It is that time of year where the evenings are rapidly closing in and the days are getting chillier. To distract myself from the dreariness of Dublin and the samsara hamster wheel of life, I am reminiscing on how glorious my polytunnel garden was this year. Oh if only it could be perpetually June. I have admittedly become addicted to planting trees and have spent what feels like a small fortune on them for my “food forest” corner. (When tallied it is still less than a month’s rent </3). I’m not entirely sure what took me so long to start it but you know what they say: the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago but the second best time is now. I feel drawn to inspect my new tree family at any opportunity and am excited to track its future progress.

So far my food forest consists of:

• 2 Pear trees - Conference
• 3 Apple trees - 2 Santana, 1 Topaz
• 3 Cherry trees - 1 Prunus avium ‘Sunburst’, 2 Prunus avium ‘Regina’
• 2 Hardy kiwi - Actinidia arguta ‘Ananasnaya’
• 2 Tayberry plants
• 2 Raspberry plants
• 1 non-descript berry(?) bush - has lived in a pot for years but never produced berries
• 1 Small strawberry patch

I have bought the majority of these trees from Pergola nurseries which is my local garden centre. The prices have been steep - ~89 euro for what I estimate is a <5 year old tree - and I have begrudgingly been forking out from one Cavan pocket to another. However, after ordering some trees online from Caragh nurseries and being appalled at the quality they sent me (equivalent of doing your grocery shop online and the avocados arrive a bit crap and mushy - basically something you wouldn’t willingly bring home from the shop yourself), I am grateful that I can acquire these ones just up the road.

Now that I have a few trees planted I am dreaming of more exotic varieties - an olive tree perhaps? How much longer until the climate is warm enough to support avocado trees in Ireland? A banana tree? If I plant some drills of spuds, had some chickens, bees and cattle I think that would be my entire nutritional requirements covered. I am edging closer to my dream of dropping out of society and living as a hermit; reading, writing and gardening. I still haven’t figured how to keep the lights on yet if I do that. Should I just run away and become a minister in North Carolina or somewhere? I’m becoming increasingly despondant with my role as an AI prompter and believe my divine spark of creativity is becoming increasingly outsourced. Shaping the natural world with trees is one of the final frontiers immune to computer models.

I’m thinking of adding some nut trees if I can source them. I’d also like to try an experimental climate-adaptation garden trialling Mediterranean and subtropical species at the edge of their growing ranges. Don’t think I’ve ever tasted a Feijoa but if I could afford and access a small tree I could give it a go. The site is south-facing and will get full sun all day.

Anyway, here are some photos from this year. A glimpse of where my life has actually beared fruit. I have had a polytunnel for 6 years now so I’ve gotten into the swing of it now.

Prime polytunnel snapshot

Selfie from the joyful period where I was an unemployed bum (April-June 2026)

My food forest in its infancy

Peas did incredibly well this year; I co-planted them with broad beans. Definitely will do that again.

In my element. Not a laptop in sight.

Strawberries were bountiful.

Peas and broad bean bed from another angle

Petunias I bought in Woodies to brighten the place up and treat pollinators

Strawberry hanging basket

Sage

Ghost shaped strawberry

Another strawberry harvest

Pumpkin plant

Peas harvest

Planted marigolds beside my tomatoes as I read it encourages tomato pollination

We ate so many broad beans this summer lol

A fine wee harvest

How gorgeous are the pistil and stamens of a poppy

Juicy and delicious cherry tomatoes

Marigold seeds Coriander seeds

Some frogs that were living in the polytunnel for a while but they seem to have hopped off to their next residence