The poems have been read, scrutinised and judged by
our well known radio gardening celebrity Gareth Austin. The poem that he thought was the worthy
winner was penned by Noeleen Walker from Fahan. Gareth picked Noeleens poem ‘Genesis of a
Gardener’ because it flows well, contains lots of gardening terms, humour and
play on words. He also thinks verse 5 is super as it really catches how he feels
when he sees the slimy trails left by slugs and also thinks slugocide is a
great word!
Here is the winning poem.
GENESIS OF A GARDENER
I recall with great
nostalgia
Times when ‘Teacher
Bryce’ would say
Pack up your school
books children
We’ll be gardening
today.
She taught us all
the basics
We planted, sowed
and dug
We raked and hoed
and watered
And waged war on
enemy bugs.
We sowed seeds of
all descriptions
With great
determination
And observed with
satisfaction
Their successful
germination.
We raised
sunflowers tall and stately
We grew lettuce,
beetroot, peas
There were
biennials and perennials
And fragrant
annuals for the bees.
My teacher realized
even then
That on gardening I
was hooked
For long after I
had left the school
She sent catalogues
and books.
Inspired by
information
That I gleaned from
all those tomes
I assumed the role
of ‘Gardener’
In our modest plot
at home.
In approval of my
efforts
(Really no one
cared a bit)
I was given carte blanche
To chop and change
as I thought fit
I cultivated,
propagated
I pruned and mowed
with glee
It’s still a
work-in-progress
I’d need help from
Alan T!
It’s a therapeutic
hobby
For if I’m feeling
a bit low
An hour spent in
the garden
And the blues are
sure to go.
But slimy trails on
my prized plants
Now that, I can’t
abide
I don my big Doc
Martens
And commit mass
slugocide!
I’ve launched many
a futile ‘jihad’
On ground-elder,
nettles and docks
I’ve chased all
round the garden
After dandelion
clocks!
My potting shed’s
my haven
I work in it with
pride
And if there’s
someone to avoid
It’s a splendid
place to hide.
The love of
gardening is a seed
That once sown
never dies
And to this same
old adage
I can surely
testify.
My fingers may not
be so green
As yours were, that
is true
But if you’re
looking down on me
Mrs. Bryce – A Big
Thank You.
More next week
Thank you to all who entered there are some fantastic
entries, so many in fact I will be printing another runner up next week. The winning books by Klaus Laitenberger and
me will be in the mail to Noeleen today.
Gabion baskets are getting more imaginative and here is a new design called the Archimedes Spiral
Gabion Baskets
I have mentioned Gabion Baskets a few times and said
how impressive the basic types look in garden design. The traditional wire meshed baskets hold the
stone in place on many embankments and building developments but smaller ones
can look great as a feature in the garden. I recently came across this great design
from a company in the UK (see pic). It’s
called the Archimedes Spiral and made from mesh usually seen in goat pens. They
are delivered in kit form and take a couple of hours to assemble. The cost is
about €160 for the mesh, €100 for the stone and about another €50 for the
plants so the whole creation will be in excess of €300. What do you think? Would you spend that amount of money on a
planter?
