Tag Archives: May
Gardens in Early May
Growth in the gardens has really taken off!
Kanzan Cherry and Purple Beech
I was away for the weekend in Belfast and returned last night.
Euphorbia and Purple Beech
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!
Fuchsia, Poppy and Lady’s Mantle
No wonder, as a mix of rain and warmth has created the perfect conditions for plants.
Clematis, planted last year on the north-facing wall of the cottage…ready to bloom!
It’s always a pleasure to walk out on a May morning.
It is primarily because of the growth as we ascend towards Midsummer.
By the east gable wall this morning.
The days continue to stretch before us and the promise of Summer holds sway.
Aqilegia under Fuchsia
Nights are shorter and days grow longer…
Enjoy the rest of the pics!
Blessings XXX Colette
It’s easy to believe in Fairies…isn’t it?
Saint Patrick’s Day Permaculture at Bealtaine Cottage
Saint Patrick’s Day! The middle of March in the West of Ireland…and there is much to celebrate! For we have enjoyed a mild winter and fast warming Spring.
According to the old Irish annals, Patrick died in AD 461 on March 17.
And so, it is today that we celebrate the greatest non-Irish person as the greatest of the Irish… for it is in Patrick that the Irish nurture their sense of national pride.
Much of the landscape of Ireland is awakened into Spring at this point in the year as you can see from the photographs taken this morning here at Bealtaine Cottage.
It has been traditional to plant potatoes on saint Patrick’s Day or thereabouts, so this morning, this is what I shall be doing, having prepared the beds at the beginning of the week, (and sliced through the water-pipe!).
Potatoes in Ireland were traditionally planted into mounds, a form of raised bed.
Potatoes are planted into the mounds as they have a lower tolerance to frost and this way of planting affords a certain amount of protection. Other more hardy crop,s are Peas, Beans and Cabbage, all of which can be planted out regardless of frost.
Permaculture planting takes into account these variants and straw is placed over the beds of potatoes as both a mulch to exclude weeds and a protection against late frosts, which can be expected right through to May!
All these pics were taken this morning and as you can see, it is a perfect planting day in the west of the country.
The celebrations and parades will all take place this afternoon, so the morning is planned for a little light work, planting!
So, it just suffices to say…A very Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to you all, with blessings and love to each and every one of you, from Bealtaine Cottage, Ireland.
Permaculture Cottage ~ Food and Fairies
Mulching is really important once the dry weather sets in! It keeps the moisture in the ground as well as suppressing weeds. The fruit trees and fruit bushes were all mulched heavily during May. This helps to produce a good harvest as the fruit plumps out according to the amount of moisture they receive.
In gardening, mulch is a protective cover placed over the soil to retain moisture, reduce erosion, provide nutrients, and suppress weed growth and seed germination. Mulching in gardens and landscaping mimics the leaf cover that is found on forest floors.
This is the tunnel today. Courgettes, Pumpkins, Fennel and Corn are all producing well. As crops come to fruition, the ground is cleared, fresh compost is spread and new plants set out. Compost is rich in nutrients and used for all planting at Bealtaine Cottage. The compost itself is beneficial for the land in many ways, including as a soil conditioner, a fertilizer, addition of vital humus and as a natural pesticide for soil.
Courgette flower today and small fruit underneath. Courgettes are one of my favourite veg, especially cooked as fritters and served with a homemade, tomato salsa sauce…mmm! Courgette is also known as Zucchini!
When used for food, zucchini are usually picked when under 20 cm in length, when the seeds are still soft and immature. Mature zucchini can be as much as three feet long and known as Marrows. These are delicious stuffed and baked! Jam can also be made using Marrows…Marrow and Ginger jam is delicious!
Courgettes can be prepared using a variety of cooking techniques, including steamed, boiled, grilled, stuffed and baked, barbecued, fried, or incorporated in other recipes such as soufflés. It also can be baked into a bread, zucchini bread or incorporated into a cake mix. Its flowers can be eaten stuffed and are a delicacy when deep fried, as tempura.
Zucchini can also be eaten raw, sliced or shredded in a cold salad, baked into a bread similar to banana bread.
A place of calm and quiet contemplation…
The path that leads out from the Fairy Dell…
And deep within the Fairy Dell, Cow Parsley reaches up towards the sky…
Extreme Weather in Ireland…AGAIN! Permaculture @ Bealtaine Cottage.
The weather has been extremely dry over recent weeks.
Bush fires are raging in counties Donegal and Mayo as I write.
There can be no more wavering on the issue of climate change…it is real!
There are very low levels of water in my spring well so I have to ration water use in the cottage.
Rain is promised for the middle to end of the week…bring it on!
Colours of the Copper Beech trees are deepening along the bank at the back of the cottage.
Planting deciduous trees like these will ensure that soil is not eroded and the land is protected from monsoon type rains which are becoming more frequent here in Ireland.
Ireland, once known for its soft rain…
There is a distinct canopy emerging at Bealtaine, a forest garden is taking shape, and with it a magical landscape.
I see permaculture more and more as the only real solution to the massive environmental devastation that is happening across the globe.
The Earth needs to be re-forested…fast!
There are 60 fire engines out across N.Ireland this evening fighting wild fires on the hills.
Some homes in Donegal have already been evacuated.
It is difficult to come to terms with this freakish weather on May 1…except that extreme weather in Ireland is no longer freakish and more and more the norm., Worrying!
Ivy, Euphorbia, Angelica and more Orchids at Bealtaine Permaculture Smallholding, Ireland.
The Ivy hangs in 3-4 metre tendrils on a tree in the Fairy Dell…Quite Magical!
Euphorbia…this wonderful perennial comes up more lush every year and transplants easily…I started with a stolen cutting and now it dominates the April/May/June garden and beyond!
Angelica, now at least 7 feet tall and with a massive spread. Medieval herbalists called it ‘Herba Angelica,’ meaning ‘Angelic Plant.’ Traditionally it is supposed to flower on the 8th of May, which is the feast of Michael the Archangel. needless to add, Angelica possesses protective qualities. The seeds add flavour to Chartreuse Liqueur!
The way up out from the Fairy Dell…
Orchids continue to emerge all over Bealtaine Smallholding. I was asked by the Census Enumerator the other day if I used any chemicals here…where that came from is interesting! However, I simply told him to look around…there is far too much growing evidence of NO CHEMICALS HERE!
Sunlight dapples the grass under the Blackthorn trees near the tunnel. The light dances on the ground as the Fairy trees gently sway in the breeze.
Spring growth~Photos from Bealtaine Cottage Ireland…Permaculture Smallholding.
Tulips planted several years ago under one of the many Beech trees at Bealtaine.
London pride growing on either side of the steps. This is a perfect permaculture flowering plant, as it takes over, even in weedy, clay soil. Small bits were planted alongside the steps about 4 years ago and managed to push out the creeping buttercup, which can be very resolute and defiant! London Pride will flower during May and keep it’s flowers for many weeks!
Bealtaine Cottage is beginning to merge into the Spring growth…another few weeks and it will not be visible at all!
Little pots of Sedum are flowering atop the old fireplace at the back of the barn. Sedum is a great plant for enduring dry periods, then flourishing after rain!
Lilac has blossomed in a sheltered corner of the front garden. I pruned this last Autumn, cutting out all the spindley and crossover branches and consequently the blooms are lush.
Lilac today at Bealtaine.
Ecosystems, Stability, Wild Orchids and Cuckoos @ Bealtaine Permaculture Smallholding, Ireland
Working in the tunnel this morning I heard the first Cuckoo of the year calling from the hill behind Bealtaine. This is extraordinarily early to hear the Cuckoo…usually in May, or at the earliest, very late April…the seasons are coming earlier here in Ireland.
The flowers on the first Wild Orchid of the year are opening. I noticed a second Orchid beginning to open further along the bank.
Biodiversity is more than an elastoplast sticking plaster on the skin of Gaia…it is the CURE!
I would go so far as to say that it has been the introduction of biodiversity here on the 3 acres of Bealtaine Smallholding that has allowed such incredible harvest of food to manifest.
Permaculture plantings aim to create and sustain as many food webs as possible, as this gives stability and strength to the environment.
The structure of an ecosystem is represented by food webs and the more cmplex the ecosystem, the greater the stability. It is unfortunate that even Organic farms are not home to complex enough ecosystems, as many of the crops are grown in a monoculture, uniform row, type way.
