Tidy up before you go

Schools are closing, summer holidays are commencing and gardens are blooming.

However, even though the business of spring in the garden has subsided, don’t assume that all your crops are in the ground and doing well and that the time has come to sit back and enjoy the bounty.

Plants are now at the peak of their growth so harvesting, weeding, feeding, tying up and generally being there to observe their changing needs are the main jobs to hand.

Soft fruits are beginning to ripen so make sure that adequate netting is in position to keep them protected from enthusiastic birds. Generally in Ireland, watering is not a huge issue unless you are growing in containers and these will need checking and watering twice daily, even if it rains every day.

As you plan your vacation you may now be also pondering the plight of your plot. Going on holiday usually takes some preparation and effort on many levels, and if you have a vegetable garden you’ll certainly need to take its needs into consideration. Before going away, it is important to weed thoroughly as these guys will go wild if left unchecked.

Hoe, weed, feed and mulch is a good pre-holiday garden routine that will help ensure that soil remains weed free and moist, while you are away. Organise someone to pick vegetables, such as beans and peas in particular, and courgettes later in the season as these all tend to stop producing new fruits if the crop is not picked regularly.

Container plants will need some hands to keep them watered or you could try making a DIY drip irrigation system by using 2-litre plastic bottles. Slice the base off the bottle while leaving the cap still on. Make small yet large enough holes in the top and then plant the bottle next to or in between your plants. Fill the plastic bottle with water which should slowly leak out to the base of the plants for the roots to access.

Now that a wee escape plan is in place gardening enthusiasts should down tools and get out and enjoy our beautiful countryside and the wonderful gardens Ireland has to offer.

The Baltimore Secret Garden Weekend, which runs over the weekend of Jul 6 and 7 provides the perfect platform for browsing a wide variety of gardens including potagers and kitchen gardens and most of those listed for the weekend have not been open to the public before.

In what is hoped will become an annual fixture for this seaside village, a delightful variety of private gardens which are lovingly tended by their owners will be open over the weekend and you are guaranteed to come back to your own plot budding with new ideas and inspiration.

In addition to the garden visits, Baltimore Tidy Towns committee will give a guided tour of the planted and tended areas of the village, giving an insight into the ups and downs of coastal planting in public places.

The Time Traveller’s Bookshop is presenting a ‘pop up’ garden bookshop in The Glebe Cafe over the weekend. Deelish Garden Centre is holding a Charity Day on Saturday, Jul 6 in support of Medecins Sans Frontieres. The Glebe Cafe will be serving afternoon tea on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 3pm until 6pm. Inis Beg will be offering Vintage Car Rides and Pony and Carriage Rides and also refreshments on Sunday, Jul 7.

All gardens are well worth a visit but as a vegetable enthusiast I am naturally drawn to those that include edibles, including Balleymacrown Homestead comprising of a one acre garden surrounding an old farmstead of three colourful cottages. The garden includes a wild flower meadow, orchard and rose garden, with little gardens behind the cottages devoted to perennial vegetables, herbs and grasses. The boundaries are created by hedges of wild roses, young espalier apple trees and an ash lattice.

Two large greenhouses supply produce for the cottages in the summer months. The emphasis is on respecting nature and encouraging butterflies and bees through organic gardening.

Glebe Gardens has 6 acres of formal and informal gardens, with a productive potager, flower borders, woodland walk, wild flower meadow and much more. Glebe Gardens is one of ‘The Best 100 Gardens in Ireland’. Inis Beg comprises of 97 acres of formal, woodland and walled gardens, farmland, orchards and tree ferns.

This weekend will be packed full of great fun, food and garden inspiration so get out there. And for more information and directions to all gardens, check out: www.baltimoresecretgardens.com