Tag: gardening dublin

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All Posts Gardens by Peter Donegan Garden Design

Plants, Trees and Shrubs

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Whether you are building your own garden and have a list of plants in mind or simply recreating a part of your garden and require only the finest plants sourced and selected specifically for your home.

From instant mature trees, hedges or shrubs to high impact specimen plants, I source only from the very best nurseries in Ireland selecting by hand each individual plant to suit your garden, no matter what type of space that may be.

From plants, trees and shrubs to the additional products required for the complete project, to the layout of your planting or to where you may wish to be involved in every element and require more a personal guide when shopping and selecting.

  • Planters and baskets, edible or pretty and flowering.
  • Plants or a tree or trees for a particular area
  • an install of an instant green space for your home or office, business or pleasure.
  • bulbs or trees and flowering shrubs to suit the seasons

If you would like to talk with me about sourcing plants or products, plant advice or a shopping guide as always the coffee pot is always on the brew or you can contact me via the following options.

  • by email info[at]doneganlandscaping[dot]com
  • via this website: click the contact page
  • call mobile – o876594688

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All Posts Garden Advice

Snails…

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Some may call the mollusc one of the greatest pests known to mankind the plant world. I’ll give them one thing…. they’re not the prettiest looking fellas on the planet.

Famed for eating anything thats green leafed, the damage they cause can often be confused with that of bird damage. The difference is birds will eat through the veins of the leaf where the snails mouth eating parts will not allow them eat anything greater than just the leaf matter. ie the damage they cause is considered interveinal only.

For controlling snails once must start at the very start and that is with good garden hygiene; ie. a good cleaning, pruning and removal of debris regularly from around plants. There is also the use of ‘slug pellets which burns the belly of the mollusc when they move across it. Personally I like to pick them up and throw them into the hens.

What I find facinating is the varied and so many methods of controlling snails I have heard on my travels…. from copper wire placed in a loop around the base of the plant to a cup of beer placed near, which I personally find an awful waste 😉

How do you do it….?

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All Posts Good Life

i want that one…

Christmas trees! I love this time of year… I just love it! While you’re at the turkey stuff the begrudgers, the doom and gloomers and anybody else who’s a pain in the tuschie, take out the mistletoe and have a mince pie. It is the season to be jolly – and don’t you forget it 🙂

With whole place decked in holly, last week I and ‘her indoors’ [as Arthur Daly would say], went to pick out our Christmas tree. There is, possibly unknowns to some a Christmas tree farm in Rolestown North Dublin [just outside Swords and after Kettles Hotel just on the left]. It’s brilliant. While I was there, the Moms flocked in with their children, wellies and woolies on and went with Mick to select the specimen they wanted.

€30 any tree, netted and the butt drilled or trimmed to suit your stand. If you’re nice he’ll even give you a lolly pop! If you have never seen a tree farm or never selected your own live tree it is a great experience .

Have a really Happy Christmas, have a great new year and enjoy!

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All Posts Good Life

growing pumpkins from seed

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I hear you… it’s only mid July. No matter. You need them for October – but they have to grow! If you ever want to know when to start growing anything the easiest [cheaters tip!] advice is to check your garden centre once a month – when they’re available by seed – that’s when to start. Easy!

This is from the Johnsons range. I actually thought they’d be difficult to grow? no – easy peezy. really! There’s the packet [left] and the seed just below. I just bought them in my local garden centre.

How? who? what? Take a tray or a small plant pot about the size of a tea cup; fill with clean compost; soak first with water [from the bottom up is better – ie. sit in a basin of water and let in take up the moisture until the compost goes from dry brown to damp black] and then push the seed [it looks like a leprechauns surf board] sideways a little [half an inch] below the height of the compost until you can see it no more.

Jack O lantern [cucurbita pepo] is the more common or the ‘typical’ pumpkin as we know it and the plants will need to be planted about one metre apart outdoors when the roots fill out the tray. As you can see mine [after just two weeks! – click here] have a just little more to go before I allow them into unprotected typical irish weather.

Books and catalogues generally base sowing times on an average/ mean temperatures and as long as I understand what the plant needs to grow then I can work away and pretty much garden away as I please.

The ‘book’ tells me I’m a little late sowing – but the book obviously hasn’t seen the barbados like weather that’s been coming to North Dublin recently!!

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UPDATE:

here are my plants as of 28th of August as promised:

UPDATE: A Real Pumpkin Farm

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All Posts Gardens by Peter Donegan Garden Design

Bespoke 17th Century Gazebo

brackenstown gardens file - peter donegan landscaping
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Recently the gardens of Brackenstown got the ‘peace de resistance’ that [in my heart] it so much deserved. The gazebo was installed 2 weeks ago in the centre of the tranquility garden after almost eight months since it was first considered. The funny thing I suppose was that within three days it was fitted, installed and painted as if it had been there all its life. When it is found difficult to believe that the life of the structure is one of such youth, I suppose it could be said that the job has been done and done extremely well. It is bespoke, the only one in the world and hand made, the old style way.

Credit when taking on a project like this must go primarily to ‘any’ client who has that ‘je ne sais quoi’ and forward vision to trust in a designer to bring something like this to fruition. I shall rephrase, when one does not know what the final outcome will be [obviously] and one has never seen ‘one’ before, it can be, difficult if you chose; only in the sense that if you are a ‘I need to see it first’ kind of person. If not, bespoke features for a garden are one off, special, specific, of true splendour and yours [and yours only].