Extract from Poem ‘Home, Wounded‘ By Sydney Thompson Dobell
There blows The first primrose, Under the bare bank roses. There is but one, And the bank is brown, But soon the children will come down, The ringing children come singing down, To pick their Easter posies, And they’ll spy it out, my beautiful, Among the bare brier-roses; And when I sit here again alone, The bare brown bank will be blind and dull, Alas for Easter posies!
According to the late British journalist, musician and broadcaster Miles Kington, “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” Likewise, for those lovers of rhubarb, “Knowledge is knowing that rhubarb is a vegetable; wisdom is not boiling or steaming it to accompany your boiled bacon.”
Rhubarb is grown easily and widely, here in Ireland and now with greenhouse production it has become widely available in your local supermarket for much of each year.
Rhubarb is grown primarily for its fleshy pink/red stalks and is a comparatively recent food innovation. Rhubarb usage was first recorded here in Ireland in the 18th century, becoming more popular as a food possibly because sugar became more widely affordable and thus more easily available to the working classes.
This almost maintenance free food plant, enjoys sunshine and well-drained soil, containing organic matter. However, same will accept a more shaded area and if you have wet soil the use of a raised bed is highly recommended.
Here in Ireland, rhubarb stools can be found in most vegetable plots and gardens, and is used to make wine, but mostly in desserts e.g. Pies, Tarts, Crumbles, Sugar Syrup Compôte, often nowadays combined with whipped cream and yogurt to make Rhubarb Fool or that more common favourite Rhubarb & Custard.
Same rhubarb stalks are harvested from late April to May and again from late June into July.
Remember the green leaves of rhubarb do contain an abundance of oxalic acid and therefore same should not be consumed. However, nutrition wise, the fleshy rhubarb stalks themselves provide a good source of antioxidants, together with healthy amounts of vitamins K1, vitamin C, potassium, manganese, and are an excellent source of fibe.
Here in Thurles, the Helleborus argutifolius or Corsican hellebore, a rather handsome, long-flowering perennial plant, ideal for our often drab winter Irish gardens; is quickly forming its blossoms in time for its flowering period, normally February to April of each year.
The plant [See image above.] is best described by garden centres as being a medium-sized, clump-forming, evergreen perennial with leathery, deep green leaves divided into three toothed holly-like leaflets, offering the plant lover, clusters of apple-green cup-shaped flowers, and possibly more importantly it grants an invaluable early nectar source for pollinators.
Fully hardy, but unlike other hellebores, [And there are many varieties,] the Corsican hellebore is content in full sunlight, so long as the soil is moisture-retentive, and humus rich, but will also enjoy half shade on a sheltered site.
Demanding little maintenance, all Helleborus argutifolius plants require is that any damaged leaves be cut back in late winter, together with all flowering stems after the flowers have gone. This pruning-out is required to encourage blooming for the following year.
Free Competition
Thurles.Info are offering free to our first two commenters, 1 potted perennial Lupine plant, one each only, to the first two readers who comment under this same report.
Winners will receive notification via their email address, as to where both plants can be collected here in Thurles. [Note: Your website requested in “Leave a comment”, under this report, can be left blank and is not essential to complete.]
The annual Borrisoleigh Festival returns again this weekend; bigger and better than ever before. The festival is being run in tandem with “The Arty Rooster Arts Festival”, which runs for the entire week from 1st July.
Overall Winner of the 2018 Wheelbarrow Competition with her entry ‘The Dogbox’ is Kathleen Ryan (left) with her sister Margaret and mother Effie (RIP)
The growing “International Wheelbarrow Extravaganza”, promises some wonderful creations. The competition is open to everyone to submit their modified wheelbarrows to be in with a chance to win some great prizes. Your imagination is the only limiting factor in this unique competition.
‘The Arty Rooster‘ will feature shop-front exhibitions, workshops, demonstrations, talks and performances, including an oil painting demonstration by artist Jim Donnelly on Saturday morning and a short play written by Ciarnad Ryan. The play is based on events which took place during the War of Independence and will be performed on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in the function room in Finn’s Bar. Follow ‘The Arty Rooster’ on Facebook for full schedule updates.
The annual walk with the Bush and Briar Ramblers takes place on Saturday July 6th, walking part of the Beara Breifne Way from Greenane to Latteragh. Registration is at 8.30am in the Community Centre.
Award winning photographer Tom Doherty will be hosting a photo walk, giving tips on how to take great photos on a walk around Borrisoleigh starting at 11:00am in The Square. This should prove useful to anyone planning on entering the festivals Instagram Competition. Be sure to use the hashtag #BorrisFest19 when posting festival photos on Instagram to be in with a chance to win some great prizes. After the Official Opening with Lord Mayor Paddy Dolan and special guest on Saturday, there will be a Jiving Competition and Social Dancing with ‘Phil Maher’s Band’. The band ‘Ebony’ will finish off the night; from 10:00pm to 12:00 midnight.
A fire performer will be thrilling spectators throughout Saturday night with a number of performances from 8:00pm and Hot Chocolate and Wraps will be available from ‘The Hungry Horse’.
Sunday 7th July has a packed schedule from 2:00pm with the ‘Wheelbarrow Extravaganza’, live music, kid’s entertainment and lots more. The individual wheelbarrow categories are: Best Environmental; Best Miniature Garden; and Most Imaginative.
Entries open on Sunday 7th July 2.00 – 4.30 p.m. No entry fees. This year there is a new ‘Commercial’ Category. Local businesses can showcase their business in a wheelbarrow in the centre of Borrisoleigh for the duration of the Festival. €10 advance entry fee. Wheelbarrows can be displayed from 1st July – 7th July. There will be a public vote for the best overall wheelbarrow on Sunday afternoon. Votes cost €1.00 each. So, take another glance at that old wheelbarrow in the corner of the garden, and imagine what an amazing spectacle it would make with a little bit of ingenuity and TLC. And don’t forget to use #BorrisFest19 when uploading your photos to Instagram!
At 2.30pm in the Community Centre there is a Make Up Demonstration with MUA Kayley Moylan, admission is €8. Kids entertainment will feature Bouncy Castles, Disco Dome, Gladiators, Gaming Van and Hawkeye Powershot Competition. There will be a BBQ in the village square also on Sunday evening and a Hobby horse competition from 6.30pm to 7.30pm.
Live music starts at 2:00pm on Sunday with DJ Matt Ryan and a host of wonderful performers throughout the day. Starting with Paudi Bourke at 4pm, Dufrane 4.30pm, The Mangled Badgers 6pm and finishing with Silver Dollar from 8pm until late.
All in all, it promises to be a terrific festival with something for everyone and all ages. Pick up a copy of the festival booklet in any local shops for full schedule of events and follow Borrisoleigh Festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for regular updates.
The 400-acre wooded demesne of Glin Castle, situated on the banks of the Shannon estuary in Co. Limerick, with its 12 acres of pleasure gardens, saw the annual “Rare & Special Plant Fair” taking place on Sunday May 12th last.
‘Sparmania’
One of the beautiful rare plants on show at this event was ‘Sparmania’, latter a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae, native to open woodland in Africa, South Africa and Madagascar. The genus name is called after Anders Sparrman, a Swedish naturalist, tutor, abolitionist, ships doctor and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, (1748-1820).
Pictures L-R. [1]Sparmania – [2] Swedish Naturalist Anders Sparrman (1748-1820).
According to the well-respected, dare I say Bible, known as Hillier Manual of Trees & Shrubs( Hillier / Lancaster), the Sparmania shrub(pictured above) is described as a large, stellately-hairy, apple-green shrub of vigorous habit. Leaves are large, often 30cm (11ins) or more across, palmately-lobed. Flowers are white 4cm wide, with yellow stamens (the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower).
This plant is regarded as an excellent conservatory shrub.
While grateful for this description, it was the further information supplied that appealed more to me, as a former restaurant and hotel employee. How often have I watched patrons stub their cigarettes butts out in flower pots used to decorate reception areas / lobbies, same leading eventually to the tragic demise of expensive plants.
Hotels and Restaurants take note: Sparmania, according to the Hillier Manual of Trees & Shrubs, thrives on, wait for it,“on discarded cigarette and cigar-ends, together with tea and coffee dregs, as found in poor quality cafés”. [Not that I have ever worked in poor quality cafés, I’ll have you to note and fully understand.]
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