Another brick in the wall or a volunteer.

Site Clearance work has been completed, path structure has been reveled. Now a battle with weeds must commence, that gardeners know we will never win, but also we must not lose it. Watch out briars, nettles, bindweed, the volunteers are coming.

The yellow brick road

The road to garden was cleaned, this week, of mud down to the orignal stone base and a new turnabout in front of the garden was created. The road was resurfaced with stone from the original Colclough Quarry and now all we need is millions of leaves to fall on it and no one will ever know...........

One step after the other....

"One step after the other, but watch where your going"

Tree felling has ceased in the Colclough Walled Garden, Step 1 has been completed thanks to sterling work by Envile Forestry Ltd supported by Coillte Teoranta. Step 2, regeneration of access road and step 3, branch chipping and step 4, site clearance will now commence in the coming days.

Progress

"One step after the other".

Steady progress being made in step 1 (Tree Felling) of the restoration. The weather has made difficult conditions even harder but a few days of dry weather and will allow the contractor to finish his work.

Timberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Lets get that timber out safely and make this small 3 acre section of a hundred acre forest, a garden again. Great work by all to get this far but most of the credit must go to Coillte Teoranta for having the faith in us to restore the Colclough Walled Garden.

Envile Forstry Ltd from Borris in Co. Carlow are on site, doing an incredible job under the most difficult of conditions.

Follow the Red Bricks

Red bricks appear in many different places at Tintern Abbey. In the Abbey, the Walled Garden, the Coach house, the Stables, the Lime kiln, the Reverends house at Seaview and the Corn Mill. Who knows where else.
Where were they made? When were they made? The Brick field seem the obvious answer on the south side of the Tintern river. But the Quarry Hole should not be overlooked as a source of Clay just west of seaview on the north side of the river.

Follow the Bricks!

There is no smoke without fire

"There is no smoke without fire"




Great things are about to happen and great things take time.
Patience is a virtue seldom found in man, but the gardener knows, when he plants a seed that he may see no return for days, months, or even years, but as sure as eggs is eggs, a green shoot appears and then a seedling and the a plant and then a flower.
Patience......

Colclough Walled Garden Volunteers

"No man ever died, planting an apple tree"

Their is a great history of volunteering at Tintern Abbey. Sir Vesey Colclough established the first volunteer militia in Ireland which fought the Whiteboys and was based upon the American militia, which eventually gained independence from our neighbours and went on to establish the United States of America.
Now, while our restoration goal probably lacks the global-historical impact of American independence, for the volunteers and the Colclough Walled Garden, something greater will be achieved. Positive action, creative valued work in a negative unimaginative apathetic world. Their will be no losers in this restoration, no defeated side, only endless positivity.

Rose Garland

"Robin egg will u marry me"

Red bricks on your collar, tell a tale on you.
Festival book 1924-say a little prayer for me.
Shot through the heart
JJF-Hanging on the telephone
Eye of the Tiger

Yes, lots of song lyrics in Tintern Abbey today

Rabbits digging around Tintern Abbey

A small blackbird fledgling has camped on my strawberry bed and refuses to move.
Caesar Colclough can't find his clothes and is shouting out the top window to his friends, holding up the whole show.
The Rabbits keep digging.

Chelsea Flower Show

Amaryllis in a bucket, Kiwi in a climbing race with a briar.
Blood orange from the Colosseum keeping a dark corner bright.
Red Geranium that darkness could not kill.
A mighty trench that snakes like a serpentine walk without the capable planting.
one more day.

Your Old Grey Tractor

"Read This To Him"

The grey Ferguson TE20 tractor that is in your new shed, with a PTO, will fit through the cart arch of the walled garden with plough and a rotavator on its rear. What a great idea.
Who will drive it?
Tom black velvet!
Not until I see the steering wheel in his hands will I believe that he can drive that Tractor, Mister Ferguson.

Blue Skies

"Blue skies following me nothing but blue skies do I see"

Good news on all fronts today. Fair play to KK for the dedication.

The Garden of Gethsemane

"Sit here while I pray" Mark 14 32

Gethsemane 0028........and don't go asleep!

Tintern 2010 ......Gardens, no sleep, 11 twitter disciples, it all sounds very familiar.
Lets skip the drama and resurrect a garden,

Catherine Tekakwitha, I have come to rescue you,
Do you see how I get carried away?

The Kite

Flying high in the wind is a kite, that tells a tale, to all who can see it, did John Colclough look up into the sky at Ardcandrisk before Alcock fired his pistol. Did he see a kite climbing and diving, tail fluttering and flitting or did he see gunpowder smoke and steel approach. no time to say goodbye to his mother or brother.

"alea iacta est"

lots of Nettle's down in the garden, we shall make soup. great to have a nice group appreciating and supporting the efforts seeing thru the trees to see Flemish bond.
no such thing as bad publicity.
lots of visitors in Tintern today, one lady pushed a pram to the front of the WG, disappointed it was closed up aren't we all,
when the sun shines and the birds sing its hard not to enjoy it ...........tranquil

Caesar Colclough and the Pirates

"Courage. you carry Caesar and his fortunes"

The boys and girls of the RamHS know their stuff and we,.......... WHOS WE....we had to change the polar axis of the compass to ......WHOS WE?! .......... we is whosare doing this........ Listen its simple ........wes is going do this.
KK back from the far side of Tipp to send a lightning rod right down the polar axis ........
All Hail CAESAR

Champagne 10

Tomorrow, Tuesday we meet Ram H.S. to outline the road ahead for the WG. on Wednesday, 10 of the nations finest will see the WG for the first time. What they see and will see will surely give them the urge to wax lyrical and champagne also puts things into the best perspective.
TA demothballs on Thursday and by the weekend the Heritage machine will again be operational.
KK JM JC GC all back on board for another mission.
History in the making.

Restoration beginnings

It is easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle than a 12 ton Track machine through a 2.45m cart arch of a walled garden in bad need of restoring. Maybe a crane provided by KK. If 1840 ( mums 12 70year old trees cut down by Goff) was a annus horiblis for Caesar Colclough then 2010 will be mirabilismarvelous..................