Recycled Eco Buildings and Wildlife Friendly Food Forest Garden. Mosaics and Glass Bottle Walls.
There is a saying around here that you can get four seasons in a day and it has certainly been true for some days in the past month. Wet snow, sleet, torrential rain, blazing sun and summer temperatures have all played a role in the very changeable weather of March.
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February was a busy time for all in the garden. The frogs were very busy down by the pond. For a few days their croaking could be heard in all corners of the garden and it was a delight to watch them.
We have written about willow before. It is truly an incredible inhabitant of the land. We have friends with a river on their land and they have a lot of willow planted along the river banks. They were kind enough to let us coppice some of it for our new willow fence and plant supports. We also coppiced our dogwoods growing close to our cottage and ended up with a selection of beautiful young stems for weaving.
It was quite cold all throughout the month of January here in the West of Ireland. The daffodils poked their heads up and a couple of them even started to turn yellow by the end of the month. The Hellebores flowered beautifully and we fed the birds a lot of nuts and seeds to keep them healthy and content.
As we look back on December we realize we did not spend a large amount of time in the garden. There were so many other things to tend to in the house and in our new conservatory. The days were not long, with darkness falling shortly after four in the afternoon and the light not returning until after eight in the morning.
It is almost time to close the door on another year in our little cottage. We are so happy to be able to live a simple life in the countryside, grow more and more of our own food and spend time in close connection with the soil. It is very gratifying to see the soil slowly improving as we add more organic matter to it. Our trees create their own mulch now and the land is changing into a very exciting place. Where there was only a field of creeping buttercups, we now have a multitude of useful plants and a wildlife haven.
We were finally able to plant up our indoor succulent garden this weekend. For about a year many of our succulents have lived a life in obscurity dotted around our windowsills in pots. It is so lovely to finally be planting them in their intended space.
November started off as a riot of colour in the garden and we were so happy and thankful to still be gathering the harvest. Our Ocas, Oxalis tuberosa, had a great year and we still have quite a few to harvest. This South American tuber is very versatile and has the benefit of not being affected by blight. It tastes slightly lemony and is wonderful drizzled with olive oil and roasted in the oven along with some kale, carrots, onions and rosemary from the garden. Read more
The last week has seen a lot of frosty weather in the West of Ireland. We have ventured out into the garden early in the mornings to capture some of the structural beauty. Plants that look quite ordinary on any other day have been transformed into stunning creations, full of natural grace.
At this time of year it is especially nice to bring some things from the natural world into the home. We love to decorate our house with materials found in the garden. It brings with it a feeling of calm and reflection on the past year of growth in the garden. Most plants are resting and gathering strength for the spring to come. We like a slower pace of life as well at this time of year, and making a few winter crafts and decorations can brighten up your space as well as calming your mind while you work on them.
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