watchingthedaisies

My Donegal Garden – Tulips Singing “I Will Survive!”

My Tulips have been singing “I will survive” for much of March as storms, heavy rain and hail lashed these shores.

I am happy to report there have been very few floral casualties!

Tulips

My coral varieties – Van Eijk, Toronto and Mystic Van Eijk, are still emerging and doing well.

However, the purple shades of Candy Prince, Purple Prince and Flaming Flag are a little further behind:

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Hyacinths

Hyacinths are providing a glorious scent in shades of Pink and Yellow:

Daffodils

The early Daffodils are now over:

While later varieties are still in bloom:

Pompom Primula

Cerise Pompom Primula are emerging among the Lenten Hellebore. I have many happy memories of adding them to Easter posies as a child:

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Pruning Roses

I managed to prune my Roses in early March, before the storms arrived.

Some just needed a little tidy, and removal of dead wood:

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While others needed a major haircut, like the before and after shot below, where I put all my cuttings into the soil around the mummy plant, to provide a nice large shrub in the not too distant future.

If you trim each branch to just above a leaf node, and make a slanting cut (to keep the rain water away from the emerging bud) it will be very happy.

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Feeding Roses

In early March, I gave all my Roses their first of three nutritional feeds of the year. In the past I have used seaweed and organic compost, but I now prefer a specialised rose food, which has all the nutrients needed for optimum growth and flowering.

They seem stronger and happier with this new meal plan.

66 comments

  4. Spring has certainly arrived in technicolour in your garden. I envy you your tulips, ‘cos I lost most of mine to voles and deer, so I am living vicariously through your beauties. Van Eijk is a nice colour.

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  8. really beautiful and loved seeing the flowers that bloom around you Brigid. the primula grows on the east coast of Malaysia, it grows beautifully in the shade, it looks a delicate flower I am surprised it survives the tropical heat.

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  18. Ahh…Brigid, Spring has truly arrived for you and I’m soaking in the beauty of your flowers! I can’t belive you have so many tulips out already, they’re glorious! Thanks for the tip about pruning roses … I hope I’m not too late with one bush particularly. Two other special ones I always prune in October and they are now full of leaf and look healthy! Primroses are highly prominent in my garden at the moment which is lovely, pity there is no sun!

    Thank you so much for sharing your garden with us … a real treat and joy! Happy Gardening! 😀🌺🌼

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      • I love your memories of the posies … were they as a gift or for yourselves.? You must have sent the sun over this way, glorious afternoon and it is wonderful to be out! Stay happy, my friend! Xx

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      • We used to make posies in the centre of those paper doilies, using yellow and pompom primula and anything else we could find. I remember giving them to neighbours, usually as an Easter gift. Glad you got the sunshine too. xx

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  26. I do look forward to your occasional garden tours. When the camera pulls back from the plant and shows us some of the surroundings, your garden conveys peace and contentment. I find myself just stopping and looking at the photos, a moment of calm in an otherwise hectic life. Thanks.

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