Go out, go out I beg of you
And taste the beauty of the wild.
Behold the miracle of the earth
With all the wonder of a child.
~Edna Jaques
The miracle of Spring is now very close. Birds are beginning to sing and all over the woodland gardens of Bealtaine Cottage, life stirs.
I am sharing this post with you all today, as Willow can be collected at this time of year and used to great beauty in the garden.
This is How To Make A Willow Arch…
Making a Willow Arch for the Lughnasadh Garden…this is a living arch and will provide food for the Bees.
Take two long lengths of Willow.Any length over 6ft will do! All long Willow is suitable for this project. I used a mix.
Strip off leaves…no need to do this in winter or early spring.
Insert each piece into earth on either side of what will be ab entrance…so, 2-3ft apart will do!
Push each piece of willow in a minimum of 3 inches.
It will soon root!
Wind the tops together over your head.
This will be the finished height, though it will continue to grow!
Next, add more lengths near to the first two and twist around the willow frame…
Twisting will tighten and strengthen the arch.
Add more lengths and use each new one to tighten and straighten the arch…pull into shape as you twist.
If you feel you,re not getting the shape you want, lengths can easily be removed and you can start again…don’t be afraid to experiment!
Now add a second arch about 6-10 ins behind the first.
Once in line, insert some more willow by this new arch and pull the lengths forward to the first one…about halfway up the structure as seen here.
Do the same on the first arch, pulling the lengths onto the second, so both criss cross.
You may add some more Willow…but this is the structure safely in place, where it will continue to grow and thicken.
This will form one of the entrances to the new Lughnasadh Garden.
There is a selection of books written by Colette O’Neill at Bealtaine Cottage, available here…the bookshop supports the entire work of the Bealtaine Project.
“A Cottage and Three Acres,” by Colette O’Neill
Please email Colette if you would like a particular inscription in your book. From a desolate cottage set in 3 acres of monoculture sadness, to a vibrant, thriving food forest of life…the journey back to Eden over 13 years… Bealtaine Books and Maps are printed in Ireland and posted from Ireland to support the people of Ireland.
€27.00
In Search of The Goddess Rising
This is the second book in the Goddess Permaculture series from Colette O’Neill at Bealtaine Cottage, Ireland. In this book I explore the ancient landscape, mythology, literature and life around Bealtaine Cottage… in search of the Great Goddess. The price of the book includes all postage and packing to wherever you live in the world! Bealtaine Books and Maps are printed in Ireland and posted from Ireland to support the people of Ireland.
€21.00
Bealtaine Cottage Guide to the Deep Midwinter
A little Yuletide book filled with colour photographs, recipes, reflections, lore, poetry and mirth to guide you through the wonderful days ahead. Fifty pages of sheer delight from Bealtaine Cottage to you. The book is fully bound and can be posted direct as a gift. Price includes P&P worldwide. Bealtaine Books and Maps are printed in Ireland and posted from Ireland to support the people of Ireland.
€15.00
Magical Mythical Map of Bealtaine Cottage and Gardens
Beautiful map created by the artist David Gascoigne, especially for Bealtaine Cottage. The picture shows one side of the map…it is printed on both sides, see the photos on this page. The price includes all Postage and Packing to wherever you live in the world! Bealtaine Books and Maps are printed in Ireland and posted from Ireland to support the people of Ireland.
€12.00
One of the flourishing businesses of our time is that of Garden Centres. 
I love walking around a Garden Centre, but can rarely afford to buy more than one or two plants…if that! 
But…I continue to develop the gardens here at Bealtaine Cottage…on a budget that more often than not hovers around the zero mark! 
With lots of inspiration from the greatest gardener of the lot, Mother Nature! 
Home-made compost as well as compoost! 
Liquid fertiliser is always available…urine mixed 10:1 with spring water, (the cottage is fed by a Spring Well!). 
Old bits of wood, logs and tree stumps make wonderful edging. 
Broken terracotta pots and broken china help create the right effect in Rockery Gardens. 
House ornaments that are weather-proof help create the right atmosphere in the garden… 
Stones that are smooth… 
Stones that are big… 
Logs with mossy bits… 
Old candle holders topped with an old can of Sedums… 
Tree stumps with round stones atop… 
Silly concrete garden ornaments bought pre-loved at a Boot Fair and painted… 
…and more Sedums that tolerate neglect! 
Shells and broken bits of tiles… 
It’s a wonderful and fun way to create a small but interesting garden, where one wants to spend more time looking… 
Using wood and stone as well as a multitude of other materials helps create micro-climates where plants flourish. 
Rustic gardens are full of texture and interest… 
Places where the old and unusual take on a new life… 
Like this old river stone in the shape of Gandalf’s hat! 
Garden pots and more ornamental shrubs can be incorporated too… 
I hope you make some of these ideas your own, for wildlife, especially Bees and insects benefit so much from rustic gardens! 
There are over eleven hundred blogs about Bealtaine Cottage and Gardens on this website, as well as over six thousand photographs…all free! 
It’s always a strange time when the moon is full. 
This May moon has cast it’s brightness over Ireland, presiding over an extraordinary time of growth.
All around the cottage there are flowers opening, plants growing, seemingly overnight and trees now heavy with leaf and blossom. 
Where would an Irish cottage garden be without the beautiful and traditional Perlagonium?
And, of course, every cottage garden has a little spot for Succulents…I plant these in terracotta pots and here in this old planter. 
Always lots of tasks to complete as in painting the old Buddha, so he may survive another winter!
As in all cottage gardens, famous for their mish-mash of flowers, vegetables fruit and just about everything else, edibles share potager beds with their close relations!
I have had to move many plants from pots and plant them in spaces wherever I can find them. 
The nursery bed, essential to a cottage garden, is being cleared fast, with plants going into the long beds down by the road. 
Pieris and Poppies…as always, flowers are squashed in beside the most unsuitable bed mates…the Poppy is planted in with Flowering Currant! 
And sitting in my chair on the veranda, looking up…the classic cottage garden rose. 
The all-forgiving Cottage Garden will tolerate just about everything one wants to “throw out!” Except, of course, I throw little away, favouring a good old re-purpose, as in this old, but very comfy, fireside chair! 
And…the beautiful Wisteria…tougher than it looks and essential “cottage garden!” 
Nothing pristine here! 
Even Jack…unlike Sammy-Bear! 
Oh Jack, you are a little beaut! 
Opening my backdoor this morning I see the Fairies have tidied up again!
