Gardens in Northern Ireland

Hi everyone,  We were welcomed to Northern Ireland by Kelli, my daughter and  son-in-law Mark, and got out of the car to see this beautiful walled garden! Kelli has a talent for gardening, both veggie and flowers, and often even combines the two. I love the beautiful pink phlox and then the dusty miller and blooms in the front are gorgeous. This garden just beacons one to sit on a bench and enjoy the crisp clean air there and the very comfortable temperatures. I left a hot Florida to really enjoy temps in the 50's and 60's with mixed weather, some rain but quite a bit of sun, too.

One of her pair of outdoor cats, this one is the male and he claims to be the garden manager, but as you can see, when the sun is out, he lays down on the job!

Kelli has mixed yellow squash plant into her pot s of nasturtiums  and they are blooming. Little squash is developing and while there we ate zucchini, tomatoes and black beans from her garden, all very delicious.

Here is a view of her back garden. Enlarge any of these photos for more detailed views by clicking on the photo.

We went to a community garden at Sentry Hill. I was very interested in this type of garden, as I am presenting plans to develop one to my church. We own an unused field which I think can be put to good use as a community garden.

This garden uses raised beds with 

 chipped rock paths between the beds. As you can see, there was some activity there, as people harvested crops, cleared out things already finished, weeded, etc. The garden is fenced all around and a small glass house in a corner contains some nice tomato plants. One of the gardeners gave us a sample broad bean which was delicious raw. People plant whatever they want, often mixing in herbs as well as flowers. I noticed that marigolds were used along veggies to help deter pests. We saw slug traps made with containers with lids. Kelli was very interested in how they controlled slugs and discovered a new way to make a "slug catcher".Perhaps she will share that with us on her blog http://kelliboylesgarden.blogspot.com/

Behind the fence were some cows and I just had to snap their picture!

Join me tomorrow for more photos of our amazing vacation in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England!