LOUGH ESKE CASTLE

It is amazing what can be achieved when you put your mind to it.

I returned to the Solis Castle Hotel (Donegal’s first five star hotel), on Lough Eske this week after a six-year interval. The gardens are looking fantastic, thanks to the hard work of Inishowen landscaper, John McDermott of Mac’s landscapes from Ballymagan who has the contract for bringing the gardens up to their original standard.

Lough Eske Castle and gardens can be traced back to the late 1400’s when the O’Donnell family that founded Donegal town owned it. The rolling grounds lead down to the Lough and the house is totally surrounded by woodland. The original castle was first built around 1474. A date stone of 1621 remains on the property to this day. The current Lough Eske Castle was constructed in the 1860s on the site of an old Brooke mansion, but was destroyed by fire in 1939. Up until very recently the castle and ground have been allowed to fall into serious disrepair.

DERELICT
My family and I went to visit the derelict castle in 2002 and we heard at the time that there was talk of refurbishing the building. The building itself had more or less disappeared except for the front, with its grand castellations around the top of the walls. Trees were growing out of the top of the building and time had eroded the sandstone.

At some stage in the early thirties, the walled garden next to the house had been planted up with conifers, which had grown so tall and dense that you couldn’t get to the far wall. The grounds were extraordinary, with large specimen trees that had obviously been planted hundreds of years ago by someone with a vision, like Capability Brown.

REBUILDING
The house has now been totally rebuilt and extended and for the last year, John and his team have been working to refurbish the gardens. They did a lot of the work in the winter when we were all hibernating in the warm. Now the growing season is with us it is apparent what has been achieved. “The ground is sandy but still very wet.” says John. “There are also a lot of either sunny or shady spots. This influences the type of planting we can put in around the buildings.”

The walled garden has been cleared and thankfully the tree roots didn’t damage the red brick wall surrounding the site. John has used these walls well. “I am planting them with climbers and using the rich red colours of the bricks to set off the shrubs along the beds. The south facing wall would have been where nectarines and plums were grown and also is where the greenhouse would have been,” he informs me.

PARTERRE
There has been very careful planting to create a parterre. This is a large formal garden that is surrounded by a neatly clipped box hedge, the type of thing you see in old stately homes of this period. “We planted loads of different types of herbs to re-create the old herb garden of the house.” Privacy is all-important too for guests at the hotel and John took this into consideration “Careful planting of a yew screen in front of the sauna and swimming pool has made an area of total privacy” he comments. John also enjoys using structural plants such as phormiums and grasses, these have been planted next to the gravel pathways to make a clean and attractive feature.

There is a real attention to detail on the lawns as well. John has put in a lot of grass areas to soften the gardens and to keep up with modern health and safety regulations. “The edges of the grass have been reinforced with a stiff mesh. This will allow the emergency service vehicles to drive on them without damage, should the need arise,” he says.

STATUES
Complementing the designs of the estate are bronze statues and fountains. Resting figures reading books or gardening, jumping salmon and flying swans have been carefully placed to bring calm to visitors. John was more than happy to show me around his work and he is very pleased with how it is progressing. “There were times in the middle of winter when we were sinking in the mud and things got very messy” John commented as he was showing me the new area he is planting up in the car park. “But we stuck at it and look what we have achieved.”

In just a few months, John and his team has managed to bring these neglected gardens back to life. Yes, that is an achievement!

Diarmuid Gavin Carndonagh update

Diarmuid Gavin and Aideen Doherty from Donegal County Council

CARNDONAGH WANTS A GARDEN


Meeting for the second time in the Community school hall in Carndonagh, Diarmuid Gavin addressed his fourth audience of the day about the proposed park at Barrack Hill. Previous to this open audience, Diarmuid had spoken to; 60 children in 6 schools, teens from the Community school, the playgroup committee and senior residents in the town. He also took time for a walk around the site. A hefty schedule indeed!

Diarmuid has been busy with ideas on the project since his last visit and like most artistic people he has spent his time not having a clue what he is going to do with the site.

“I had no idea where the project was going to go and no designs for the area.” Diarmuid admits. “I realise that this is an amazing space and felt like a student with a project. I realise that the park is not something about me; it is about everyone in the town. If the area doesn’t work for everyone, it won’t work at all, it has to fit into the landscape and the requirements of all the residents of the town.”

UNCOVERING THE SECRET
“Then three weeks ago something began to emerge.” Diarmuid told us. In the last visit, children had suggested all sorts of ideas from a crazy golf course to a mini zoo, but something clicked with Diarmuid. “ One thing the children especially liked was the idea of a maze, they love the idea of secrecy and a place to gather. So I got aerial photographs of the land where the park is to go and started to draw lines on the paper. It was a bit like dropping a pebble in a pool of water and looking at the ripples.”
He explains further, “This made me think of winding pathways up the hillside and imagined dropping a second stone into the water and the lines interlinking in concentric circles. I then imagined pathways edged with natural stone walls. The smooth curves of the paths would allow for the gentle movement of people in the park.”


FOUR MAIN INFLUENCES
“I have divided the initial ideas into four sections,” explains Diarmuid, enthusiastically. “ I went for inspiration from Andy Goldsworthy from Scotland. He turns stone walls into sculptures which is the type of movement I would look for in the walls of the park when they flow up the hill. Andy also uses natural found materials in his projects.”

Easter Island is another area of inspiration, with its 887 giant carved structures made from volcanic rock. “These images are very powerful, and have given me the idea for a focal point” he explains. “Mount Rushmore in America where the four presidents are carved into the rocks gave me the third idea of including caricatures in the design. The fourth influence is Anthony Gormley. Anthony created the famous Angel of the North in Gateshead. “He can draw in the sky using steel. All of these ideas gave me my big idea” Diarmuid says as he shows us the images on the screen.

THE BIG IDEA
Diarmuid has a rough idea how the infrastructure of the park will look and has had some plans drawn up by his team. “We are all part of a collective” Diarmuid tells us modestly “The park is being formed by a big team, including architects, designers, artists, councils and of course the public. I even sent a photographer out into Carndonagh a couple of weeks ago and he came back with fabulous images of the town. This gave me an idea for the focal points on top of the hill at the end of the walk.” Diarmuid feels that because of the geographical nature of Donegal, people tend to appear to look out on the landscape. This is something he wants to re-create in the statues. “ I have an idea to use iconic images of local characters such as Mary ‘Curate’, he tells us. I have remarkable images of local faces and drawing influences from Easter Island, Anthony Gormley, Anthony Goldsworthy and Mt Rushmore, I see large open steel heads on top of the hill looking down on the meandering stone walls and distant hillsides.”

ALL INCLUSIVE
There are lots of other ideas that will be incorporated into the structure of the design. Aideen Doherty from Donegal County Council wants the town to have the best and feels that Diarmuid is bringing it all together- a natural park that blends in with the countryside and facilities for all age groups from children, mothers with babies to senior citizens.

“We are looking into the practicalities of an allotment for people of the town” Diarmuid continues. “All too often in rural areas there is a lot of isolation for men in a community and an allotment would be a great place to meet, work and socialise. “The size of the area is debateable as yet, depending on the amount of interest it generates,”

There is still a lot of work to be done even to put in the bare bones of the project without concentrating on the finer details like toilets and security. Access roads have to be built to allow access to the car parks and long-term contracts with developers and maintenance contractors have to be found. Diarmuid, the playground group and the Council all realise that there is still a long way to go, but with the enthusiasm of the residents the project has reached a new phase and is well on it’s way to becoming a reality.

Diarmuid will be back on Tuesday the 27th of May to tell us of his progress

LAWN CARE

Some of us have actually managed to cut the grass this year. There have been enough dry days to get the mower out without it sinking in the mud. Getting an attractive lawn for the summer doesn’t have to mean hard work and a barrow full of chemicals.

Here are some handy tips for a lush sward.

Keep off the lawn when it's wet or frosty. Compaction, poor drainage, acidity, shade, too close mowing, underfeeding and drought can all encourage moss to take over.

Getting the grass into shape helps to keep the invasive weeds and moss down to a minimum. On a nice dry day, gently rake the grass with a spring-tined rake, taking care not to tear the surface too much. This removes the winter thatch and lifts grass and weed foliage for efficient cutting.

Bare patches attract weeds, so re-sow them now. Fork the soil to break it up, then firm and level it before applying an appropriate grass seed. Be creative and come up with a way to keep the birds from feeding on the seed. I use the free CD’s from newspapers attached to sticks, which work very well.

If you want a quick fix for bare patches (not for the head I am afraid) cut a strip of lawn from a rich growing patch and transfer it to the bare bit. Re-sow the area you dug from. It is always worth re-seeding an area in the shade with a mixture specifically selected to thrive in such sites.

There are a lot of facts and figures about the recommended height for grass to be cut. Ideally, mow grass when it's just over 1cm (0.5in) higher than you want it. Some people with bowling green quality lawns get out at least three times a week to keep the grass in perfect condition. I would recommend that you don’t leave yours longer than a week at the height of the season, cut it when you can.

Avoid scalping the grass because this encourages moss and weakens the growth.

When you cut during the spring and summer, leave the clippings on the lawn. As they decompose, they release up to 30 per cent of the lawn's required nutrients.

Remove the clippings from the lawn at the beginning and end of the growing season when decomposition is slow as this can cause rotting in the wet conditions.

If you have a small lawn, discourage perennial weeds. Dig them out regularly with a narrow trowel.

Encourage clover because it collects nitrogen from the air and releases it from root nodules to the growing grass. To build up clover, oversow with clover seed 'Kent Wild White' during spring, at the rate of 5g per square metre.

If necessary, feed the lawn now or in summer with slow-release organic fertilisers. Seaweed extract, applied as a foliar feed, will green up your lawn. You could make your own in a bucket as long as the salt is washed out first.

Avoid overfeeding as this causes lush growth that's prone to disease.

Now is a good time to thicken up a poor quality or worn lawn, rake up debris and sow some good quality seed.

If possible, install a proper path or stepping-stones to avoid any excessive wear and tear.


Increase your bedding plants...for free!

If you have been to the garden centres and bought some bedding plants then how would you fancy increasing your stock? Most annual plants grow well from cuttings and if you start them young there is no reason why they shouldn’t give you a fantastic show in the pots and baskets this year. I bought a fine looking petunia one time and managed to get over 30 baby plants, which flowered all summer.

Carefully cut off the growing tips of petunias, fuschias and other plants, and plant into potting compost. This will make the original plant bushier too. Most other annual plants can be propagated in the same way, just make sure you make the cut just below a node so roots can develop.

HEDGING

Steven Meyen is the Forestry Development Officer at Teagasc and is passionate about natural hedging. Hedges, Steven says, have determined the Irish landscape for the last two hundred years. They provide shelter for livestock and a windbreak for crops while preventing soil erosion and assisting in disease control between farms. They have an immense ecological value and help Ireland's image abroad as the Emerald Isle. Once hedges are planted, the only cost involved is for regular maintenance. Fences have to be replaced. Hedges, Steven feels, are eternal fences. It doesn’t matter if you are planting a native hedgerow on your farm or a line of Escallonia around the house; the basics for successful growing are the same.


Planting a container grown hedge
You can plant container-grown hedging plants at any time of the year, provided the soil is not frozen or waterlogged. However, if your garden is very exposed and windy it is recommended that certain varieties of hedging are planted in April. You might notice large leaved evergreens such as Escallonia look a bit battered if they are planted at the beginning of winter. Bare rooted plants can be planted from November, this will give you plenty of time to get the perennial weeds out of the area.

Careful where you plant
When planting a hedge, consider the location, access points and traffic safety.
Avoid planting the hedge too close to a wall or fence because it will make hedge management more difficult and animals will be able to graze the juicy new tips.


Avoid waterlogged, exposed or very shallow sites.

Preparation
Careful ground preparation will ensure healthy, fast growth giving competing vegetation less chance to smother the new vulnerable hedge. The ideal planting area needs to have about 2 ft (60cm) depth of topsoil to plant your hedge into.

Work in well-rotted manure to improve the soil, especially where an old hedge was removed.

If you have no objections to chemicals, spray off a one-metre strip with glyphosate from April-June before planting. This is followed in early summer by adding manure (if necessary)

Another option for people who practice organic methods (and who are not in a rush) is to carry out the ground preparation without spraying and then to cover a one-metre wide strip with black polythene for one year.


Planting the hedge
Digging a hole twice as wide and deep as the hedging plant's container will give the hedge a good chance of success. Backfill the holes with a 50 / 50 mix of topsoil and compost. Mix the soil you've removed from the planting hole with well-rotted organic matter. The organic matter you incorporate can be leaf mould, well rotted kitchen compost or well rotted farmyard manure.

The hedging plants need to be planted at the same depth as they were in the pot. Failure to do this will hold back their development.

Water your hedging even before planting. Immerse the pots in water-filled containers for about 10 minutes before planting, after this time remove them and allow the surplus water to drain away.

Cover the surface of the soil at the base of the hedge with a generous layer of mulch, such as bark mulch. This will help discourage weeds and reduce the amount of water loss from the soil.

Bare rooted hedging
The rules regarding planting bare-rooted hedging are similar to containerised hedging with the following exceptions. Bare-rooted hedging plants should be kept moist at all times before planting. If the fine roots on the hedging should dry out you may have many failures within your hedge.

Try to get the planting pits created beforehand, and buy your plants and pop them in the ground that very day. Any plants you cannot plant that day should be heeled into some moist topsoil until the next day.

With bare-rooted plants, the planting pit created should allow you to carefully spread the roots out across the bottom of the hole. Shake the stem of bare-rooted hedging plants lightly whilst back-filling your soil mix, this will ensure soil trickles down in between the roots.

Bare-root hedging may be more susceptible to wind rock and wind throw in the first few years after planting than container-grown plants. Because of this, you must keep a watchful eye on them especially during the windy winter period. Resettle “shook” hedging lightly with your heel when needed.