Bumblebee Flower Farm Ireland

Bumblebee Flower Farm Ireland Saving our pollinators by lovingly cultivating beautiful nectar rich blooms for bouquets, weddings/e

Finally getting around to regenerating the big rose tunnel. A little history to give context. When I could no longer of...
13/04/2025

Finally getting around to regenerating the big rose tunnel. A little history to give context.
When I could no longer offer online deliveries, I didn't need so many roses, and the poor tunnel got neglected. It didn't get water for 3 years, and no water means biology dies or goes dormant. This resulted in pathogens and pests having free reign.
Blackspot, powdery mildew, and wilts all took over above ground and root feeding nematodes and vine wievel grubs among others below ground. Soil sampling told a sad story. I neglected the tunnel, and I brought these symptoms upon myself, but the problems are all related to the health of the soil.

November 24 tunnel was cut back hard.

Rehydrating top 3 sections took a few weeks, and then were amended with compost extracts organic matter & woodchip soaked in extract and applied. Because a major disturbance was called for to rehydrate, I worked on sections at a time so I could amend as I went, so biology would have a ready food source.

All things considered, it's looking good, but I no longer look at the absence of disease as a sign of health because it isn't. I use a refractometer to check brix levels, which gives me an idea of its disease and pest resilience. I also use a conductivity meter to check on moisture levels.

My aim is to increase the plants' photosynthetic capacity ( currently only between 20% & 30% this won't get them to the health they need to be resilient. Increasing the organic matter will increase nutrient cycling, which increases photosynthesis, which increases organic matter and round it goes.

I'll go through the different actions in individual posts as their complex relationships are worth going into some detail.

The 1st photo was back in June 2021 the last season, the tunnel was beautiful 😍 looking forward to its healthy return.

Bee kind
Mags 🌱🐦🦋🐞🐌🐝🐝🐝

The first of our peony tulips enjoying the sunshine today. A nod to diversity, iris(Iridaceae) next to them with hyacint...
09/03/2025

The first of our peony tulips enjoying the sunshine today.
A nod to diversity, iris(Iridaceae) next to them with hyacinth, (Asparagaceae) onion and garlic (Amarylidaceae) on the edges with Dahlias(Asteraceae) under them. Most will have died back by the time the Dahlias are up. There's some bugle, marjoram (Lamiaceae), gladioli, (Iridaceae) and feverfew (Asteraceae). This is to ensure diverse root exudates to feed soil biology. A minimum of 4 plant families with a minimum of 2 species from each is a good place to start, with a few beetroot from the chenopod family with primrose (Primulaceae) and sweet William(Carophylaceae) on edges also.
A thriving ecosystem above and below ground. I'll get out of the way and leave the plants and microbes get on with it because they know far better than I what they need.

Bee kind 🐝🐝🐝🐌🐞🦋🌱🐦
Mags

Hyacinths and early narcissus are the stars in from an Irish perspective. grown without heat. There are a few thi...
05/02/2025

Hyacinths and early narcissus are the stars in from an Irish perspective. grown without heat.
There are a few things to keep in mind.
They are hardy, but flowering can be delayed due to cold temperatures, so you need to think ahead and plant into containers with good quality compost in late August early September. About 3 weeks before valentines Day, bring them into a heated room (mine go in my living room next to the window)
This ensures flowers for valentines 💝
The tunnel grown ones won't be ready to cut for another 2 weeks.
To get length in the stems, they need to be tunnel grown, while they will flower outside the stems are generally too short for handtieds.



🐝 🐝🐝🐞🐌🦋🌱🐦💝

A year ago today, Steve left us💔 today the birds were in full song, especially the Robins...as if they were singing just...
22/01/2025

A year ago today, Steve left us💔 today the birds were in full song, especially the Robins...as if they were singing just for him. Steve loved and worked hard to provide a safe habitat for them here but he had a special affinity for Robins and would spend hours talking to them as he worked. They, too, had a special bond with him and knew when he went into the garden or tunnels. Honestly, they'd follow him around cos they knew he'd have treats for them🐦
Wonderful memories of the better times ❤️

Hope they'res beautiful birds where you are now

Bee kind Mags 🐝 🐝 🐝

Rose 'Rachel De Theme' is one of my all-time favourites! Fantastic scent, good disease residence, huge flowers that ope...
21/01/2025

Rose 'Rachel De Theme' is one of my all-time favourites! Fantastic scent, good disease residence, huge flowers that open beautifully, allowing pollinators easy access to her rich bounty. As an edible, it's only surpassed by Abraham Darby. With 50+ petals, 1 head can produce enough syrup for an evening of cocktails. An exquisite addition to a bridal bouquet and elevates mixed bouquets. Highly recommended!!
I'm regenerating the big rose tunnel (about 4 years overdue). Because it was left dry out, the organic matter has gassed off along with most microbes dying they can't survive without water just like us.

It got me thinking about organic matter and the different types and methods of getting it back into the system. We know it's important, but we can be a bit disconnected from it too.
So do you think it's important or not, and where does it come from, what is it...

Could be an interesting conversation

🐝 🐝 🐝 Bee kind
Mags

So it begins 🙏 the first queen of the season and beautifully healthy she is too. I'd like her to go back to her burrow ...
21/01/2025

So it begins 🙏 the first queen of the season and beautifully healthy she is too. I'd like her to go back to her burrow tonight and stay there for a week or so with the storm coming on Thursday. I've very little food in the tunnels yet and outside will be out of bounds because of wind and rain. Today's beautiful sunshine means it's ok to move her outdoors to a clump of Heather, and she's feeding well. This will provide her with nectar for immediate energy, and she can move on to other sources across the farm like mahonia, helebores, primroses, and snowdrops.

🐝 🐝 🐝 beekind Mags 🐞🌻🌱🐌🦋🐝🐝

My beautiful mother, who would have been 93 years young today ❤️ She passed away on 23rd December. In a way, it was comf...
11/01/2025

My beautiful mother, who would have been 93 years young today ❤️ She passed away on 23rd December.

In a way, it was comforting because, as children, she made it a magical time for us, and then, as we had children of our own, She became central to the celebrations.
About 24 years ago, I got some of the grandchildren that were living nearby to have a little Christmas party for mum. The eldest Sue was living in Dublin, and I thought she wouldn't travel, I was wrong and remiss in not checking, but it sparked a tradition that lasted for many years. We'd celebrate in different homes in Cork, including Mum's, and as the grandchildren got older, a trip to the dog track proved a massive hit.
The reception after the funeral was like granny's Christmas party of old and couldn't have been a more fitting tribute to her ❤️

The photo was taken 40 years ago with the birth of my first child, Emma, Mums first grandchild. So many firsts with her. She helped me make my first home. My first sun holiday was with her, and so many other wonderful memories of Christmas spent with us in Schull and here in Castledonovan. Visits during the year when she learnt to drive ( she was a late starter) all creating a beautiful tapestry of treasured memories.

I inherited her creativity, love of plants, and flowers with many an hour whiled away in discussion of their virtues. I also look like her, which is wonderful because every time I look in the mirror, I smile, and she's smiling back at me.

Death is an ending but also a beginning of the next part of her journey. She can dance again, smell the flowers, and hear the birds singing. 🐦 listening for the cuckoo and waiting for the first swallows will bring a mix of emotions this year because We used to compare notes as to who saw or heard them first 💔

Love you, Mum, thank you for being you and all the gifts and wisdom you imparted. Enjoy the next part of your journey ###

She's encouraging me to get back in the saddle, so to speak to get back to work and share what I've been up to. It's time ⏲️

See you all again very soon as always
Bee kind
Mags🦋🐌🐞🐝🐝🐝🌻🌱

Hello Spring and Hello again all. I've been quiet for the last 6 months due to ill health, and last month, my ex-husband...
18/02/2024

Hello Spring and Hello again all. I've been quiet for the last 6 months due to ill health, and last month, my ex-husband Steve passed away suddenly. The reasons you fall in love and marry aren't the same reasons you separate, and that separation doesn't shield you from the pain of loss💔

But this is spring, and life goes on with or without you. Snowdrops and crocuses are blooming, the redwing and fieldfares have moved on, and soon, our summer visitors will be arriving.
Robins, wrens, and blackbirds are all getting ready to build their nests, and the bumblebees are emerging. There's work to be done.

20 odd years ago, Steve and I started this garden as a sanctuary for wildlife. It's now an all-consuming part of my being, and in its own way, it's a comfort.

I've also been doing a lot of research on how industrial food is produced but more importantly what our food consumed before we get to eat it. My own health was brought to its knees because of some of these processes, even though I'm pretty careful about what I eat. I did have a period when it wasn't as good as it should have been.

Because the 'icide' doses allowed in our food and recreation are small individual doses, they don't kill you, but the cumulative effects eat away at your immune system and can take years to manifest.

I will be going into more detail and explaining the correlation between our health and the health of our soils.
Healthy soil means healthy people and healthy ecosystems

As always, bee kind Mags xx 🐝🐝🐝🐞🦋🐦🌱

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The magic of Bumblebee Farm

Mags Riordan lives in Castledonovan, County Cork. She is passionate about protecting our pollinators. Bumblebeeflower farm is a magical, oasis of floral abundance. Workshops, events and lots of other activites are available. Perfect team building or alternative group activity. Edible flowers and wedding flowers a speciality.