Grace's Gardens

Grace comes from a long line of amateur gardeners. As a toddler her grandfather sent her in to pick raspberries from his overgrown patch for her grandmother's famous home-made jam (Hugh Fernley Whittingstall's recipe). Her parents then made the mistake of giving her a sunny patch in their well-tended large back-garden in Dublin when she was six. She hasn't looked back since.

She's been growing herbs for more than 15 years. She rejuvenated one 60 foot long suburban sea-side garden and created a 30 foot square garden from scratch in the last five years. Her current gardens include a jungle alley of ferns for her young son to explore, a loosely themed Japanese gravel garden, a blue and yellow flower garden, a highly productive vegetable patch, fruit bushes (she's still addicted to raspberry and strawberry jam) and fruit trees, a woodland area (she loves shade-plants), a herb garden, a newly planted native hedgerow, elements to attract birds and bees, compost bins, and a cutting garden inspired by Sarah Raven all traversed by winding gravel paths. She still thinks she could fit in a pond, a glasshouse, and more plants and trees if she re-designed it.

If you want to see Grace's blood pressure rise say that all you want in your garden is a lawn, you think organic gardening is a joke, that she should rip out her garden in favour of a football pitch for her son, or that your favourite animal is a slug.

If you hate raspberries that's fine, all the more for her.

My favourite online garden shops:

• Bakker particularly good for bulbs and dwarf dual-variety fruit trees
• Secret Seeds excellent for unusual perennials and annuals
• Halycon best source for lettuces and also good for organic veg seeds
• Suttons mainstream seeds, you should find these in your local garden centre
• Crocus perennial plants (do not deliver to Ireland)
• Dig-it beautiful garden accessories
• The Organic Centre great source for seeds and courses in Ireland
• seed catalogue links
• Or take an inspirational visit to Sonairte, the organic garden and eco-centre just north of Dublin (they've a great farmer's market too and a nascent community garden in nearby Julianstown)

Gardeners I admire -

• Alan Titchmarsh, no-nonsense organic gardener with a love of plants
• Sarah Raven, the inspiration for my flower garden
• Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, enthusiastic fruit and veg gardener, gatherer, and small-holder

(details to be completed)

• lolly-pop sticks as seedling markers
• seed saving
• creating a home-made cloche (see clips)
• jam-jar beer trap
• make your own compost
• make your own comfrey liquid feed
• seed swopping
• cuttings from friends
• how to rescue plants 
• The Cottage Small Holder (inspired me to plant a damson tree for jam and wine)

Growing Flowers for your Home
June 2003, two months after moving in. I was several months pregnant. My other half did the gravel, I did the design and planting.	June 2004, starting to take shape.	July 2005, the alliums had succumbed to underlying moisture in that corner but the french lavender bush loved it and flowered twice a year.	July 2008, the rose (New Dawn) is rampant	Early Summer 2008, foxgloves soar and the cutting garden is thick with growth which promises more blooms to come

I created a cutting garden in my current garden. The pictures above chart its progress. The rose now covers the entire wall and fence up to eight foot in height and providing roses for almost two months. A mix of perennials, a few shrubs, bulbs because they're so easy, and handfuls of annual seeds literally gives me cut flowers in my home from February to December. Favourites of mine for this purpose are bluebells, daffodils, wine-red geums, sedum, and sweetpea (great value as they flower all summer with some dead-heading). Find a mix that works for you and give it a try, even in a small space. Even if you cut plenty, you won't de-nude the space of blooms as it just encourages them to keep going. Mine is just below my kitchen window and gets a real "wow!" reaction from every visitor.

Find out how easy it it in my Garden Harvest section

• Plot rotation
• Dealing with pests
• Improving your soil
• Seed suppliers (see list above)
• Composting

• Growing herbs outdoors
• Storing herbs (drying and freezing)
• Herb Vinegar
• Herb Oils
• Rosemary Roasted vegetables
• Garlic and Rosemary cream sauce

Just how much can a small garden yield?

Harvests for 2004-2006 plus planting plans for 2007

All photography and text on these pages, except when otherwise indicated, are copyright Grace Tierney 2003 - 2009

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