I bought this plant around five years ago. But only recently has it started to show its true beauty. An aged, almost antique piece for the garden The ‘corkscrew hazel’ as it is commonly known produces tiny catkins which develop around the winter period.
I found it very difficult to get a really good photograph – but still, another little gem of intrigue for the garden. Valentines day is not so far off. If you’re not really one for the 10,000 euro bunch of chrysanthemums [including delivery..?], then this ones for you. Enjoy!
Everything is going really well in Cape Town. For the people of this township and the 1500 volunteers involved, it is an emotional event and one I am so proud to be part of. My previous articles on this blog will give a little more insight.
We arrived late on Friday due to Monarch airlines most contrary organisation knowing little of what reaity was about to hit us. But it was a visit to a shack owned by a lady due to move into one of the new homes that instilled inspration with full reasoning into the hearts of every volunteer. I know I cried. I know I wasn’t alone. It wasn’t bad, more a positive tear that made me fully understand why Niall Mellon does what he does and why. I also now know why this is the largest people movement, for charitable reasons, since world war 2 to help another country and around 1400 are Irish. Proud is an understatement.
Honestly, if I could get those of us Irish besotted by interest rates and celtic tiger property prices to visit here [?!??] one might just realise how precious life is and how miniscule our troubles really are. To have left families, businesses, money aside and country to help another who needs it so much more is angelic but to build 200 homes each painted, with a solar panel and a community garden surprisingly in just seven days is truly miraculous.
If you saw what I have seen, you would understand why I and the other 1499 people get applauded and welcomed everyday we go to work. Tear-jerker, you better believe it! I’m beginning to think I have a feminine side…. We also are cheered and thanked on our way home. Amazing. Any slight upsets since I got here [click here]? No. I love every second and I thank whatever religion one may pray to that Dominc Loughran made me realise that my horticulture could make tears come to many a grown mans eyes.
I just received a copy of the irish entrepreneur magazine [july/ august issue] with a delightful picture of our garden on page 58 from bloom in the park. The pictures for this were taken by Maura Hickey who on the wednesday before the June Bank Holiday event took an absolute smashing picture for the Irish Examiner newspaper. Funnily enough one of the first ever publications I featured in was entitled ‘getting dirty’ in The irish entrepreneur way back in March 2004. It can be really difficult at times to get PR especially for bulding a garden so to Maree Morrissey of the Irish Magazine a great big thanks!
To those of you who will see the picture I know it’s not what a garden designer should look like [?] but it is a good picture and one I know Ms. Hickey is quite proud of. This was also VIP night for Bord Bia the organisers of the event so hence the black tie theme – just in case you start to believe we build every garden dressed like that!
At The Four Seasons Hotel on June 1st 2007, in conjunction with Price Waterhouse Cooper and Forais na Gaeilge Peter Donegan MI Hort and Peter Donegan Landscaping Ltd joined Barr 50, the top 50 companies to operate through the Irish language.
The awards recognize those who have made efforts in their industry to use the Irish language to improve their business.
After making the website bilingual, initially, the company has slowly adjusted selections of his companies operations ‘as gaeilge’ and bilingual.
On receiving the award Peter Donegan noted, ‘We didn’t do anything catastrophic, we just made an effort through Irish. It is hoped that our customers will applaud this award and that our future efforts with Forais na Gaeilge will prove as successful becoming the first horticultural related company to join the elite top fifty.
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