Happy Holidays

The gardening can wait.... there's baking to do!

I've been baking cookies for weeks and giving them to friends and family.

 

 

Needless to say I've been eating too many, and have already put on a few extra pounds! My New Year resolution will include eating healthier, lots of outdoor walks, and of course lots of gardening!

 

 

 

 

Whether you're baking or being healthy,

 

hope you have a wonderful Christmas and holiday period!

 

 

 

Some of the baking supplies!

Sugar cookies (Betty Crocker recipe) with icing made from icing/confectioner's sugar with a drop of vanilla essence and tiny bit of water and coloured with food colouring.

These are yummy! Sugar cookies decorated with melted chocolate, mini pretzel antlers and gummy noses.

The healthier option (?) - pretzels covered in dark chocolate and crushed candy cane, or pretzels covered in white chocolate and a walnut.

 

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

Flower Arranging From the Garden

 

Novice Class "From the Garden Shed"

The City of Belfast Autumn Flower Show took place this month with lots of inspiration on display amongst the flower arrangers. I particularly like the 'pastimes' garden theme they had chosen this year and the category "From the Garden Shed" for the Novice Class flower arranging competition.

Pictured is my favourite creation - wellie boots overflowing with flowers such as lavender, calendula, cosmos etc) and lots of little gardening items. Looks lovely!

This reminds me to add a few plants that are good as 'cut flowers' into the garden this year. Cut flowers are a great addition to any garden. There are numerous articles on the internet for information, including a 5 minute video by BBC gardener, Rachel de Thame. View Rachel's cut flower diary video by clicking here. 

Novice Class "From the Garden Shed" arrangement / display.

This is an entry under the Open Class, themed "A Pleasurable Pursuit".

Lots of events providing Autumn/Fall inspiration this month! It's great when fellow bloggers show their local shows, so do share!

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

Pottering in the Garden

When I 'work' in the garden, I don't consider it a chore... I consider it a bit of play time. It's a time to get my hands dirty, do something messy, get creative, and try something new. Pottering about has become one of my favourite past times. 

Earlier in the month, walking around our local Garden Show, I was struck by all the great ideas others have come up with, and it was great to see young people and children getting involved in the show. 

Here are some playful and creative ideas from our local Garden Show...

The winning 'Team Garden Challenge'  was created by young Level 2 Horticultural students. I've seen this design idea used a number of times, and it's always eye catching and effective. I particularly like the old boots planted with alpines. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Above: Local schools get involved in creating 'edible gardens' - this one has a cute little chick made from an egg shell with what looks like watercress growing from it, along with sage, chives, and other herbs. 

Above: Growing lettuces and herbs from recycled plastic milk or water bottles is a great way to start a mini garden in a small space.

Above and below: School children use recycling boxes to plant up mini edible gardens. If you look closely they're really clever and packed with lots of great plants.

Above: Recently, I was pricing clay herb pots and they were quite expensive. The use of plastic bottles to grow strawberries, herbs and lettuces are a great idea, and children would enjoy this as their own little garden patch to look after.

May is the month for garden shows... this weekend I'm visiting 'Bloom in the Park' in Dublin (the 'Chelsea of Ireland'). It's the first time I've managed to make it down to the garden festival, now in its 9th year, and I'm really excited (camera ready!). Hoping for lots of inspiration (and good weather! (raincoat ready)). 

For more information on the Dublin show click here.

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

Garden Show Ireland: fun-tastic displays

This weekend is Garden Show Ireland at Antrim Castle Gardens and it's a fantastic show this year! I'm attending over three days (volunteering) and had a fab time today enjoying the atmosphere (no plant purchases yet). I enjoyed some fab food, superb jazz music, and, of course, looking at the garden designs.

Left: A garden designed by ReConnect, a charity that supports adults with acquired brain injury, has brought some magic to 'the office' under the design theme of 'Colourful Garden'. More on the design concept can be read below. I love their creativity and the fact that they up cycled so many items and only spent about £80. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Above: Also on the theme of 'Colourful Garden' the North Coast Integrated College design makes outdoor life and gardening look much more appealing to young people with its bright colours and creative use of materials. More on their design concept can be read below.

Above: If you're a gardener, you're likely to be a fan of wellies! Nowadays there are great looking wellies for all occasions (easily ordered online) and don't they look great recycled with some wildflowers (part of the Grow Wild display)!

This is only a little snapshot of some of the eye catching, fun focused displays at Garden Show Ireland taking place at Antrim Castle Gardens this weekend. More on the show later. I'm loving the buzz and excitement of the activities - and Saturday Monty Don is visiting!

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

Gardening Year in Review

January: Cabbage Jan King - a welcome winter sight!

I feel like I've been in hibernation over the past six weeks! Time has flown by, and now that all the seasonal festivities are coming to an end, I’m hoping to get back to regular blogging and catching up on my blog reading too!

Here’s a little review of 2014 in the garden and how the year took shape....

February: seaweed added as a mulch.
2014 was a year that began with some of the wettest, stormiest weather on record.

March: Spring crocus bulbs look bright and cheerful.
Mild weather gave way to an early Spring with bulbs popping up a few weeks earlier than usual.

April: A new herb container with thyme, oregano, chives, and lavender is added to the garden.

May: lots of pretty pink and purples come into flower.

June: The bees start busying themselves in the garden. Pictured on Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun'.
June and July were lovely months for gardening with some warm weather.

July: Summer is all go with weekly volunteering in the community garden.

August: brings lots of colour with roses, perennials and annuals.

September: lots of veg being harvested, particularly towards late Summer. September was the 2nd driest on record, and we had some fab sunny days. The insects also seemed to enjoy the 'Indian Summer'.

October: I consider seeds and order a few new varieties (e.g. asparagus lettuce) - only a few packs purchased this year!

November: I tidy up the herb container and cut straglers back.Weather reports describe 2014 as a topsy-turvy year! Most years in the garden are a bit topsy-turvy. All in all, I'd say a great year!

December: I bake, eat, visit family and think about the New Year goals for the garden!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

Some Things Irish on St Paddys

St Patrick's weekend is generally the time I plant potatoes, however, I'm a bit behind this year so perhaps I'll wait until Good Friday.

Looking over my photos I thought St Paddy's would be a good time to show a few photos of the traditional side of the island of Ireland - some of the scenery and one of the reason why tourism exists!

Left: signage in Ireland is often photographed. When my brother visited from the USA he loved taking photos of the different signs, symbols and words used in Ireland and Northern Ireland to describe things.

Above and Below: Thatched roofed cottages. Traditional cottages aren't as common as they were 20 years ago, however, they do still exist. The ones pictured are now part of a museum in County Kerry.

Sheep, however, are very common in Ireland (North and South) - the Spring lambs are a lovely sight each year!

Above: A 'motte' located beside what was Antrim Castle, dating around the 1600s, however the castle was destroyed by fire in 1922. The motte is now a viewing mount with corkscrew path leading to the top.

Above: Photo taken in County Kerry.
Below: Photo taken in County Antrim.
Both coastal drives provide fantastic scenery!

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

Happy 2014!

Wishing you have a peaceful and productive New Year in the garden!

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

Too much to eat, not enough time

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

Happy Christmas!

Hoping your Christmas Day is filled with cherished memories and tasty delights!

Pictured above: Pecan pie and old fashioned apple stack cake made by Egretta Wells.

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

To make or not to bake

Even though I usually burn (or over bake) the first batch of cookies I do love holiday baking! Every year I make sugar cookies from a Betty Crocker recipe book, cut them out into festive shapes and decorate with icing made from icing / confectioners sugar, a tiny drop of water and a little food colouring. Fun and yummy! They keep for weeks and are delicious with a cup of tea! They taste much better than store bought versions!

Hoping your holiday cooking and/or baking goes smoothly!

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

Pumpkin Time

Halloween is upon us, a well liked American holiday growing in popularity in Ireland. For me, its time to clear leaves in the garden, relax by the fire at night, and sip warm drinks such as hot chocolate or mulled wine.

Growing pumpkins has not been an achievement of mine. Instead I visit a pumpkin 'farm' (don't think they're grown locally) and choose one or two to carve for a bit of night time Halloween atmosphere. 

Can't believe its almost November and I've still loads of weeding and tidying to do in the garden. I'm thinking it may be Christmas before I take a break from all the outdoor chores. When do you take time off from the garden and hibernate a bit over the winter? 

Happy Halloween!

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

Festive Holiday Wishes

It's almost Christmas... the grocery stores are pack with people buying groceries and the shops are frantic with last minute shoppers. I prefer staying at home and enjoying the decorations, eating goodies, and sipping cups of hot chocolate. 

No gardening for me over Christmas. I've already got my potatoes and carrots stored and ready for using on Christmas day. Other than that, I'll be reading some gardening books and making plans for 2013.

I'd like to wish all fellow bloggers a restful, enjoyable and happy holiday period and New Year. I always enjoy reading about other bloggers experiences, stories, gardening tips, recipes, etc. Hoping that 2013 will be a great year for gardening!

Above: Rudolph ornament, hand made from felt over ten years ago.

Above: A little Christmas stocking decorated with sequins. I always enjoy making things and made this from a kit about twelve years ago.

Above and below: more handmade ornaments. The mouse and candy can is a cute idea. My mom made the gingerbread man below. She has two blogs, Cottage Living and Paintings by Egretta Wells.

The paper chain and paper angel (above) came from a book called "Christmas Decorations to Cut, Fold and Stick" by Fiona Watt. Fun for children and adults!

Above and below: I've been busy baking peanut butter cups (recipe from Nigella's Christmas cookbook), carmel squares, white chocolate covered pretzels sprinkled with crushed candy cane, and sugar cookies (recipe by Betty Crocker) decorated with icing sugar and sprinkles. Yum! I definitely have a sweet tooth!

Best wishes over the holiday period - Merry Christmas!

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.