Spring Has Sprung Get Your Garden In Tip Top Shape!

With the days getting longer and flowers appearing everywhere you look, Spring’s definitely arrived! As the garden starts growing again, there’s plenty to do to get it looking good this Spring. Here are our top gardening tips for March in association with the Listowel Garden Centre.

Thankfully March sees the end of the frost and frozen weather. Soil temperatures are on the rise and once soil reaches about 6 degrees celsius, grass growth begins, lawnmowers will be fired up again and you can’t beat the smell of cut grass and a sunny Spring afternoon.

Weeding and mulching

Spring is an important time for getting on top of weeds before they take light and water from the plants you want. You can also mulch your borders in early spring, provided the soil is moist, and there is still space to get in between the plants.

It's important to stay on top of weeds in March otherwise the task can get away on you. We have a range of Glyphosate free weedkillers available, and also recommend a Destrol weedkiller especially for hard surfaces like gravel, as it keeps the weed from germinating.

Pruning hydrangeas

Prune hydrangeas in March. Look for a set of healthy strong buds and then cut the old flower heads back to just above them. For mature or congested plants, you can also take out some of the older growth to encourage it to reshoot from the base.

Prune your Roses

Prune bush roses before St. Patrick’s Day. Removing all dead, damaged and crossing branches and shortening stems by a third. Prune climbing roses, too, if not already done in winter. Start feeding roses with rose food or potassium-based fertiliser. A top tip would to use Roseclear from March until July, it’s a preventive and should be used every second week.

Lawn Care

1. The soil is warm and the grass is growing. Begin the year with a light cut –just removing the top of the grass to give your lawn a neat appearance

2. Gradually reduce the height of your cut during the month of March until you have reached your desired height

3. You should only need to cut your grass twice over the month.

4. If your lawn is looking old you can treat it with a lawn weed, feed and moss killer. Start applying now and continue through the month, then rake out using a spring rake to scarify your lawn.

5. This is a good month for preparing and sowing new lawns

Planting Trees and Shrubs.

1. The beginning of the month is the last chance to transplant trees and shrubs and care must be taken when doing so

2. Last chance to hard prune plants including Salix (Willow), Cornus (Dogwood), Buddelia (Butterfly Bush) and Sambucus (Elder)

3. Water in recently planted trees and shrubs & ensure trees are secure and well rooted in the ground

4. Begin feeding your garden plants; a general feed, high in nitrogen e.g Gromore is suitable for this time of year

Spring Bulbs:

Bulbs are the perfect way to add dramatic colour to the garden, plant up pots and containers or fill whole borders with clumps of these exquisite flowers. Remember, most garden bulbs should be planted as soon as they are bought.

You will find spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips in garden centres from August to November and summer flowering bulbs such as lilies and dahlias from January to April.

Deadhead daffodils and other spring bulbs as they fade, but leave the foliage to die back – don’t tie or plait it as this stops the leaves from being able to make food for next year’s flowers.

Vegetable Sowing: This is the month that growth begins and a time for gardeners to get sowing in the vegetable gardens. March truly is when all the fun begins.

Dig compost or well-rotted farmyard manure into vegetable beds to boost nutrient levels ready for the year’s crops.

Summer Bulbs:

The perfect time to start planting your summer bulb display is usually around mid-March when the weather has started to get a bit warmer. With a little forward planning, magnificent displays can easily be created.

Bulbs, tubers, roots and corms will fill your summer garden with an array of colour, depth and variety. What’s more they will continue to do so for many years to come meaning that you can enjoy the gorgeous displays for years on end.

Bulbs are one of the most easiest and rewarding plants to grow and take up very little space in your garden borders so they are ideal for filling in any gaps.

Perfect Plants In March

Start feeding your plants again from St.Patrick’s day onwards, give ericaceous plants like camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas, heathers and blueberries a special feed with ericaceous fertiliser.

Viola, Pansy, Senetti are the perfect plants for your pots and containers. Our Garden Centre is bursting with colour, feel free to drop in your containers and we will gladly pot them up for you. And don’t forget Mother’s Day, Sunday March 19th, we have an array of gifts to choose from all under the one roof.

Brian de Staic designs and creates distinctive Jewellery that is inspired by the Irish landscape and culture and worn by people all over the world.

The Jewelry is inspired by Ireland’s rich archaeological heritage, The Dingle Peninsula and the creativity of the artist Brian de Staic.

From the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s leading goldsmith, a modern master, embraces age-old traditions to create beautiful jewellery that is timeless and made to be treasured forever.

We will celebrate 42 years in business in this year 1981 -2023

I'm a proud Irish Mammy with three handsome boys, Seán, Dara & Cian. A beautiful granddaughter Fiadh, thanks to Seán and his beautiful wife Megan. I run Brian de Staic Jewellery with my husband, love him & my job

Our business is predominantly retail based but also provides Jewellery services for customers.

Childhood: I was born and raised in 19, High Street, Killarney. My parents had a bar, grocery shop, restaurant and guest house. There were 4 children. We all helped out in the business. There was a very large counter in the shop. My mother always quoted : “A yard of counter is better than a small farm”

I met Brian in April 1980 and after a few dates he told me he was a jeweller.

Me : “ Are you telling me you are a qualified jeweller???? “

Brian : “yah” A man of many words !!

I was in love with him from day one

Me: “why don’t you start making jewellery and open a shop???”

Opening Brian de Staic Jewellery in Green Street, Dingle in 1981 was second nature to me as I was reared in a family business in High Street, Killarney.

Brian is a qualified jeweller, he did a 7 year apprenticeship in Cork He attended the College of Art at night to study art and design. He also worked with a talented hand engraver to learn hand engraving skills.

I’m a Secondary School Teacher by profession. A secure teaching post was a great help to set up our business.

I was very fortunate to get a job in Coláiste Íde, Dingle the only all Irish boarding school for girls in Ireland.

I loved my job, my colleagues and most of all my talented students.

I was available to work in the jewellery shop when we had school holidays.

I studied Art for my Leaving Cert. We were taught how to design posters, book covers & adverts. This helped me to market our business - no internet to teach you that time!! My marketing skills were invaluable in the early days.

I also studied speech and drama to final grade which gave me confidence to do public speaking, radio and television.

I was invited by Fr. Hickey to join an amateur drama group Áisteoirí Bhréanainn. I got to know so many people - we had great times travelling to all the other Gaeltachts to compete in the féilte drámaíochta. I loved the stage. A great opportunity to meet people when you are new to the community. We’re all friends to this day.

We both believe the Irish Language was a very important part of our success. Differentiation is key in marketing, and using the Irish language at home & abroad helped to generate business. It was unusual to brand products in Irish back then - a novel idea.

We live in a Gaeltacht, Irish speaking area. Most of our Collections have Irish names. Our brand name de Staic is Irish.

November 2022 Brian de Staic honoured with 3 Gold Medals by Glór na nGael for signage, marketing, branding and service in Irish. 85 companies honoured , only 17 received 3 gold medals The Award ceremony was held in Dublin Castle.

Business Address : The Wood Dingle, Co.Kerry V92 TE81

Telephone:+353 66 9151298

Email: info@briandestaic.com

Website: www.briandestaic.com

Facebook : BriandeStaicJewellery

Instagram : @briandestaicjewellers

Twitter : @BrianDeStaic

LinkedIn: Mairead de Staic