Enjoy this morning’s video, shot in the rain-misted splendour of the Goddess Gardens.
Tag: gardens
Permaculture, Patriarchy and the Goddess…Moving Forward
This is What Goddess-Inspired Permaculture Looks Like!
Bealtaine Eve in the Magical Gardens, Ireland.
An extra long video for you to enjoy Bealtaine eve in the magical gardens of Bealtaine Cottage here in the west of Ireland.
Enjoy!
Bealtaine Cottage Podcast from the Gardens
Listen to the first podcast from the gardens at Bealtaine Cottage…birdsong is free!
The Spirit of Bealtaine
Even though the day has been drizzly, most of it has been spent out on the land, cutting, pruning and clearing.
The paths need cutting back to keep them open.
It’s hard work, but there’s lots of brushwood and thicker bits for the stove.
Leaves are laying a thick and colourful carpet on the ground.
It’s good to be outdoors.
The air is invigorating!
The light is more silvery and as the trees shed their leaves, more can be touched by the low autumn sun.
The Goat Willow has grown remarkably well over the past ten years, creating canopy and helping to establish a healthy woodland floor.
Now it’s the turn of greater trees like this young Ash, to take the reins and establish woodland that will see the next century and more!
Many of you have followed the journey of Bealtaine, as the gardens have taken the small tentative steps into woodland.
It has been a magical journey and continues to enthrall and inspire me and all who visit on foot or online.
The spirit of Bealtaine has emerged from a small, desolate piece of land…
It is heartening indeed to hear from so many of you who are inspired to plant trees and heal the Earth…it is so very important that we do this!
I am hoping to be able to get a landline link so as to get a reliable Broadband connection.
This will make uploading blogs and videos much faster and reliable.
Uploading a five minute video takes over an hour with the present connection.
Sometimes it fails at the last minute and I have to begin the process all over again!
The initial cost of getting a landline installed is quite expensive.
If you feel you can help at all with a small donation, it will be greatly appreciated…blessings X
Gardens in Early May
Growth in the gardens has really taken off!
I was away for the weekend in Belfast and returned last night.
Making coffee and doing my early morning stroll of the gardens, coffee in one hand and camera in the other, it was a revelation…everything has grown and spread since Friday!
No wonder, as a mix of rain and warmth has created the perfect conditions for plants.
It’s always a pleasure to walk out on a May morning.
It is primarily because of the growth as we ascend towards Midsummer.
The days continue to stretch before us and the promise of Summer holds sway.
Nights are shorter and days grow longer…
Enjoy the rest of the pics!
Blessings XXX Colette
Visiting Bealtaine Cottage…
Visitors to Bealtaine Cottage have been welcomed in their thousands over the past ten years.
Many have become good friends.
I have enjoyed sharing Bealtaine Cottage with foot visitors from all over the world, as well as over half a million through the website.
Increasing amounts of my time have been spent happily showing visitors around the three acres of gardens.
However, as the website has grown in popularity, I get more and more requests from people who want to visit the cottage and gardens.
A decision simply had to be made, to draw a line under visits, instead, opening the gardens as many times as I can manage, during the year, for Open Days!
The first of these Open days is planned for the 5th of April.
I am happy to open my home and gardens on these days to all visitors.
There will be an admission charge for charity and more details can be found on this link.
http://bealtainecottage.com/open-day-at-bealtaine-cottage-permaculture-gardens/
Any questions regarding visiting the gardens can be posted in the comments section of the blog.
I can no longer respond to emails, as subscribers to the blog increase.
I trust you understand the increasing demand on time I face and the need for me to simply get on with work, serving Mother Earth as best I can!
Blessings as always for your love and support for this little place in the West of Ireland.
I am truly blessed!
xxx Colette
Bealtaine Cottage has built up a Permaculture Seed Bank.
If you want to see a list of available seeds, this link will take you there… http://bealtainecottage.com/seeds-from-bealtaine-cottage/
Seeds from Bealtaine Cottage in Ireland are posted all over the world!
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Bealtaine Cottage is also on YouTube…with over 110 videos about Permaculture, planting, growing and living. There are almost 700 blogs in the archives on this site.I write, photograph and film, in a small way, to give a voice to Mother Earth.
Cottage and Gardens
Morning at Bealtaine Cottage is a lazy affair as far as the cats are concerned.
No sooner do I get out of bed than the cats find a warm spot to snooze away the morning!
The morning was dry and with no threat of rain, it was important to get into the garden and get some more work done.
Most of the work is coppicing and logging, to make a new wood pile, ready for next winter.
I am yet to get down to the Bog Garden and clear around the ponds and besides which, my waders have sprung a leak!
I shall wait until the weather warms up and then do a summer clear.
Moss has grown everywhere over the course of a wet Autumn and Winter.
It’s possible to collect bags of it just on the gravel on the lane-way!
Masses of buds everywhere, especially here on the Red Robin (Photinia).
I cut it back quite hard last Autumn!
Cleaning the steps and pruning back the Beech trees and roses.
Another eight weeks or so and the London Pride on either side of the steps will be in bloom.
The Willow fedge will be growing and greening!
Euphorbia is greening and growing…and spreading a lot!
Time to pot some up for gifting later in the year.
Magical reflections in the magical gardens… even the smallest amount of water in a container, pulls the sky down into the garden!
And the silver Moon Pennies of the Lunaria have endured the ravages of the winter in this little sheltered spot under the Laurel arch.
The stillness and warmth of the cottage is comforting after working in the cold air outside.
In the pantry…the lovely happy faced terracotta jar was bought for £4 in a Charity shop and holds all the garlic grown last summer in the potager beds.
It has little air holes and keeps a cool temperature inside…just perfect!
This is another bargain picked up at a Boot Fair and costing £8…it holds a candle inside and is a storm-proof garden light.
The shower room window faces south and catches lots of light…a good place to over-winter plants.
A New Era at Bealtaine Cottage
Smoke rises into a clear blue January sky.
The birds are singing like it’s Spring and black ice covers the road by the gate. 
My friend Michael is here this morning to finally remove the toilet and install my compost loo.
The septic tank is, from today, a grey water tank!
I have been using the compost system for the past year, keeping the flush toilet for visitors, but this is the time to finally say goodbye to a system that no longer makes any sense!
Those who visit, or stay at Bealtaine Cottage, will experience a neat loo, that is both efficient and hygienic, adding to the environment rather than being a source of pollution.
I shall write a blog and post pics of the new loo in a few days time…
Meanwhile, there are signs of life all the way through the permaculture gardens, with Daffodils pushing up through the more sheltered earth under the Beech trees.
The sun is not yet high enough on the horizon to reach the paths in the Bog Garden, many of which will remain frozen for weeks to come.
In the sheltered parts of the woodland, Ferns remain green and quite lush.
Many keep their life until new fronds unfurl in late Spring.
The Willow continues to be cut, tied and stacked in the barn.
Many of the Fedges will need to be pruned before Spring and vigorous new growth that follows.
This Fedge borders the stream that runs from the Spring Well.
Many of the Bird Boxes around the gardens will need to be water-proofed with whatever I have to hand…usually a coat or two of gloss paint.
This does not seep into the wood and so does not harm nestlings in the box.
Many thanks for the continuing support for the work of this Bealtaine Cottage website.
Blessings
The Closing Chapter
Summer began to melt into Autumn at Bealtaine Cottage amidst a flurry of bees and butterflies, more than ever witnessed in the permaculture gardens.
Harvesting began and the kitchen was a place of jam jars and bottles, all waiting to be filled and labelled.
The glut of blackcurrants became wine, jam and chutney, with even more added to the freezer.
Open days and workshops seen a steady stream of visitors to the cottage and gardens.
Kindling for the winter stoves continued to be collected and stored in the barn.
And the Potager beds kept growing!
The recipe for Blackcurrant Chutney was added to a blog post that had runaway success!
Valerian flowered…
Roses bloomed…
And all around, flowers showed off with total abandon!
I collected seeds…
and more seeds…
Drying and labelling in every container I had to spare!
Seedheads were stored for winter flower arrangements.
As the boys played in the Fairy Wood.
It was a magical time for all!
Summer never really went away, for the wine of that season kept bubbling with life.
And the harvest continued…
As potatoes were lifted…
And misty mornings began to appear.
Cobwebs shimmied in the morning breeze…
As the light and shadows began to change.
My son got married and I designed and made the flower arrangements, on a lovely day with my new daughter’s mother, here at Bealtaine.
Everyone came to the west of Ireland for a three day wedding in a 500 year old castle. Here I am with my eldest daughter.
And when all was over, the harvest continued.
And the cottage fell silent…
But not for long, as friends delivered cardboard for mulching…
And helped with the harvest.
Lords and Ladies made an Autumn appearance in the Fairy Wood.
And the cottage and gardens were opened for a special fundraiser in aid of Leitrim Animal Welfare.
Raising a magnificent sum of money for a wonderful charity.
Autumn continued into Winter…
And logs were stacked in readiness for the stove.
The days darkened as Midwinter approached…
And candlelight illuminated the dark days.
Bringing cheer to the silent grey…
And soft light into the Midwinter Cottage.
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So few do, but if you choose to make a small donation, then Bless You!
Come Visit the Permaculture Gardens this weekend!
The Open Weekend at Bealtaine Cottage approaches…
yes…
It’s this weekend everyone!
You have a special invitation to come and spend as long as you like on either Saturday or Sunday, this weekend, exploring the gardens, asking questions, looking inside the cottage and just having a lovely time in the permaculture gardens here at Bealtaine Cottage…and…it’s all for charity!
I am posting directions at the end of this blog, so you will find Bealtaine Cottage quite easy!
Carole from Whispering Pines in the U.S. has already donated the entrance fee, of 10euros, despite the fact that America is a long way off! 
Carole at http://whisperingpinesfiberandherbfarm.com/ writes a lovely blog every day all about her homestead and lovely animals…I often pop by!
Hopefully there will be at least 100 euros to donate to The Leitrim Animal Sanctuary by the close of the weekend!
Your 10 euro donation includes tea and lashings of cake, home made soup with home made bread and staying all day if you wish! 
How’s that for value…and you will be helping animals in distress!
There will be lots of tea, fresh coffee and home made cakes!
If it’s wet, don’t fret…with two covered verandas and a cosy cottage, there will be lots of dry space to enjoy your morning or afternoon tea!
I am selling a lot of my gardening books too…some great books!
There is lots to see and many secret paths to explore…so come along to the Permaculture Gardens at Bealtaine Cottage this weekend..
Directions to Bealtaine Cottage…
From Ballyfarnon travel on the R284 to Keadue for approx 4km. In Keadue turn right at the top of Village, signposted Leitrim Village. Travel for approx 2km and take right (L 15036) and house is third on the left.
From Carrick on Shannon, travel on the R284 to Leitrim Village, approx 5km. In Leitrim Village go over bridge and take left road signposted Keadue. Travel for approx 6km and take left (L 15036) and house is third on the left.
Distance from:
Keadue 2km
Boyle 12km
Carrick on Shannon 11km
Sligo 35km
Dublin 160km
A Weekend of Sustainable Living…
Many people are trying to make the transition into a more sustainable way of living.
Permaculture, growing food, making wine, spinning… are all facets of sustainable living that interest many people, as the economy continues to dwindle.
Visitors to this blog and the Bealtaine Cottage YouTube channel continue to grow at an amazing rate…sparking an interest in what sustainable living is all about.
This is an opportunity to spend a full weekend at Bealtaine Cottage, immersed in sustainable living, experiencing first hand, a comfortable and permaculture lifestyle.
The subjects covered in this weekend workshop will include wine-making, composting, soft fruit growing, raised Potager bed construction and planting, as well as growing/harvesting fuel for the stove.
You will get to use a rocket stove, shred harvested materials to make mulch, learn to take and plant cuttings and ask lots of questions about many aspects of sustainable living.
This will afford you the time and space to ask questions about the permaculture way of living, growing and developing a sustainable lifestyle…easily!
You will get to stay in the Lodge at Bealtaine, with it’s own wood-burning stove and veranda, with beautiful, peaceful views across some of the gardens.
During the course of the weekend you will be able to explore the gardens at leisure, eat wholesome Vegetarian or Vegan food and enjoy home made wine!
The dates for this weekend are: 2-4th of August.
The sustainable living weekend is limited to two people sharing, so it helps if you know each other!
For further details, email: coletteoneill2010@hotmail.com
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Oops…it’s gone…This weekend is now fully booked!
Hens in the Permaculture Garden
Six hens have come to live at Bealtaine Cottage.
They arrived on Saturday, looking rather bedraggled and grungy.
With their new lifestyle, here at the permaculture gardens, an overall improvement in their appearance and well-being is guaranteed.
It was lovely to take my cup of tea outside and simply watch the hens as they explored their new home.
I can get quite lost just watching them…I think they may be hypnotising me!
The morning is sunny, though interrupted with showers of rain, sometimes quite heavy too!
We had about a month without rain and so the earth was more than ready to receive the heavy showers.
Seeds are doing amazingly well as the temperatures rise!
Another week or so and it’ll be difficult to keep up with the progress…so all the more important to get everything into shape now in terms of preparedness.
I have made a short video so you can see the girls settling into their new lives here at Bealtaine.
There is also some footage of the seed progress and the flowering Lunaria.
This is the video I’ve posted today…
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The Magic of Autumn, A Permaculture Floor and Free Rose Arch
Pumpkins take pride of place on my dresser back in 2010.
There is a brilliant Pumpkin season underway here in the west of Ireland, with some of the biggest and best being grown outdoors, despite the lack of sun this summer.
There was an almost full moon in the southern sky last night and the sky was clear and blue this morning.
However, rain and storms are forecast!
The moon last night was strong enough to light up the back of the cottage.
It waxed and shone brightly.
I am busy harvesting onions, garlic, herbs, potatoes, chard and loads of Apples.
Nights are closing in and there’s even a little frost on the grass some mornings.
This is my favourite season!
I wanted to integrate re-cycling as a theme in my cottage.
I feel strongly about the amount of waste that happens every day in our lives…”throw it away”…but where is ‘away?’
We all live on this finite planet.
We share the oceans…they’re all connected.
We share the air, good grief, we share everything on this planet, though some are greedy beyond belief!
These broken tiles were going to be buried in a landfill site…I needed a floor…and so a connection was made between some like-minded people.
This is the result, much admired by visitors to the cottage…my floor, a statement of permaculture fusion, permaculture art maybe?
Making a Rose Arch in the garden needn’t cost a penny!
This Rambling Rose is supported by a Ribes hedge and a couple of lengths of Willow.
There are several different kinds of flowering shrubs on either side to support wildlife and biodiversity, which is probably the reason why my Apple Harvest this year and every other year is so bountiful!
Observation is a key element in Permaculture.
It is also a great friend of any gardener, for observing one’s garden allows one to continually create small and interesting places from what grows and shapes itself.
Archways will form naturally and give a good indication of what is possible in that space.
A kind of evolutionary gardening if you like!
According to the Irish Calendar which is based on ancient Celtic traditions, autumn lasts throughout the months of August, September, and October, or possibly a few days later, depending on tradition….so the first month of autumn is almost over!
There is a heavy harvest of all berries this year…sign of a cold winter to come…but the birds will be fed well as there are simply tons of berries here at Bealtaine Cottage.
I began my work here providing nuts for the birds in feeders all over the gardens, but the shrubs and trees planted are all producing more than adequate food for the birds and all wildlife, so the bird-feeders have all been passed on.
A Walk in the Permaculture Gardens Makes All Better!
After listening to the radio this morning, which I should not have done, I had to seek solace and sanity in the gardens.
I will not go into what it was that upset me, but like most of you who read this blog, you can put a fair guess that it had something to do with the establishment…government, church…that measure of hierarchy!
So, off I went into the gardens to shake it off!
Most of us know right from wrong.
Why is this so very difficult for governments and churches?
Here is today’s video…just a walk through the gardens…click on the link and enjoy…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4UZMObLSIc&list=UUHkXJ9wsrdPEpzb-KMgmt-A&index=1&feature=plpp_video
A Life in the Country ~ Daily Permaculture Video Diary
Tomatoes and Pumpkins continue to ripen in the tunnel. Bramley cooking apples are yet to be harvested…the last of the apples! The sun shines and work in the gardens continues apace…
A Life in the Country ~ Today in the Garden…Ponds and Streams
With all the floods of recent days, the ponds are high and the streams gushing, but the morning is sunny and bright and there’s no better time for a walk through Bealtaine Gardens…
A Life in the Country ~ Garden Video and the Sun is Shining!
It’s been a beautiful day in the west of Ireland! The sun has shone for most of it and the rain has disappeared! good thing too as the rivers are full to the brim and many have broken their banks, gushing over fields and roads!
I have wandered around the gardens, soaking up the autumn sunshine and attempting to catch a little of it all on video…enjoy!
A Life in the Country ~ The Fairy Dell Woodland Video…from the Permaculture Smallholding
Slowly moving down through the gardens and filming as I go…
Footage from the Fairy Dell, this morning…
Permaculture Cottage ~ Spring Wells, Wisdom and the Hopi Indians…
First of all a BIG TA VERY MUCH for all who have visited my blog over the past year. I began in the middle of August 2010 and in little over a year, 70,000 of you have made the journey to Bealtaine Cottage at Ballyfermoyle, here in the beautiful West of Ireland…well, actually, a very great many of you have visited many times over and subscribed to the blog. Hopefully in the next year the blog will expand even more in some exciting ways…ssshhh, it’s still a secret!
Fuschia and Fedges grow side by side. Both are grown from slips or cuttings. It will soon be time to harvest the willow and plant more cuttings, which is really the story of these gardens. Planting has been ongoing now for seven years, since day one of Bealtaine…
So much rain and so much water gushing along the stream beds in the Bog Garden…the rain brings music!
Walking up towards the woodland that is the Fairy Dell, through new plantings of Willow and Ash…
Spring water gushes up from the well in the woodland.
Deep within the Fairy Dell…has midsummer really passed that quickly?
Perfect apples…never ever sprayed, no chemicals and a bountiful harvest every year!
The Wisdom of the Hopi Indians…something to share with you, just click on the link…http://youtu.be/zNlNUJcEcoY
Have a great weekend! Plant a tree for the Mother…Gaia… x
How Permaculture Helps Us Re-Connect…Notes from a Cottage in Ireland
The beautiful Kilronan Mountain…
Rubbish dumped over a bridge into the Mountain Stream Bed below…
How we perceive the world around us depends largely on how we connect with it, if at all. Most dog owners will know this to be true, because an otherwise dull morning can be transformed by simply walking the dog…getting OUT into the natural world. Walking and connecting with Nature is tremendously uplifting and inspiring…the Romantic Poets and Artists did a lot of walking in Nature and we have their legacy of work to prove that uplifting feeling.
Walking out to the tunnel in the morning is enough to make the heart happy!
As I write this I am listening to the radio and am shocked to hear that Ireland has the 2nd highest alcohol consumption per capita, (that means per person), in the world, spending on average 2000euros per person.
Drinking large amounts of alcohol depresses the body, causing bio rhythmns to move chaotically, eventually causing depression. The suicide rate here in Ireland is also fairly high with many deaths from suicide not being reported as such. Playstation users in Ireland rank amoung the highest users in the world. There are many signs that the disconnect from the land is causing unhappiness. Litter is a big problem here also. How we treat the land can be a reflection of how we view ourselves…we are connected but are more often than not in denial about this.
Re-connecting with Gaia is the best one single action to make/take for personal health and wellbeing…
The north facing bank which protects the cottage from the worst of the weather is filling out as the trees and shrubs come into flower and leaf. The variety of planting gives all year round colour.
Lettuce and Oregano growing together in a home made planter box. This sits on the veranda and so is close by for quick and easy salads…usually an add-on thought at any meal, so I don’t have to go far!
Conditions have been exactly right over the past nine months or so for the germination of Blackcurrant seeds and these tiny Blackcurrant seedlings are all over the gardens here at Bealtaine.