Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling - The novel

“Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling” is hilarious, moving and a little bit sad all at the same time. Written by two graduates of journalism, Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen, it’s an Irish internet phenomenon. Aisling was born as a Facebook group and attracted such a huge following that she turned into a book.

March roars like a lion

March has come in like a lion this year and, as I write, the wind is battering our house and hurtling rain at the windows. It's 10 degrees outside - an average temperature for this month in Ireland.

Rambling Albertine - fragrant and vigorous

I mentioned the vigorous rambler rose Albertine in my last post and here it is in the summer of 2017. One of my grandfather's favourites, Albertine is salmon-pink with a scent. It climbed the walls of his walled garden for many years. What I love is the way the buds are a darker, almost coppery-pink and they open and fade to a lighter shade. The rose dates from 1921 and comes from France.

Walled gardens - past and present

Walled gardens - past and present

Hello and welcome to my blog. I've called it a scrapbook because some posts may be longer than others. I hope you enjoy it and if you'd like to share any stories or information, please get in touch.