Colette O'Neill… Author, Publisher, photographer. Creator of Goddess Permaculture.
It is Lughnasadh, the last great festival of the Celtic Calendar! The year is tipping towards an end as Samhain marks the beginning of the new year… There has been much change here at Bealtaine Cottage as the canopy of trees has merged to form what is now truly a woodland. This evolution has happened […]
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Thirty nine photographs of the Goddess at her best, as we rise towards Midsummer…a mere twenty four days away! An abundance of fruit, flowers and vegetables, captured this morning on film, images from a small part of the three acres of Bealtaine Cottage, in the west of Ireland…all growing on this “poor” agricultural land. I […]
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In between making soup and working in the gardens today, I’ve made this screen show for your enjoyment… The Bealtaine Project is a full-time labour of love for Colette O’Neill, aiming to encourage and support those wishing to live more sustainably “with” rather than “on”” Mother Earth. To this end, Colette writes, photographs, films and […]
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Bealtaine Cottage was conceived, designed, planted and worked by one woman, Colette O’Neill, over twelve years, on some of the poorest land in the North west of Ireland…all North-Facing! Colette is now offering, for the first time, a series of week long, intensive learning programmes here at Bealtaine Cottage. ONE WEEK OF INTENSIVE PERMACULTURE A unique […]
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It’s been a long and lovely day, filled with wonderful garden visitors, followed by some serious cutting back and clearing over near the tunnel. However, before I begin, I must say that I’ve been reading the comments on the Bealtaine Cottage Magical Gardens site on FaceBook and feel compelled to make a very important comment, […]
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There was a full moon last night. Sammy-Bear couldn’t make up his mind whether he wanted in or out. Previous to this photo I had opened the back door for him twice to go out, whereupon he ran around to the front of the cottage and jumped up on the window sill, as you can […]
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The leaves are just beginning to bud and appear. Bees are busy at work here in the gardens of Bealtaine Cottage…without them this would be a place of hunger. But, it’s not…instead it boasts food for all and more to come. This is what a food forest looks like as the sap rises and life […]
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Towards the end of a perfect day at Bealtaine Cottage. The gardens are looking well tended as the evening descends. Strawberries have been potted up in hanging baskets and seedlings rescued from the gravel around the cottage and potted up. These will make fine plants for the Summer ahead! And…all the while…the birds sing! Please […]
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The polytunnel at Bealtaine Cottage has stood for eleven years, retaining it’s structure extremely well and providing all year round space for growing food. The plastic remains “as tight as a drum,” as any visitor to Bealtaine Cottage gardens will attest to. In this blog I will endeavour to give you simple instructions on how […]
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