Gardening

Give an apple a light flick with your finger and listen. And scratch the surface of a lemon with your fingernail

Ireland and Munster star enjoys tending to his 2,000sq ft garden when not in the ruck. But will his green fingers grow beyond a hobby?

The long-lasting feathers of ornamental grasses are one of their greatest charms

‘It has been displaying a blighting appearance for the past few years’

The long, autumunal shadows herald the season of mucky fingers, hard physical work and great joy

A cat might be the best form of defence against the likely rodent culprits

Since I repotted it into a bigger pot, its bottom leaves have started to droop and fall off

The days may be shorter and darker, but there are still vivid pleasures to be found in the garden, from roses to doughty hawthorn and holly

There are simple things you can do to discourage them without resorting to harmful and often ineffective insecticides

What the daisy family, Asteraceae, have in common is daisy-shaped flowers and ability to feed bees, butterflies, hoverflies and many other pollinating insects

Raymond Higgins grows champion-level potatoes from his allotments near Blarney in Cork

Fionnuala Fallon: Use of peat is gradually being phased out due to EU targets to mitigate climate change, support biodiversity, and protect wetlands

Canterbury bells, Sweet William, foxgloves and wallflowers are among my favourite flowers

After returning from a week away, the freshly composted areas were thriving with tiny nettle plants

I am avoiding chemical weedkillers for environmental reasons

If you have a polytunnel or glasshouse, August is also the month to sow seeds of a variety of delicious crops to keep it well stocked over winter

While Irish summer weather may not be ideal for the beach or a barbeque, it can be just right for taking care of jobs around the house

A home for native wildflowers isn’t always easy to cultivate, but careful planning makes for fun and magical results

Fionnuala Fallon Q&A: Much to my dismay the soil was dug up in my raised bed in various spots and the blocking material was torn. Every night, the same thing

This is a common pest in many Irish gardens but can be managed

Helping plants thrive in uneven conditions can be tricky but there are solutions

There’s a range of plants ideal to keep in the home that can withstand ranging temperatures, poor light and even serious neglect

Creating a beautiful garden means constantly reappraising and reassessing with a view to the future

Have the wet spring and summer disrupted your gardening plans? You’re in good company

Edible, organically grown flowers offer goodness for the body as well as a spectacle for the eyes

Fionnuala Fallon: Their numbers are best controlled by leaving them alone for their natural predators to consume

What I Do: Shane Hollywood is head gardener at Birr Castle

‘Generation rent’ are increasingly drawn to the pleasure - and pain - of growing house plants. After all, they’re a lot easier to bring with you if you have to move house

Fionnuala Fallon: If it’s any consolation, my own young plants also flowered very poorly this year

A rich perfume is an intoxicating draw for wildlife and humans alike

Fionnuala Fallon: Truth is, nothing comes close to them in terms of the size, stature and brilliance of their flowers as well, of course as their magical range of colours

Your gardening questions answered: We were planning on using native hawthorn as a boundary hedge around our country garden

Your gardening questions answered: Creating a garden from scratch gives you a great opportunity

Republishing of Larry de Lacy’s newspaper columns offers rich trawl through history for nature lovers

Fionnuala Fallon: Roses are greedy, thirsty plants that need deep, fertile, humus-rich, moist and free-draining soil to flourish

Still have young plants and sturdy seedlings in trays and liners? Then make haste and start planting

Your gardening questions answered: Flower can become a thug if allowed to spread unchecked

Fionnuala Fallon: Every garden requires its fair share of plants with let’s-just-get-on-with-it attitude

Twins Josiah and Louis and sister Florence have been operating Fréamh Farm since March – despite their father’s adivce to pursue anything except farming

Your gardening questions answered: These trees need sheltered, lightly shaded spot with protection from cold winds