podcasts here or have a browse through the Sunday Biz Show blog here.
Tune in manually [100 – 102 on the fm dial] or hit the Today Fm Website and click the listen button.
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