The Joy of Gardening

I never really got gardening as hobby till I was middle aged, I use to think it was a terrible chore and only did it to keep the place looking decent, but some how as I have got older an interest in gardening has creep up on me.

I have just spent a lovely afternoon pottering around the garden an afternoon of quiet companionship with my husband and today was the first day of this year we got to sit outside in the sunshine.

Has anyone else had the gardening bug creep up on them as they got older.

rich.d.berry

I've actually had the reverse happen to me. I was far keener on gardening in my twenties and my interest and enthusiasm peaked in my mid thirties. Now that I'm pushing fifty I do the bare minimum that I can get away with, but mowing the lawn is still something I find therapeutic. It's the weeding that I hate with a passion, so I've cut back on flower beds. Gravel with strategically placed potted shrubs have become my style with hanging baskets for colour.

Rubecula

Always wanted a nis lawn and borders. I still like them but prefer them to belong to other people. For myself I think paved over with potted plants is the way to go. Less work and still looks nice.

Jellybaby1

Like Rich we had the gardening bug earlier in our twenties before the children came along. We (I) grew lots of veg and herbs in our back garden with a lot of success, and our front garden was a picture with flowering shrubs. Then we moved and the kids got older and life got too hectic so gardening went on the back burner until we (I) retired and would have more time. Now heading into my 60's and I've no time to do any gardening due to more enjoyable interests and the garden is one heck of an embarrassing mess, even though I began growing some veg again two years ago, with mixed success. It's like starting all over again and is frustrating. Sadly I don't have the strength to dig any more. I can see my friends looking at my garden and very kindly not making comments any more.

mike65

I have a love hate relationship with the gardens - hate it when the winter growth has to be tackled and the beds weeded out. Bring on the sun as well (fecking miserable last few days)

Spread

Both my parents were keen gardeners. Thankfully I did not inherit that paricular gene. Here we've got three (8'X4'X2') raised beds for strawberries, artichoke, tomatoes, herbs, blueberries. And two small lawns out the front. An acre of a field with two mini streams running through ......... a bit too big for mowing so I've arranged to borrow two donkeys and a goat occasionaly - much to HSH's chagrin. Don't want to start setting precedents at my age

But, fair play to mariaalice and other green fingered peeps ............ I enjoy looking at a well tended garden. It's just I'm too lazy:o

OldGoat

I have an allotment. Garden is gone to hell over the last few years as I spend my time down there rather then tending the lawn and shrubs. I hope to find more time to put it back in order this year.

I always aspired to having a putting green quality lawn but I've always ended up with the first cut rough instead.

odds_on

I went from not enjoying gardening to owning a small fruit farm - plums, vines, quince, olives, figs, pomegranates, peaches, apricots etc. Blimey, that was hard work. I thought it was just a bit of pruning and bingo, a few months later - fruit. Got a hernia and the doc suggested that at my age I should give up this type of work. Now, I'm back to not enjoying gardening. But then, I don't have one anyway.

OldGoat

Vines you say? Bottle worthy? If so I'd love to taste some. I've never had an Irish grape wine.

Jellybaby1

OldGoat wrote: »

Vines you say? Bottle worthy? If so I'd love to taste some. I've never had an Irish grape wine.

I knew you'd be quick to pick up on that one OG! Nothing gets past you!:D

Cicero

Will be planting my veg again this year...yummy beetroot, lettuce csrrots shallots and vat free garlic...;)

Jellybaby1

Cicero wrote: »

Will be planting my veg again this year...yummy beetroot, lettuce csrrots shallots and vat free garlic...;)

Mmmmm! Garlic! Vat free and fat free!

odds_on

OldGoat wrote: »

Vines you say? Bottle worthy? If so I'd love to taste some. I've never had an Irish grape wine.

Yes, there was wine made from them, good stuff from what I'm told (being a person who wouldn't know good from bad as long as it was palatable!).

However, that was some 12 thousand miles away, sorry, OldGoat. Retired now and should be back on the old sod within the next two weeks.

I haven't got the patience for gardening. If I plant some seeds, the next day I want to see progress, the plant coming up - I don't want to wait weeks to see if it has taken or not!

franc 91

You might like to hear this one liner. Some time ago I used to organise trips for our group of friends here in France to go over the Channel to Sussex for a couple of days walking - going from pub to pub, visiting vineyards for example and generally enjoying the countryside. Anyway we'd just left the Black Dog and Duck in a village called Bury and were walking down the lane which was bordered by gardens, each one as beautifully kept as the next. There was a man there proudly standing in front of his garden and obviously waiting to hear some compliments on it from us. As he quickly realised that they were French-speakers, he asked one member of the group who were passing by (and a great friend of mine) 'You live in France?' and of course he got the answer he was expecting, to which he replied 'Pity!'

I've also heard this one on 'Gardener's Question Time' on the radio, when someone who evidently had a large garden with all the flowers and vegetables and plants and everything else they could possibly want in it, asked the question 'What's the best time to go away on holiday?' to which they all replied 'Don't'

Spread

OldGoat wrote: »

Vines you say? Bottle worthy? If so I'd love to taste some. I've never had an Irish grape wine.

They sell English wine in that small off licence opposite Tesco in Rathmines. Bought a half dozen last year and they slipped down nicely.

Out here a Californian outfit sells this:
De Ireys Merlot

which is Irish Merlot

OldGoat

I lived in the Sussex Downs for a few years, home of British wines and have had many a pleasurable night getting legless on the crisp fresh white wines. Lovely stuff. Between the wines, the real ales and the local gins it's a wonder I managed to get through 4 years of Uni.

franc 91

Did you ever make it as far as Breaky Bottom or Château Casse-Cul as he likes to call it?
and there are some nice gardens to visit there as well - Sheffield Park, Nymans, Wakehurst, Great Dixter srl. The sad news is that they closed down King and Barnes and sold Leonardslee Gardens, but anyway we've been to a few nice pubs and folk clubs over the years and it's been quite an adventure at times.

I was on holiday in Devon the year before last and went to an English vineyard, did the tour and sampled some of the produces ( cant remember what it was called ) We also went to some lovely national trust houses and gardens. It was a fantastic holiday quaint pubs, gorgeous scenery. The only think I didn't take to was the scrumpy.

My husband is on a mission to have an emerged green lawn at the moment. He is determined to get rid of the Daisy's.

looksee

I quite like daisies in a lawn. They look cheerful, and they make me think of daisy chains. Then they get their heads chopped off and the lawn looks really tidy and polished, then they grow again.

OldGoat

A friend of my mothers once asked the shopkeeper in the seed suppliers if she could have a 2lb bag of grass seed with plenty of daisy seeds in it.

odds_on

looksee wrote: »

I quite like daisies in a lawn. They look cheerful, and they make me think of daisy chains. Then they get their heads chopped off and the lawn looks really tidy and polished, then they grow again.

Ahhh, yes, daisy chains. That brings back memories. Aged about 6-8 years old, sitting on the lawn making daisy chains: make an eye, in the stalk of one with the thumb nail, thread the the stalk of another daisy through the eye and so on.

I wonder how many youngsters these days know how to make a daisy chain? "Something to do with a computer, is it, a virus?"

Jellybaby1

Digital Daisy chain? Probably a link to something.

looksee

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_chain_(electrical_engineering)

you are so right!

franc 91

And do they still blow real dandelion flower heads or do they do that in a video game on the net? The English name comes from - Dent de Lion - Lion's tooth which is supposed to describe the flower petals, but in French it's usually called pissenlit - piss in the bed. What's the name for it in Irish?

Jellybaby1

franc 91 wrote: »

And do they still blow real dandelion flower heads or do they do that in a video game on the net? The English name comes from - Dent de Lion - Lion's tooth which is supposed to describe the flower petals, but in French it's usually called pissenlit - piss in the bed. What's the name for it in Irish?

Dunno the Irish name, but the white fluffy ones we used to call jinny-joes and I don't know the reason for that either.

Jellybaby1

looksee wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_chain_(electrical_engineering)

you are so right!

Can I have a gold star for that?

franc 91

I looked it up on Focal.ie - a dandelion is - caisearbhàn and a dandelion head is - gathàn gabhainn, but I've found another name for it too - bearnàn Bride (with a fada on the 'i') and jinny joes (for dandelion clocks) are also known as jimmy joes (but I had never heard of either up till now).
http://www.rte.ie/radio/mooneygoeswild/schoolwatch/dandelion.html
and does anyone remember putting the sap into milk to make bird's milk?

odds_on

franc 91 wrote: »

And do they still blow real dandelion flower heads or do they do that in a video game on the net? The English name comes from - Dent de Lion - Lion's tooth which is supposed to describe the flower petals, but in French it's usually called pissenlit - piss in the bed. What's the name for it in Irish?

My sister and I used to blow them to tell the time, one hour for each blow until there was no "fluff" left.

Esel

franc 91 wrote: »

I looked it up on Focal.ie - a dandelion is - caisearbhàn and a dandelion head is - gathàn gabhainn, but I've found another name for it too - bearnàn Bride (with a fada on the 'i') and jinny joes (for dandelion clocks) are also known as jimmy joes (but I had never heard of either up till now).
http://www.rte.ie/radio/mooneygoeswild/schoolwatch/dandelion.html
and does anyone remember putting the sap into milk to make bird's milk?

I remember that the milky sap from the flower stem was supposed to be a cure for warts.

Spread

Yes, down our way, the 'milk' was also a cure for warts. Being less sophisticated, we called them pissabeds. Anyone here tasted Dandelion Wine? Could be an undiscovered cure for intestinal polyps. Mods, how do I get a patent on this?

Rubecula

And Dandelion and Burdock is still one of my favourite drinks. Tried to explain it to an American once and she just said "YEUK".

Oh well no accounting for taste is there?

Jellybaby1

Rubecula wrote: »

And Dandelion and Burdock is still one of my favourite drinks. Tried to explain it to an American once and she just said "YEUK".

Oh well no accounting for taste is there?

Erm.....Nope? Never tasted D & B myself so don't know what's it like.

looksee

It used be a favourite drink of my childhood, but I haven't tasted it since then.

Rubecula

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Erm.....Nope? Never tasted D & B myself so don't know what's it like.

Similar to sarsaparilla if you have ever tried that. (spelling?)

If you like soft drinks with a bit of fizz it is worth a try. I actually prefer it to coke or pepsi.

Jellybaby1

Rubecula wrote: »

Similar to sarsaparilla if you have ever tried that. (spelling?)

If you like soft drinks with a bit of fizz it is worth a try. I actually prefer it to coke or pepsi.

Sasparilla - wasn't that what the young greenhorns drank in bars in all the old cowboy pictures? From the moment the drink was ordered the kid was bullied to death by the local bar bullies! Remember those flicks?

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-sarsaparilla.htm

Cardinal Richelieu

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Sasparilla - wasn't that what the young greenhorns drank in bars in all the old cowboy pictures? From the moment the drink was ordered the kid was bullied to death by the local bar bullies! Remember those flicks?

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-sarsaparilla.htm

I always remember Hoppalong Cassidy drinking it. Quite a few Western B Movie Series stars drank it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F37VQnMhssg

Jellybaby1

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

I always remember Hoppalong Cassidy drinking it. Quite a few Western B Movie Series stars drank it.

Those were the days when you didn't need booze to prove how butch you were!

looksee

As the spring advances it might be worth mentioning gardens in your local area that are worth visiting. Mt Congreve in Waterford is spectacular in spring with the rhododendrons and camellias. As far as I know it is still only open on Thursdays, but I think this may change. Its a good long walk round but there are some really beautiful and interesting trees and shrubs.
http://www.gardenlovers.ie/mount_congreve_.garden.7112.html

I like the OPW walled garden in the Phoenix park, I am not a fan of big formal gardens, also the rose garden in St Ann park in Rahney is lovely.

Apparently the routs of the word paradise come from a Persian word for garden, so paradise is a garden I like that idea.

Cicero

Cherry Blossoms out...roll on Summer..

Rubecula

Cicero wrote: »

Cherry Blossoms out...roll on Summer..

I think it is Cicero's turn to be boot polisher. Although I usually use Kiwi myself.

Beruthiel

My mother was a keen gardener.
By the time I left home, I had caught the bug.
Every place I have ever lived, I've started a garden in it.
To me, there is nothing more wonderful than sitting in your garden during the summer, surrounded by flowers and plants, with a bottle of wine.
It's the aesthetics, whither inside or out, I like to be surrounded by a feast for the eyes.
In warm weather, I can spend the whole day in the garden, pottering, feet up, relaxing, reading, drinking.
Tis the life.

mike65

Its too warm! I've been weeding and pulling pesky scutch grass from what's "nominally" a flower bed area (only home to one a perennial the name of which I've forgotten) and decided I'd done enough after 30 minutes.

Spread

Cicero wrote: »

Cherry Blossoms out...roll on Summer..

OK Cicero! Grab the broom ........... and Tango:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TcLdJlA0Nc

I have had lunch out side in the garden twice this week its heavenly!

Stained Class

They say that as you reach middle age, you either turn to God or to the Garden.

I started gardening in a small way a couple of years ago.

Mainly Veg in containers. Spring Onions,Rocket & the like..

I don't have a big enough garden to do large scale stuff but dug trenches for peas recently.

They're climbers, so don't take up so much room.:)

I had absolutely no intrest in this stuff when I was younger, but find it a pretty engaging pastime nowadays.