watchingthedaisies

My Donegal Garden – Autumn Hues

My Donegal garden is slowing down towards it’s winter sleep, and the bright rainbow of colours in the borders has been replaced with more subtle shades.

Rosa glauca

Rosa glauca has an abundance of rosehips. However, she is in dire need of a good hard prune as does her neighbour Clematis jackmannii.  Both will thank me for it.

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Kaffir Lilies

Kaffir Lilies provide a glorious burst of burnt orange, while many of their neighbour’s blooms have long since faded.

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Geraniums

A pot of Geraniums lifts my spirits, as does a yellow Pilgrim Rose.

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Echinops ritro and Lychnis coronaria

Spiky blue Echinops ritro and cerise Lychnis coronaria are still in flower next to my pond, which has remained full after August’s heavy downpours.

Happily, I missed most of the rain, while enjoying the more sunny climes of Scotland.

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Sedum “Autumn Joy”

On the other side of my wild goose sculpture Sedum “Autumn Joy” is smiling in shades of purple and pink.

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Fuschia

A number of Fuschia grace my garden. The pale pink species is particularly prolific.

Agapanthus

Agapanthus bought on holiday in Madeira, has a few petals remaining. One brave blue bloom survives among nine white. The neighbouring pots of blue Viola were very happy to have a blue friend!

 

Fox and Cubs

In the front garden, I have allowed orange Fox and Cubs to thrive. However, they sometimes get a bit over enthusiastic.

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Rowan

An orange berried Rowan tree watches over them from above.

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Ten Years A Garden

My Donegal garden has just celebrated its tenth anniversary. You can see a before picture below:

garden before makeover

The Makeover Continues…

Over the winter, I will be removing the wooden edging from some of my borders and replacing it with stone. I will share the before and after pictures with you next spring.

If you enjoyed this post, you might like some of my other monthly garden posts.

Brigid P. Gallagher is a retired natural medicines therapist, passionate organic gardener and author of “Watching the Daisies- Life lessons on the Importance of Slow,” a holistic memoir dedicated to the art of mindfulness and healing from debilitating illness.

 

 

 

54 comments

  2. You have really made a beautiful garden in ten years. What a transformation. It is quite a big plot of land, you have put in a lot of hard work. You garden is beautiful.

    The sedum Autumn joy, does it last winter and when can you plant it? I want to create some winter interest.

    Your efforts in your garden are inspirational.

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    • Thank you Bella. It was a big job at the start laying out the beds and paths, and bringing in top soil. I had help from a cousin’s husband who did all the hard work.
      The sedum will flower over late summer and well into autumn. However, it dies back over winter, but does come back up in spring. The flowers come out at the end of summer. You can plant it anytime now or in April/May. The bees love it.

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  4. Thank you so much for sharing your blog. Your garden looks amazing. I’m a therapist and believe gardening and tending flowers/plants to be one of the greatest mind relaxants in existence. You have such a wonderful eye for colour and all in one beautiful space. I really look forward to more of your posts please keep them coming thank you once again. Julie x

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    • Hi Julie, I am with you on the therapeutic power of gardening. It has been a lifesaver for me. I love colour and the first therapy I studied was colour healing. I also love interior design. Nice to meet you. x

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  16. Such a beautiful garden, I always love seeing your photos. It’s a shame to see plants fading and dying with the turn of autumn and winter. A lot in my garden are taking a turn for the worse. But you’ve still got a few hardy ones that are vibrant and lush as usual which is lovely to see!
    Caz xx

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  17. I’m sure you’ve put a lot of work into your garden, but mostly I can see a lot of love, it’s beautiful. Is that fruit that you can eat on the orange berried Rowan tree? happy 10th anniversary ❤

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