January 2010

It is wonderful to see that our strive to be a greener garden centre has been recognised as we have been shortlisted as a finalist in the above category. This award is for Small to Medium Size Enterprises that can demonstrate a ‘ground-up’ green strategy designed to minimise the impact of their business activity on […]

As it is our last weekend off before we open, we decided to spend some time at the local and rather lovely Doneraile Wildlife Park. The gardens were landscaped in the early eighteenth century in the fashionable Capability Brown style. The illusion as you look down or even up at the house is that nature

The one area that my green credentials have been challenged is the vehicle I choose to drive. Yes indeed it is a 4×4, well it can be if I choose to. The 4×4 had become the bete noire of the environmental motoring world and I know the much respected Ken Livingstone once described owners as

Some images from a snowy Secret Garden…………..The Silver Birches and standing stones still beautiful when bare……… The childrens play area unusually quiet…………… Podocarpus Salignus well and truly covered………. A plumped up and preened Thrush……The rush at feed time……..Even covered in snow the place has character…….

With ongoing freezer like temperatures in the garden there is very little real gardening going on. It is more a case of brief visits to enjoy our icy vista with some protecting, salvaging and shedding icy tears as we deal with losses to our prized plants. Even with the usual measures of using horticultural fleece,mulching,

Given the really cold snap it is important that we show our hospitality to our feathered friends in the garden. The overwhelming concern at this time of year is the birds continued survival and with the short daylight hours feeding is essential to get much needed energy. We can help in a number of ways: