We regularly recommend the people of Thurles and their temporary elected public servants to focus their gaze more upwards these days, away from their mobile phones screens. Reason being that the public can more readily view how taxes from hard earned income is being wasted, e.g. 29 street lights burning 24 hours each day, 24 of them for over 3 months.
For all you flower lovers out there, I am happy to relate that there is now another reason to stand and stare skyward. Yes, the “Trachycarpus fortunei” or “Chinese windmill palm“, has burst into bloom here in Thurles.
“Trachycarpus fortunei” or “Chinese windmill palm“Mill Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
Also known as “Chusan palm“, this solitary 45 year old, 25ft hardy evergreen palm tree, in the family Arecaceae and native to parts of China, Japan, Myanmar and India, can be viewed in all its glory in O’Driscoll’s Garden Centre, latter situated on the Mill Road, east of the town centre and well know, throughout Ireland, as the home of rare plants.
The tree is a single-stemmed fan palm which can grow between 12–20 m (39–66 ft) high with a trunk diameter of 15–30 cm (6–12 in). Each leaf is 140–190 cm (4 ft 7 in – 6 ft 3 in) long, with the stalk that connects the blade with the leaf base (petiole) some 60–100 cm (2 ft 0 in – 3 ft 3 in) long, and the leaflets up to 90 cm (2 ft 11 in) long.
The flowers, as the picture shows are yellow (male) and greenish (female), measuring about 2–4 mm (3⁄32–5⁄32 in) across, borne in large branched panicles up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long in spring; with male and female flowers produced on separate trees (dioecious). The fleshy fruit is of a yellow to blue-black, kidney-shape, with thin skin and a central stone containing the seed 10–12 mm (13⁄32–15⁄32 in) in length , which ripens in mid-autumn.
One of the hardiest of palms, “Chinese windmill palm” has been cultivated in China and Japan, for thousands of years for its coarse but very strong leaf sheath fibre, used in the making of rope, sacks, and other coarse cloth where great strength is important.
The species was first brought from Japan (Dejima) to Europe by the German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold * in 1830. Its more common name, “Chusan palm” refers to Chusan Island (now Zhoushan Island), where Robert Fortune first saw cultivated specimens.
*Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (1796 – 1866) was a German physician, botanist and traveler. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora and fauna and the introduction of Western medicine in Japan. He was the father of the first female Japanese doctor educated in Western medicine.
In 1849, Robert Fortune * smuggled plants from China to the Kew Horticultural Gardens, London and the Royal garden of Prince Albert, East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom, hence the later name Trachycarpus fortunei, after Robert Fortune.
* The Scottish botanist Robert Fortune was also commissioned by the East India Company to steal tea from China; one of the greatest heists and pieces of corporate espionage carried out in human history, that resulted in dislodging one monopoly and establishing the British East India Trade company, as the largest producer of tea.
A massive sale of all types of flower bulbs and tubers is taking place at O’Driscolls Garden Centre, Mill Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, presently. All the selected certified bulbs and tubers, including Dahlias and Gladioli, are selling for just €2.00, per packet, less than half the normal retail price of €4.50.
Dust off that Easter Bonnet, it’s market time again at Holycross, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
Holycross market Thurles, Co. Tipperary look forward to meeting all their many old customers and hopefully indeed some new consumers, once again next Saturday April 16th, in the village from 1:00pm to 3:00pm for the beginning of yet another trading year.
The market will run, bi weekly, from April 16th until December 10th, with lots of interesting events along the way. The market welcomes new traders throughout the year, while anchoring it’s personality and stability with a core group of valued old friends.
Come visit a very special Easter market this week, with an Easter raffle and Egg Hunt; come and join us, grab a coffee and a tasty bake, listen to the music, take a seat and chat with friends.
Note: As part of our new initiative to network with local businesses, Holycross Village Market are delighted to have Park 63 @Parkers Restaurant on board this week. Parker’s have put forward a voucher, which will be raffled at the market on next Saturday, April 16th, between 1:00 & 3:00pm.
Exquisite Spring Narcissus ‘Carlton’ (Large-cupped Daffodils) displaying the Ukrainian colours today, on view at O’Driscolls Garden Centre here in Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
The spring equinox or vernal equinox (from the Latin ‘vernalis,’ which is derived from the Latin word for spring, ‘ver.’), this year (2022), occurs on today, March 20th, marking the first day of the ‘astronomical spring‘, technically occurring at 3.33pm (15:33pm).
Our alternative ‘meteorologicalspring‘ of course fell on March 1st 2022 and will last until May 31st, with summer starting on June 1st, autumn beginning on September 1st and winter following on December 1st.
An equinox is a phenomenon which only happens twice a year; once during the spring, marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring, and once during the Autumn, latter occurring around September 23rd, in the Northern Hemisphere, thus marking the beginning of autumn.
Equinoxes were used by early civilisations to divide up their year. During the equinox, day and night is measured around the same length. The name coming from the Latin word equi (meaning ‘equal’) and nox (meaning ‘night’); marking the two points in the year when the equator is the closest part of Earth to the sun, with both the northern and southern hemispheres sharing sunlight equally.
Today’s ‘astronomical spring‘ will last until the summer solstice, which this year will occur on Tuesday 21st June.
The days, thankfully, will now begin to get longer with the nights shorter as the earth wakes up from its winter hibernation, and Tipperary can usually look forward to the promise of a little more sunshine.
Thurles resident Mikey Ryan was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of breaking of glass. Alarmed and unsure of where the sound originated, he peeped out from behind his bedroom blind, immediately noticing a burglar sneaking around his next door neighbour’s garden.
Suddenly, out from the shadows, sprang his neighbour’s oldest son, striking his victim a vicious blow on his head with the edge of a blue shovel; thus instantly leaving his victim completely lifeless.
As Mikey watched, his neighbour then, using the same blue shovel, began to dig a grave in the centre of his vegetable patch.
Mikey watched the interment for a while, then climbed back into bed. His wife, now also disturbed from her slumber, asked “Darling, you’re shaking. What’s wrong?”
“You’ll never believe what I’ve just seen”, said Mikey. “That bastard next door still hasn’t had the decency to return my new blue shovel, that he borrowed from me at least 6 weeks ago.”
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