Winter Garden Blog Kylemore Abbey Garden
I am wishing all our readers a Happy New Year and a successful gardening season from the Walled Garden here in Kylemore Abbey & Garden in the west of Ireland.
The past few weeks were quite challenging weather wise. Our temperatures ranged from minus 3 degrees Celsius to 12 degrees within a few days. Humans, plants and animals alike had to adjust to these conditions. We had to wrap out outside tree fern just in case the temperatures went even lower. Most subtropical plants cope quite well and don ‘t need an extra protection though.
We also had a bit of snow; the first snow was already here by the end of November, which was quite unusual.
Pic1 Frost coated Fatsia.
Pic2 Sundial in frost.
Frost is sometimes needed for a successful growing season, like for our indoor grapes for example.
We just pruned our four heritage varieties last week. All long laterals got pruned hard to about three buds from the main stem. We will also take loose and flaky bark and brown scales off the main stem to prevent further infestation and to promote a healthy growth.
Pic3 Pruned indoor vines in our restored Vinery.
Indoor spaces like the vinery or our propagation glasshouse are fantastic, vital spaces to have during the cold and wet winter months. Regular ventilation is very important though. Greenflies could happily breed when the air is not circulated enough. Also, the regular checking of the soil in pots, especially under the root ball is essential to spot grubs. They love especially succulents like Echeverias.
Our Strelitzia (‘Bird of Paradise’) just started to bloom in the vinery which is quite unusual, especially when the surrounding mountains in the background are covered in snow. We have this plant since over 10 years and it is very thankful and does not need a lot of attention beside the regular watering, misting and feeding.
Pic4 Our flowering ‘Bird of Paradise’.
Pic5 Tender plants re-homed in our vinery during the winter months.
Pic6 Snow covered mountains in the background.
Wintertime means pruning time for pears and apples. We started on the wall trained heritage pear trees last week. It is important to prune and train them on an annual basis to keep the desired shape of the trees. Dead, damaged or diseased wood needs to be cut out. Sometimes it is needed to cut more older sections out in order to rejuvenate the tree. I think that especially during the dormant winter months the bare frames of the pear trees are very attractive. The contrast to the red brick wall is only really visible during this season.
Pic7 Wall trained heritage varieties of pears.
We just collected another load of our local seaweed from the shores and spread it onto the empty plots. This will do several things. First, it will cover open ground to prevent erosion and leaking out of nutrients. Second, it will feed the plots with needed nutrients and trace elements like nitrogen, phosphor or magnesium. And third, it will keep down weed growth which can happen during the winter months
Pic8 Fresh seaweed spread on a plot.
We nearly finished the sorting of our own collected seeds. This process is quite time consuming. The seeds, which can be big bean seeds or tiny, dust like petunia seeds, need all be dehulled, dried, counted or weighted and bagged. The bigger the seeds, the easier the task. We had an enormous amount of Tropaeolum seeds, Nasturtiums, last season. Especially the heritage variety ‘Empress of India’ was very productive, nearly too productive. We had to spend quite a lot of time picking the plentiful seeds of the soil so that we don’t have an infestation coming season.
Pic9 Drying harvested Tropaeolum seeds
Our herb garden, situated in the top west corner in the Walled Garden, is also getting a needed clean up. Last year’s growths of Fennel, Sage, Rosemary or Origanum need to be trimmed back. We will also mix a bit of our own compost and manure into the beds to promote healthy growth and to improve compacted soil.
Pic10 The herb garden during winter months.
Also, the Herbaceous Border needs a lot of attention during the winter season. Same as the Herb Garden, most perennials need to be cut back, moved, reduced or replanted. The border will get an annual feed of our own compost and poultry manure. Parts of the front row needed to be rebuilt and planted.
Pic11 Our Herbaceous Border in dormant stage
Jenny, our garden cat, is looking for the warmest spots in our garden which are usually the heated glasshouses. Once we start the seed propagation again, we have to be stricter again and move them outside. They can be quite destructive to seed trays.
Pic12 Jenny is enjoying the warm and dry glasshouse.
Perry, one of our two Kune Kune pigs loves his food and is not picky. Normally they are getting grains like oats and barley as the main meal and a little afternoon treat which could be leftover beetroots or carrots.
Pic13 Perry is enjoying last year’s beetroots.
Your Head Gardener
Anja Gohlke