#Plants

Roses are RED. The use of red in the landscape.

As it is Valentines Day today I thought it would be a good time to talk a little bit about one of my favourite colours to use in the landscape. The colour red. Red has more personal associations than any other colour. Recognized as a stimulant, red is inherently exciting and the amount of red is directly related to the level of energy perceived. Red draws attention, and a keen use of red as an accent can immediately focus attention on a particular element. It also increases e

Irish hills on fire with Molinia caerulea ‘Purple Moor-grass’

Driving down to the home place in West Cork is always a treat, especially if I haven’t been home in a while. Living in the city of Dublin now when I drive out the country roads I appreciate all the scenery more. On my last trip down the back roads to Hagal Farm the hills looked on fire with the amazing golden glow of the Molinia caerulea commonly known as Purple Moor-grass (or uncommonly known by its Irish name ‘Fionnán’) It’s spent seed heads and browned off blades gleaming

Fuchsia magellanica, West Cork’s adopted alien.

During the summertime it is particularly a pleasure to drive down to the homestead down in West Cork. After spending many hours in the car, travelling on the wide motorways from Dublin, the narrow winding, pothole infested roads of the countryside are a welcome sight. The roads are about half the width they normally are in the winter as all the plant life competes for space. Although the roads are narrower, they do look fantastic as the glow with colour. And none glows with a

The Plant Kingdom, a source for inspiration for sculptor Ruth Moilliet

The plant kingdom is a source of inspiration for all plant and garden lovers, and for UK artist Ruth Moilliet this is also very much the case, as it is very evident in her sculptures. Eryngium The beauty of Ruth’s sculptures is that they highlight the amazing floral architecture that excises all around us, which is so too often over looked. Alliums In Ruth’s personal statement she describes how “In my work I reflect a childhood dream to be able to shrink in size, like ‘Alice’

I’m an alien I’m a legal alien, I’m a Gunnera in West Cork

Well without trying to upset anybody, I have to admit that Gunnera is one of my favourite perennial plants. This might be upsetting for some as there are people out there with a very strong opinion about them, but I will talk about that later on in the post. First I want to talk about the plant itself. Gunnera is believed by some to be poisons, I even remember hearing this when I was young. So far I can not find anything to back that up, and it is not listed in the RHS toxic

Blackthorn, Shillelaghs and the tree of the fairies, the Hawthorn

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) Draigean (Gaelic name) This native Irish tree may be known by its Latin name Prunus spinosa or one of its many common names, such as sloe, wild plum, wishing thorn or mother of the wood. A close relative of cherries and plums, Blackthorn is a deciduous small tree or large shrub, growing up to 4 metres high at a medium growth rate. It is often found growing wild in hedgerows, on the edges of wooded areas or popping up on rough farmland. The Blacktho

‘Its fruit Jim, but not as we know it’

So the sun is finally shining here in Ireland and the plant growth, more than a month behind is finally bursting into life. All this good weather means I have very little time for my blog at the moment, so this weeks post is a quick one. Here is some strange looking fruit I came across on the internet recently. These Buddha shaped pears are the creation of Gao Xianzhang. Gao has been working on his pear-growing technique for six years and this season he managed to grow 10,000

‘Extinct’ plant flowers, in Dublin’s National Botanical Gardens

This is a story I have just come across, posted on the RHS website. Apparently just a few minutes drive from where I am sitting, in the National Botanical Gardens in Dublin, an abutilon thought extinct until just a few years ago has produced multiple flowers for the first time. Abutilon pitcairnense, found only on the small island of Pitcairn near French Polynesia in the South Pacific, was presumed extinct until 2002, when the chance discovery of a single remaining plant by l

Grow our own chairs for national tree week

1987 Peter Cook As it is national tree week here in Ireland (7-13 March) at the moment, I thought a tree related post would be appropriate. So what better way to celebrate national tree week, than growing your own chair out of trees!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately as I am currently renting a house in the centre of Dublin city, so I am unable to get to try this out myself, during national tree week, but as soon as I have time to head out to the home place in the heart of the country s

Garden Labyrinth

This seven circuit classical hedge labyrinth with enlarged centre, was designed and constructed by my dad, Fred Wieler in the beautiful gardens, (a labyrinth in it’s self) of Hagal Farm – a holistic retreat centre and our family home. Hagal Farm is nestled on the slopes of the Maughanaclea mountains, in the picturesque Mealagh valley near Bantry, in West Cork. The gardens at Hagal Farm spared out over about four acres, making up a number of different gardens, each with its o

Living Willow Structures

I am currently looking into organising a weekend workshop in live willow structures in West Cork, which has inspired me to write a post on the topic. I have always liked the ides of willow structures and am looking forward to the opportunity of creating one. Willow has been highly valued since ancient times. The Celts considered it sacred. It has been used medicinally, as a dye plant, to make charcoal and as a timber. In more recent times, as we strive for green alternatives