Summer Plant Sale | Gardens for Life

–IMPORTANT NOTICE – PLEASE READ–

All plants are in 2 liter pots and at least 1 year old. Pictures of plants and video below. Please note we only post plants to Ireland and the UK. Postage is €5.90 flat-rate to Ireland and northern Ireland, to the rest of the UK it’s an additional €8. We do not spray our plants in any way, as a result leaves may have imperfections and compost in the pots includes a healthy soil life. Plants are sold in quantities of 4 and 8 due to box sizes. Orders are sent out twice a week and you will receive a tracking number by email. Please CONTACT US if you have any questions or if you want to arrange a pickup near Roscommon town. Thank You!

Select 4 Plants

€24.00

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Select 8 Plants

€39.00

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:

UK Postage add on €8

Tiger Nuts – Chufa

Chufa is a hardy perennial producing a generous deposit of delicious starchy tubers commonly known as tiger nuts or earth

Root Vegetables – General Storage and Planting Instructions

You can store rare edible tubers such as Oca, Yacon, Mashua, Chinese artichoke, Jerusalem artichoke, Ulluco, Apios etc in much

Shop

IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A PRE SALE DUE TO HIGH DEMAND IN PREVIOUS YEARS AND TUBERS WILL BE

Jerusalem Artichoke Chinese (Sold Out)

The Chinese variety of Jerusalem artichoke is uncommon in Europe and it grows very large tubers as you can see

No Dig Pizza Garden End of Season Update

The 2020 growing season is slowly but steadily coming to an end with the first hard frosts only around the

Horseradish Root Cuttings (Sold Out)

Horseradish is a great perennial root crop often used for seasoning & sauces. It's very hardy and requires no attention.

Raspberry Plants Bare Root (Sold Out)

Excellent quality large fruits with almost zero maintenance and perennial plants. We've been growing this variety of raspberries for over

Making Country Wine (Sloe Berry)

We made another country wine a couple of weeks ago in this season of plenty. This time it's a sloe

Chicken Tractor

A chicken tractor is composed of a flock of chickens with a mobile coop and a mobile electric fence. The

LIVE Stream – 10 Medicinal Plants – Traditional Household Medicine

Our next LIVE stream is going to be tomorrow on Wednesday the 7th of October at 7pm GMT. The most

Multi Function Garden & Nursery Tour

We made a quick Video Tour of our multi function garden & nursery with a sneak peak at our new

Oca Rainbow Mix

The Oca Rainbow Mix includes at least 5 varieties. Oca is an ancient tuber from the Andes. It’s in the

Tuber Starter Mix

Ideal starter kit for anyone looking to grow ancient edible tubers, a most rewarding crop for years to come. Vigorous tubers

Chinese Artichokes

Chinese artichokes are a reliable cropper producing lots of small tasty tubers. It's perennial and grows similar to mint so

Apios – Ground Nut

Apios americana was also known as travelers delight and groundnut. It's a perennial plant with tubers growing underground linked like

Oca Paskov

Paskov is a Polish variety of Oca with beautiful golden red colours. It's got distinctive early & large flower with

No Dig Garden Bed Preparation for Winter Planting

The other day we harvested a bed of onions & carrots and freed up another bed where our broccoli had

Choose the Next LIVE Stream Topic!

Root Vegetable Harvest Compilation – 6 Different Edible Tubers including Potatoes, Oca, Mashua etc..

As part of our last Ancient Edible Tubers LIVE Stream we compiled some of the best bits of our tuber

Comfrey Root Cuttings – 3 Types

Comfrey is traditionally known as knitbone with many uses both in the garden and in the homestead. The leaves make

LIVE Stream – Ancient Edible Tubers – Growing, Harvesting, Storing & Cooking

The next LIVE stream will be all about Ancient Edible Tubers. This includes tubers such as Oca, Mashua, Jerusalem Artichokes,

Chocolate Mint (Root cuttings)

Chocolate Mint has a unique flavor excellent for tea. Vigorous rhizomes (Root cuttings) are freshly harvested on the day of

Ancient Edible Tubers INTRO & HARVESTS VIDEO Nov 2019

Even though winter is a cold and dark time, we always look forward to it as there is a wondrous

Thornless Blackberries Bare Root

These blackberries are not just thornless but they have bigger fruits than their wild counterparts. Well worth growing perennial, easy

Farm & Market Garden Tour – The Bullaun Ark

We made a video tour of the Bullaun Ark in county Galway, a small scale farm and market garden ran

Willow Cuttings – Golden Red (Sold out)

Willows are ornamental yet useful in many ways. Willow cuttings can be planted by simply sticking them into the ground,

Strawberry Plants 11 Varieties

Strawberry plants are an easy fruit to grow and require very little attention, especially when planted into pots or a

Mashua Mix

Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) is a vegetable that has been used by humans for 8000 years and has been in cultivation

Yacon Starts – 2 Varieties

Yacon is another one of those edible perennial tubers from the Andees. It's daisy like yellow flowers and tropical leafs

Jerusalem Artichoke Mega Mix

Grow 4 different varieties of Jerusalem artichokes (also known as sunroots / sunchokes) with this mega mix. Included are Fuseau,

The Ancient Edible Tuber & Willow Presale Is Now On

We were LIVE on air tonight talking about Growing Food in a No Dig Garden including vegetables, fruits, berries, tubers,

Willow Cuttings – Living Structures

Extra quick growing willow species reaching up to 12 feet / 3.6m in just one year. Can be used for

Oca Tubers New Zealand Maroon

Oca is an ancient tuber from the Andes. It’s in the wood sorrel family. They are easy to grow, need

Oca Strawberries & Cream

Strawberries and Cream Ocas are already running low this winter, so we will only be able to offer these with

Oca Tubers Red

Red Ocas are already running low this winter, so we will only be able to offer these with our tuber

Oca Mexican Red

This variety is rare and only available in very limited numbers for now, but next year we are hoping to

Oca New Zealand Gold

Oca is an ancient tuber from the Andes. It’s in the wood sorrel family. They are easy to grow, need

Mashua Bloody Tears

This variety is rare is only available in very limited numbers for now, but next we are hoping to offer

Mashua Tubers Blanca

Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) is a vegetable that has been used by humans for 8000 years and has been in cultivation

Mashua Tubers Amarillo

Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) is a vegetable that has been used by humans for 8000 years and has been in cultivation

Jerusalem Artichoke Fuseau

Also known as Sunchoke, Jerusalem artichoke is in the sunflower family. They originate from north America and were first introduced

Jerusalem Artichoke Herman

Herman is not a common variety of Jerusalem artichoke. They originate from north America and were first introduced to Europe

Jerusalem Artichoke White Truffle

White truffle is one of the more rare varieties of Jerusalem artichoke and it's in the sunflower family. They originate

Jerusalem Artichoke Aurora Rubin

Aurora Rubin is one of the more rare varieties of Jerusalem artichoke and it's in the sunflower family. They originate

Jerusalem Artichoke Red Fuseau

Also known as Sunchoke, Jerusalem artichoke is in the sunflower family. They originate from north America and were first introduced

LIVE Stream – Growing Food in a No Dig Garden

Our next LIVE Stream is coming up on Friday at 7PM GMT. We'll be talking about how we've been growing

LIVE Stream – No Dig Lasagne Gardening

We are having our very first LIVE stream tomorrow on Sunday the 5th of September at 6.30pm. The main topic

The Woodchip Island

Gardening can be highly productive with near zero maintenance by working with nature and creating beautiful spaces in your garden.

The Wall Garden

Here's a brief video on how we set up our newest no dig garden on a south facing stone wall

The Pizza Garden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYH3FnGl_J8 3 Part Making-Of Video Series below Vol. 1 Ground Preparation There are a lot of considerations when starting a

Starting a No Dig Garden – Vol.1 Ground Preparation

There are a lot of considerations when starting a garden, in particular a productive vegetable garden. Why no dig? Many

Starting a No Dig Garden – Vol.2 Cardboard and Compost

We're really getting started on our new No Dig garden now! In this video we are going to talk about

Growing Mushrooms in Your Garden – Planting & Harvesting Winecap

The other day we were walking around the garden giving a little tour to some friends and we couldn't believe

Growing Tomatoes – Are we Doing it Right?

This year we're finally growing tomatoes again, although just a few and planted a little late as the new greenhouse

Potato Harvest Containers vs No Dig Bed

We planted some well chitted potatoes in 10 large containers and some of the same potatoes in a no dig

How we Pack Plants for our Online Nursery

We've been receiving great feedback with happy customers saying that their plants have arrived in very good condition. Many of

Summer Plant Sale – Closing Discount

We are going to close our summer plant sale soon and we are giving 15% off for the rest of

Zebra Wood Mallow (Sold out)

Zebra wood Mallow plants are perennial and dormant during the winter, but flower with many beautiful blooms throughout the growing

6 Cell Seed Tray

These are quality nursery style seed trays made of thick UV resistant plastic reusable for many years. 5x 6-Cell Seed

European Elderberry

The elder was traditionally known as the farmers pharmacy. The flowers are medicinal and make for great summer cordials and

No Dig Pizza Garden Tour 2 Months after Planting

We made a video tour of our No Dig Pizza Garden 2 months after planting. We planted over 25 different

Summer Plant Giveaway Raffle

**** THE WINNERS ARE ANNOUNCED **** 92 entries have been received and the random number generator choose numbers 17 and

No Dig Pizza Garden Compilation

Here's a compilation of our 3 part video series on how to start a no dig garden. It's been 2

Woodchip Island Garden Tour 1 Year Old

We've made a video of our Woodchip Island Garden 1 year after planting. This is by far our most productive

Portuguese Kale (Perennial)

Portuguese kale is also known as walking stick kale as of traditional use after 3+ years of harvesting. It grow

Curly Corkscrew Willow

One of our favorite willows. We like to integrate it into our gardens purely because of it's beautiful and unusual

Weigela Pink

A wonderful deciduous shrub with pink flower in early summer. Great bee and insect forage.

Wood Mallow

Well known for it's edible leaves and flowers, wood mallow can grow in partial shade. It's a herbaceous perennial requiring

2 Mistakes and Now we’ve got Weeds in one of our No Dig Gardens

I made a video on the mistakes we made after setting up one of our No Dig gardens, so that

Container Gardening 3 Tips + Examples

Container gardening can be a convenient way to grow greens, herbs, even carrots and strawberries in previously unproductive spaces, for

Oca Plant Gold

Please note that tubers will become available from late November! Oca is an ancient tuber from the Andes. It’s in

Oca Plant Paskov

Please note that tubers will become available from late November! Oca is an ancient tuber from the Andes. It’s in

Oca Plant Strawberries & Cream

Please note that tubers will become available from late November! Oca is an ancient tuber from the Andes. It’s in

Purple Lilac

Purple Lilac has a long flowering period between July and August. It is a valuable food source for pollinators such

Comfrey

Comfrey is traditionally known as knitbone or boneset with many uses both in the garden and in the homestead. The

White Lilac

White Lilac has a long flowering period between July and August. It is a valuable food source for pollinators such

Red Hot Poker

A herbaceous perennial best known for it's beautiful flowering stalks ranging in colour from yellow to orange and red.

Giant Oriental Poppy

Another beautiful zero maintenance plant flowering from mid summer. Seeds can easily be collected and used in baking bread and

Summer Sale Update, Pizza Garden Peek, Tuber Announcement

Here is a little update on our summer plant sale. A great thanks to all of you that have bought

Buddleia Butterfly Bush

Buddleia is an attractive ornamental with a wonderful aroma when in bloom. It's flowers are adored by butterflies as they're

Hollyhocks Pink, Peach & Jet Black

Hollyhocks are herbaceous perennials with beautiful flowering stalks that come in many colours. Vigorous bare root plants are freshly harvested

Thornless Blackberries

These blackberries are not just thornless but they have bigger fruits than their wild counterparts. Well worth growing perennial, easy

Hollyhocks Chaters Mix + Black

Hollyhocks are a traditional cottage garden flower. It's a herbaceous perennial flowering plentiful along multiple stalks for a long period

Hollyhocks Jet Black

Hollyhocks are a traditional cottage garden flower. It's a herbaceous perennial flowering plentiful along multiple stalks for a long period

Hollyhocks Pink

Hollyhocks are a traditional cottage garden flower. It's a herbaceous perennial flowering plentiful along multiple stalks for a long period

Zebra Mallow

A lovely stripy version of the Wood Mallow. It's a herbaceous perennial requiring low maintenance and the flowers attract pollinators

Rosemary

A culinary herb often seen in the mediterranean grows very well in our cold temperate climate. It's a woody perennial

Marshmallow

Yet another multi functional plant with it's medicinal properties. The flowers attract pollinators to your garden and the roots can

White Echinacea

Echinacea is a multi purpose plant. It's a beautiful perennial and medicinal plant attracting many beneficial insects to the garden.

Wormwood

It's a lovely ornamental plant with a strong smell. Wormwood is a medicinal plant and it attract beneficial insects to

Liquorice

These grow into a small tree well known for their sweet aromatic edible roots which used to be the number

Pink Roses

White Rose

These roses have been growing in our front garden for over 40 years and it's beautiful flowers are attracting lots

Rhubarb Glaskins Perpetual

Rhubarb is a hardy perennial plant native to central Asia requiring no maintenance and provides an abundant harvest year after

Salmonberry

The Salmonberry is a north American raspberry known to have been collected by natives during salmon runs, this is how

Pineapple Mint

Pineapple mint is a wonderfully decorative plant as well as having a unique smell and flavor especially in teas. It

Black Currant

Black currant berries are packed with vitamins and it's the best berry for use in the kitchen. All currants are

Ice Tea

Ice is a cross between lemon balm and mint. It has a potent fresh smell of lemons and great flavour

Pepper Mint

Pepper mint is traditionally known as a cooling herb reducing fevers and it has many health benefits along with a

White Currant

White currant berries have a unique flavor. They are sweet and can be eaten directly off the plant when ripe.

Red Currants

Red currant berries have an intense sweet but tart flavour. Same as white currants, the berries grow in bundles which

Oca Tubers Gold (Sold out)

Oca is an ancient tuber from the Andes. It’s in the wood sorrel family. They are easy to grow, need

Yarrow Cloth of Gold Bare Root (Sold Out)

Yarrow is a ornamental wild flower with many uses. Vigorous plants are freshly harvested on the day of purchase and

Plant Labels (Sold Out)

These plant labels are longer than normal labels giving you more space to write the name of the plant and

Lupin Russell Mix (Sold out)

Beautiful ornamental both an abundant food source bees and other insects, also a nitrogen fixer making your garden soil a

Yarrow Red and Pink Bare Root (Sold out)

Yarrow is a ornamental wild flower with many uses. Vigorous plants are freshly harvested on the day of purchase and

Curly Corkscrew Willow Cuttings (Sold out)

Willows are ornamental yet useful in many ways. Willow cuttings can be planted by simply sticking them into the ground,

Plant Labels Wooden

We are now using wooden labels because they are actually more durable than plastic ones and you can write on

8 Berries You Should Grow in Your Garden

In this video we're showing you 8 different berries we've been growing in our gardens. These are all easy to

Micro Food Forest 1.5 Years Old

This micro food forest came into existence by accident! We had some compost and leaf mould left over from a

Which Strawberry is the best? 12 Varieties in Quick Review

Strawberries are the first of many berries we are enjoying from our garden in early Summer. In this video we're

What is the Worst Weed of All Time?

What's the worse weed in your opinion? Let us know in the comments on youtube or facebook! I believe we

No Dig Stone Wall Garden Update 5 weeks after planting

Only 5 weeks ago we planted a number of vegetables in our new no dig garden along a south facing

Starting a No Dig Garden – Vol 3 Woodchip Paths and Planting

We've finished our newest no dig garden and planted it up with about 30 different vegetables and herbs. We went

How to Grow Easy Potatoes in Containers – Planting

Did you ever grow potatoes? If not don't worry, potatoes are easy to grow in containers! It's an ideal method

How To Make Compost Tea from Nettles and Comfrey

Just as nettle tea is good for you, it is also good for your plants! In this video we'll show

Pallet Tables Update Strawberries Salad Radish and Kale

Here's an update video on the Pallet Tables from 6 weeks ago. The results are both amazing and not so

Plant Pots 1 Liter

These are quality nursery style plant and flower pots made of thick UV resistant plastic reusable for many years. 5x

Plant Pots 0.5 Liter

These are quality nursery style plant and flower pots made of thick UV resistant plastic reusable for many years.

Barter with Us

We're always looking for plants, seeds or cuttings and we're happy to barter or exchange for items of similar value

Mint Tea Mega Mix

The Mint tea mega mix includes 6 different varieties of mint. Moroccan mint, Egyptian mint, Pineapple mint, Spearmint, Peppermint and

Free Tea Ball with every Mint Order

Please see check shop for 6 different types of mints to choose from: Spear Mint, Pineapple Mint, Pepper Mint, Ice

Spear Mint (Root Cuttings)

Spear mint is famous for it's flavor and is often added to chewing gum. It also makes for a nice

Pineapple Mint (Root Cuttings)

Pineapple mint is a wonderfully decorative plant as well as having a unique smell and flavor especially in teas. It

Egyptian Mint (Root Cuttings)

Egyptian mint is not very well known in Europe. It's attractive velvet soft leaves and unique aroma tell a story

Ice Tea (Root Cuttings)

Ice is a cross between lemon balm and mint. It has a potent fresh smell of lemons and great flavor

Moroccan Mint (Root Cuttings)

Moroccan mint is the king of mints widely known for it's superior flavor. It can be prepared as a tea

Pepper Mint (Root Cuttings)

Pepper mint is traditionally known as a cooling herb reducing fevers and it has many health benefits along with a

Chicken Tractor Starting a No Dig Veg Garden

We decided to make a more detailed and flashier chicken tractor video. The chickens are helping us to prepare the

Starting 7 different Edible Tubers

In this video we're showing you how to start 7 different edible tubers including the Potato, Oca, Mashua, Ullucus and

How to Grow a Fig Tree from a Cutting

Fig trees were rather common in walled estate gardens during the 18th century and some are still standing today. Nowadays

Greenhouse Tour April 2020

Here's our first tour of the nursery greenhouse at the beginning of the 2020 growing season. Since early March we

Useful Plants Series – Jerusalem Artichoke

Latin name: Helianthus tuberosus There are 6 different varieties available in our SHOP. Also known as Sunchoke or Sunroot, Jerusalem

Pallet Tables to Grow Greens and Strawberries

We decided to bring part of our veg patch directly to the backdoor of our house. This makes it so

5 Medicinal Herbs that Help Fight Viruses and Clear your Lungs

In this video we're talking about 5 medicinal herbs that help your body fight viruses and bacterial infections. These herbs

Tuberous Vegetable Harvest – 6 Varieties of Jerusalem Artichokes

We have been growing Jerusalem artichokes for 5 years now and we have added 4 more varieties in the last

Garden Seed Swap 2020 by Post

Here's how the seed swap works: 1. Enter seed swap below and await email instructions. 2. Send us your spare

3 Foods you can Grow at HOME QUICKLY

If you're stuck at home and you want to eat quality fresh greens every day without having to go to

Growing and Harvesting an Unusual Vegetable – Yacon Tubers

This is one of our favorite and not very well known vegetable which is slightly sweet and has a texture

How to Pot Strawberry Plants – TIPS & TRICKS

It's a good time of the year to think about growing some fruits for the summer. Nothing beats that pure,

Useful Plants Series – Comfrey

Comfrey is traditionally known as knitbone or boneset with many uses both in the garden and medicinally. The leaves make for

Seed Giveaway 2020

Announcement of Winners: The winners of our Spring Seed Giveaway 2020 are K. Poulsen and Lorraine Gallagher. Congratulations to both

Q and A Sessions Vol.4 – Medicinal Plants, Uses, Fresh and Dried Herbs and Flowers

Here's the 4th volume of our Q&A sessions. This time it's all about medicinal plants such as flowers, herbs, roots

Q and A Sessions – Vol.3 – The Plant Nursery – Starting Plants from Seed and Cuttings and Plant Propagation

In this 3rd Q and A session, i'm answering questions about our little personal plant nursery, starting plants from seed

What we are growing in 2020 + Seed Giveaway and Seed Swap Event

What are you growing this 2020 growing season? In this lengthy video we are going to show you our seed

Q and A Sessions – Vol.2 – Growing Food – Fruits, berries, vegetables and herbs in a no dig mulched...

Today's questions and answers session is all about growing food such as fruits, berries, vegetables and herbs in a mulched

Q and A Sessions – Vol.1 – No Dig Mulch Gardening – Almost zero maintenance yet highly productive

This is the first of our questions and answers sessions. We have received nearly 30 questions on the topic of

Grow and Harvest Oca Tubers in a Small Space with Zero Maintenance

We like to grow food in small spaces as we are expanding our gardens bit by bit. In a previous

About

Our names are Martin and Bianca and we are based in Roscommon, Ireland. From an early age we spent

Decorative Garden Stones

At Birdland cottage we up-cycle and carefully handcraft decorative, yet useful items such as cans, bottles and bird houses. These

6 Ancient Vegetable Grow Challenge Results and Giveaway Raffle Winners

Happy New Year and an Abundant New Growing Season from Birdland Cottage! The winners of the ancient vegetable grow challenge

Pumpkin Soup Recipe (Simple)

Seed Saving – Pumpkins 3 Simple Steps for Beginners

Saving your own seeds from plants in your garden has many advantages: -Your plants will adapt to your local condition

Early Bird Christmas Discount

Decorative Cans

At Birdland cottage we up-cycle and carefully handcraft decorative, yet useful items such as cans, bottles and bird houses. These

Decorative Bottles

At Birdland cottage we up-cycle and carefully handcraft decorative, yet useful items such as cans, bottles and bird houses. These

Yacon and Apios Harvest – Ancient Edible Tubers

Apios americana is also known as ground nut and it's old folk name is travelers delight. It's a rare edible

Useful Plants Series – Yacon

Latin name: Smallanthus sonchifolius or Polymnia sonchifolia Yacon is now available in our SHOP, however only in very limited numbers

2 Year Anniversary and Plant Sale – Pick and Mix

--- Notice --- This plant sale is now over. Please feel free to CONTACT US if you are local and

Lemon Balm (Root Cuttings)

Vigorous root cuttings are freshly harvested on the day of purchase and posted unwashed for extra preservation. In this ad

Yarrow (bare root plants)

Yarrow is a ornamental wild flower with many uses. Vigorous plants are freshly harvested on the day of purchase and

Seed Saving – Fennel, Wood Mallow and Corn Flower

Autumn is a great time of the year to save seeds. Whether annual or hardy perennial, most flowers and vegetables

No Dig Pumpkin Harvest and Planting – Halloween Welcoming Winter

One of the easiest and most rewarding vegetables we've ever grown is the pumpkin. We planted 7 different varieties into

Greenhouse and Plant Nursery Tour End of Growing Season

With winter slowly but surely approaching at the of October here in Ireland, our plant nursery and greenhouse are finishing

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No Dig Sweet Corn Harvest and Planting

We made a video harvesting and planting of our No Dig sweet corn. It was planted into our woodchip mulched

Weeds invaded our mulched No Dig garden

Weeds, or as we like to call them undesirable plants normally don't grow in our gardens because we don't dig

No Dig Potato Harvest and Planting 10kg of Spuds only 5mins Work

We made a new No Dig potato harvest video and we are delighted with the results of our little experiment.

NoDig Mulch Garden – Late Summer Tour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3bi2bjI5OM http://gardensforlife.ie/natures-paradigm-garden/

NoDig Mulch Garden – 5 weeks after Planting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq3j2STrG1M http://gardensforlife.ie/natures-paradigm-garden/

Useful Plants Series – Kale incl. Recipe

If you like cabbage, kale is a must have in your garden. It is very tender, healthy and full of

Seed saving – Kale and Broccoli – Video

Yesterday we harvested well over 100,000 (500 grams) red russian kale seeds without any effort or maintenance from about 10

Gardening Talk at Transition Longford Coming Up

We're honored to be invited to give a talk at the upcoming Transition Longford Conference in Ireland this weekend. The

How to reduce slug impact naturally

Are slugs the bane of your existence? Here are 9 tips to reduce slug impact on your garden naturally. Do

Creating New Space in the Garden

In this video we're showing how we turned a patch of waste ground into a useful and beautiful new space.

Seed Saving – Poppies

Late summer is best time for saving most perennial flower seeds as they will have gone dry and ready to

Mushroom Logs (Shiitake, Turkey Tail and Lions Mane)

Freshly cut logs of hard wood can inoculated within 4 weeks of cutting down. In this case used sycamore wood.

Workshop – Plant Nursery and Propagation

A week ago we ran our first in-official plant nursery and propagation workshop. As promised here is a video review

Living Willow Structures Arches and Tunnel Summer Update

We have published a summer update video on our living willow structures featuring some of the willow arches in our

Earthworms in the Garden – Benefits, Planting Worms and Unboxing

Earthworms are the gardeners best friend and they are the primary decomposers in our temperate climate. Worms are efficient at

Useful Plants Series – Willow

Willows are ornamental yet useful in many ways. Willow cuttings can be planted by simply sticking them into the ground,

Workshop – No Dig Lasagne Gardening

We ran a no dig lasagne gardening workshop for PJ and Co in Ferbane Co. Offaly, Ireland. It was only

Nursery

This is our small scale personal nursery where we grow common and unusual plants using various propagation methods i.e. growing

Never Water your garden again and Planting Corn

Never water your garden again! In this video we'll show the moisture held below the surface of our No-Dig mulch

NO DIG Garden Summer Tour – 1 Year AFTER Mulching

Here is a video tour of our front garden 1 year after putting down mulch. We're only midway in the

Lawn to No Dig Abundance – Sensory Front Garden

We're only midway in the second growing season after mulching and what a transformation it has been. We've done almost

Useful Plants Series – Oca

Oxalis Tuberosa Available seasonally in our SHOP from November to April. Oca is an ancient tuber from the Andes. Whilst

Making Country Wine (Elderflower)

This June we made a batch of elderflower wine. Here are basic instructions, a recipe and pictures on how to

Plant Nursery and Greenhouse Update

At the moment we're clearing out the greenhouse and getting ready to start the second wave of seeds in trays.

Pollinator Diversity and Raspberry Heaven

Raspberry Heaven is buzzing! The raspberry plants have grown to enormous proportions in this area of the garden where it

Top Garden

Another small no-dig and near zero-maintenance garden started in the beginning of June. We have planted a diverse polyculture and

Horseshoe Garden

This is a small no-dig and near zero-maintenance garden started at the beginning of June. It has proven itself extremely

Mini Garden

This is a very small no-dig and near zero-maintenance garden started in mid June. The aim is show that high

Long Garden

Another small no-dig and near zero-maintenance garden started in the middle of June. Please note that new pictures will be

Planting directly into NO DIG woodchips 5 TIPS – Goji Strawberry Blueberry

In this video we're demonstrating something a little different than our other no-dig videos. Here we're showing you how to

Potting Table and Potting up Plants made Simple

In this video i'm showing how to pot up seedlings for moving outdoors into the nursery. Most importantly, no more

Chitting Potatoes as Quick as Possible with this Trick

We've got potatoes growing in our mulched gardens, most of these come back year after year. Unfortunately a few got

Free Plants from Softwood Cuttings 9 TIPS

In this video i'm showing you how to take cuttings and prepare them for rooting to turn them into free

Starting Garlic and Planting it out into No Dig Garden

https://youtu.be/4bIbPQ-jYrs http://gardensforlife.ie/no-dig-mulch-gardening-qa-ebook-creating-low-maintenance-abundance/

Elderberry / flower Cordial – Homemade!

Making delicious cordial is easy and simple. Elderberries like many other berries make for a great cordial for the winter

How to Plant Beans and Peas in Woodchip Mulch

Planting vegetable seedlings in woodchip mulch is easy and extremely low maintenance. The plants almost never need watering or weeding,

Pallet Tables and Greenhouse Tour

In the greenhouse we are growing mostly perennial plants, fruit and vegetables from seed and get them planted out into

Water Storage – IBC Tanks – Lots of Water

IBC tanks are great value for storing rain water. When kept in a greenhouse they also store the suns heat

Drought proofing your garden has many advantages

Intro - Mulching (video below) and planting perennial plants, storing water in barrels, IBC tanks and ponds all help to

Useful Plants Series – Mallow 4 Different Kinds

Latin name: Malva Sylvestris The Mallow flowers come in many forms and many colours. Great plant to have in any

Spring Impressions of our Lasagne Woodchip Garden – Video

We made a video showing our lawn to no dig abundance garden one year after it has been mulched. The

Less Work and More Productivity with Woodchips – Video

Mulching using woodchips on garden beds and even with potted plants has many advantages: Long term fertility Stop sun from

Soil is a living organism – Short Film

We came across this amazing animated short film showing how important the health of the soil life is and how

Container Gardening

Advantages Great for beginners - can be done any time and anywhere, even on a balcony or on a window

Small Plant Nursery update Losses AND Successes – Video

We're tidying our little plant nursery and made some surprising discoveries. Despite a lot of losses mostly due to the

WINNERS!! – Ancient Edible Tuber Spring GIVEAWAY!

A great thanks to those who entered the last tuber giveaway for this spring, more to come next tuber season

Ancient Edible Tuber Spring GIVEAWAY!

Winter finally appears to be coming to a finish and to kick off the new 2019 growing season we are

Easy Weeding Using Mulch

When using woodchip mulch in your garden the weeds are easily pulled up, even if neglected for long periods of

No Dig Mulch Gardening – Free Q&A eBook – Creating Low Maintenance Abundance

To download the free Q&A eBook in the SUBSCRIBER AREA simply enter your email address below and you will be

Thank you for ordering

Thank you for your order, it will be posted out in the next 1-2 working days. Please let us know

Spring and Free eBook Coming

Hi All, Just a quick reminder, today is the last day of our special offer. All orders placed today receive

Useful Plants Series – Tuberous Sweet Pea

Latin name: Lathyrus tuberosus Whilst garden peas are commonly grown both for edible pods and seeds, sweet peas are not

Special Offer – 3 Free Seed Packets

Hi Everybody, We're doing a special offer in our little online shop. All orders placed before the 3rd of March

Forest Garden with 500 Edible Plants – Short Film

Here is a very short film about Forest Gardens featuring Martin Crawford. It's an amazing and inspiring place! One day

World Radio Day – Gardening and Well Being

Today, we are contributing to the World Radio Day with this quick 3 minute talk about how gardening can improve

Useful Plants Series – Mashua

Tropaeolum tuberosum Available in our SHOP. Mashua is a vegetable that has been used by humans for 8000 years and

Radio – The Gardening Slot

We've been asked to speak about simple steps people can make to start a garden on Athlone Community Radio for

Useful Plants Series – Yarrow

Achillea millefolium Available in our SHOP. A perennial white flower that grows wild in Ireland and it's latin name 'millefolium'

Ancient Tubers Christmas GIVE-AWAY! – Winners

Congratulations to the winners, Sindy W. and Antoinette R. We will contact you shortly! Thanks to everybody for participating! Happy

Ancient Tubers Christmas GIVE-AWAY!

Happy Christmas and an abundant new year from Gardens for Life. We want to thank everybody for following our journey

Hardy Kiwi and Grape Vines Trellis

Yet another quick afternoon project sorted. We repotted some hardy kiwis (Issai) and grape vines last year. Lots of compost

Next season at Birdland Cottage

One more month and the gardening season is starting up again at Birdland cottage. First jobs here - tidy nursery

Giant Potato Plant Harvest

This giant potato plant started life as a tiny volunteer. It happened to be in one of the plant pots

Your top 3 favorite fruits? Win 11 packets of SEEDS!

What are your top 3 favorite fruits / berries from the garden? 🍒🥝🍍🍇🍅🍏 🤔 Hard to choose, there's so many!

Wild Mushroom Foraging

We went for an afternoon of wild mushroom foraging with Irish mycologist and mushroom expert Bill O'Dea. It was a

Mashua – Ancient Vegetable Harvest and Transplanting – Video

Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) is a vegetable that has been used by humans for 8000 years and has been in cultivation

Nursery Plants – Aftermath of severe DROUGHT

We made a quick video update of the plant nursery and on how to reduce watering of potted plants in

Simple Autumn Fruit and Berry Cake

Autumn is a season of plenty. We are always exploring new ways to utilize and preserve the gardens treasures. One

Rooster to go to a good home for FREE

Hi All, We are giving away one of our roosters as he got excommunicated from the group recently and he

Mini Garden Bed – No Dig – Rapid Growth – VIDEO

We like to turn unused spaces into productive ones. It's amazing how much can be grown in a 3 by

Insect Hotel – Video

We built the insect hotel to create more habitat for all those bugs and critters and hopefully allow them to

Repotting Plants and Mulching Potted Plants – Video

(Scroll down for video) The importance of repotting plants: Give plants room to expand their roots and grow Prevent them

Currants grown in shade – Experiment

Currants really do grow in near complete shade, although not very productive. All currants leaf out very early in spring

Seed saving – Marigold / Calendula – Video

Saving seeds from plants in your own garden has many advantages. Your plants will adapt to your local condition and

Plants workshop and Members page

Thanks to everybody who came to the workshop about plants last Saturday. Congrats to all winners of the raffle and

Useful Plants Series – Marigold / Calendula

Calendula officinalis Calendula, also known as common Marigold are a welcome ornamental addition to the garden. Besides being nice to

Potting rooted cuttings – Free Plants! – Video

After 2 months of rooting these cuttings, it's now time to pot them up giving them more space to expand

Oca harvest – Better than the potato? Video

What is Oca? Where does it come from? In this video we are talking about this curious and delicious tuber.

Free Gardening Workshop – About Plants!

Hi All! It's been a while since our last workshop, we have been flat out busy doing outdoor work with

Free Raffle – Rhubarb Seeds

Congratulation! 😀 10 winners have been randomly selected from list of participants! We will email each winner in next few

Useful Plants Series – Rhubarb

Rheum rhabarbarum Rhubarb is a hardy perennial plant native to central Asia requiring no maintenance and provides an abundant harvest

Useful Plants Series – Borage

Borago officinalis Borage is also known as star flower because of it's 5 petaled blue flower (also white) and it

The famous anti slug table – Video

This spring we've built an anti slug table in our nursery. The idea is to keep moving young plants out

Natural Ireland

Gallery and video - A compilation of a few pictures from around Ireland with a Irish soundtrack (The Fureys -

Swarms of Starlings Video

This short video compilation of swarms of thousands of Starlings was made a few years ago in the midlands of

No Dig Potatoes Harvest Video

We made a quick video harvesting our no-dig potatoes. They have been grown with zero maintenance and no spraying of

Funny Rooster Crowing Video

One of our younger roosters has crowed for the first time today, turns out very funny when compared to the

Woodchips turned into soil in only 6 months! Video

Making Soil - Auto Compost - Woodchips turned into soil in only 6 months! Here is a 1 minute video

Goldfinch in the garden – Video

Last July we spotted a Goldfinch in our garden eating thistle seeds. He will probably still be spreading them though

Chickens working in the garden – Video

In this video we're showing an area of our garden that was covered in deep weeds and grasses only 6

Grafting Apple trees – Video

Great Video! We've been experimenting with grafting in the our gardens this year, we will keep you up to date.

Feeding Birds during snow in Ireland – Video

Feeding the birds during cold spells and snow helps them a lot to get through the winter. Please share to

30% of the worlds soil mass (biological carbon) is fungal, living and dead – Paul Stamets

Useful Plants Series – Wild Leek (Ramps)

Allium tricoccum It takes 7 years to grow into full sized plants. It only leafs out for 1 month of

Useful Plants Series – Jujube (Chinese Date)

Ziziphus jujuba - Mill Fruit Tree native to China, commonly consumed fruit in Asia and a very tough plant. Li

Gardening Workshop Success

Our first gardening workshop was fully booked out and it was a great success. We got to share how a

Free Gardening Workshop coming up!

We are having a free workshop about the basics on productive and near zero maintenance gardening on Saturday in Roscommon,

Pallet up-cycling entries

We're entering this years pallet up-cycling challenge at the Roscommon lamp festival. We have two entries - an insect hotel

General Gallery

Planting Fruit Trees

Planting a fruit tree well and kick starting it's life couldn't be simpler. It's a once off investment and you

Happy New Year! A journey through the seasons

We wish all you gardeners and homesteaders a happy and abundant new year for 2018! Upon reflecting on 2017 gone

Botanical animation “Story of Flowers”

This short but amazing botanical animation 'Story of Flowers' is a journey into the mysterious world of plants. Please share!

Birdland Cottage – Intro

Once upon a time when we were looking for a place of our own, our friends said to us -

The first hedgehog has arrived! (Pictures and Documentary)

It's always exciting to discover new forms of wildlife in our gardens and we've been looking forward to this day.

The famous onion slice recipe!

To make the famous onion slices is simple enough, however it can take a couple of hours. It's a very

Indicator Plants – Soil – Dry, Wet, Rich, Poor, Acid, Alkaline or Compacted

When paying attention to the kind of plants that are naturally growing in a place, a lot can be said

A great year for apples!

We got several boxes of apples from our kind neighbors whom we will happily return some of the resulting preserve

Interview with Bianca and Martin – Athlone Community Radio

This is an interview with Bianca and Martin on the Athlone community radio, Roscommon Ireland - This was a great

6 Tips for attracting Winter Birds!

6 Tips for attracting Winter Birds! 1. Know their tastes. Winter birds love seeds! You can find seeds by the

Making Apple Juice

We got a box of eating apples from a friend with a surplus and made 10 liters of real apple

GIY Athlone Group Meeting

Grow it Yourself Athlone is a group that organizes casual gatherings to discuss all things related to gardening, food and

A Teaspoon Of Soil Contains More Living Organisms Than There Are People On Earth

Rooting rose cuttings using potatoes

Here's a way to propagate roses the inexpensive way. It would be most successful with softwood cuttings in late spring

Old Apple Tree Discovered

In the spring time and the early summer we had been looking at this tree on our property and we

Pumpkins – Just on time for Halloween!

Plenty of pumpkins or winter squash in 2017 with literally zero hours of maintenance and therefor making it a great

Huegelculture / Mount-bed

This garden bed was built with a south facing aspect and without digging the soil below it. We simply layered

Shops closed? Just pick up a few bits in your garden!

Just a thought with the hurricane here in Ireland this weekend. Growing your own vegetables and fruits has many benefits

Harvest and Homestead Gallery

Bee Friendly Plants

We have put together a collection of bee friendly plants for your garden, these include: Calendula / Marigold, chives, wild

The old Allotment 2010

We have come a long way since these pictures were taken in 2010. It was a tremendous amount of work

The proof is in the raspberry!

The proof is in the raspberry! Since it's the time of year to harvest autumn raspberries, this is a great

Seed Saving – Peas

Seed saving in your garden is a great way to extend one growing season into the next. With peas and

Flower Gallery

Seed mix

This little project is more of an experiment involving a large quantity of seeds to plant a diverse polyculture on

Wildlife Gallery

There is also a video a few swarms of starlings taking off under this gallery. Please note that new pictures

Fennel and cow parsley attract ladybirds and hover flies, these eat aphids.

Soft/Semi-hardwood Propagation

Here is a cheap and easy way to root plant cuttings and multiply your plants in a matter of a

Temperate zone vegetables will not go to seed on the equator due to daylight hours.

Purple sprouting broccoli is cold hardy to -17C

97% of the worlds water is salty, of the 3% – 75% is ice and 11% is ground water

Quote by Geoff Lawton

Potatoes grown in buckets

Growing potatoes in bucket is certainly not something new, however it can be handy way of making use of sprouting

Wild Garlic Butter

Wild garlic is a delicious addition to the seasonal pallet and the young leafs have the most potent flavor around

A sheltered tree grows at twice the rate.

There are more living organisms in a tablespoon of soil than there is humans on the planet.

A hive of bees will fly 90,000 miles to collect 1 kg of honey.

A bee is said to make three journeys in order to bring one drop of nectar to the hive; 25,000

An oak tree has more than 500 connections / interactions with it’s surroundings.