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Gardens of Ireland - Part 4

AndrewR

By AndrewR

10 comments


After leaving Mount Usher, we headed south to spend our last two nights in Cork. The next morning we drove to Glengarriff and the short boat trip to Garinish Island. Annan Bryce, an MP, bought the island from the War Office a century ago and set about creating a garden there. The soil was thin and poor so more was brought over from the mainland by rowing boat!


The day was showery but it did mean other visitors didn’t linger when you were trying to take a photo.

Later we visited Kilravock, a private garden created on a sloping site over the past fifteen years by the two owners. It promised a Mediterranean garden, woodland area and many southern hemisphere plants.

Among the unsual plants were the shrub clerodendrum tricotomum

And the tender climber sollya heterophylla, growing outside against a sheltered wall

This water feature raised a smile

Sadly, we had heavy rain on the last day for viewing the last two gardens. Lakemount belongs to two plantsmen and I could quite happily have spent three hours there.

This plant is now on my ‘wants’ list. It is acanthus sennii which is borderline hardy, needs a dry spot and carries red flowers in October (if you’re lucky). Great foliage though

Our final stop was at Poulacurry, a garden belonging to a Georgian house. The hydrangeas liked the wet weather

But the roses didn’t

While this path looks attractive, it’s a nightmare to walk on in wet weather or if you have walking difficulties

In all, we saw twelve gardens, all quite different, and three of which I could quite happily have lived with at home. Lots of ideas, lots of inspirational plants and plant combination and a long shopping list!

Which is your favourite garden?

More blog posts by AndrewR

Previous post: Gardens of Ireland - Part 3

Next post: Large Shrub - Instructions For The Removal Of



Comments

 

Thanks for these blogs I loved them. I think this is my fav with Rowallane a close second, because of the scale I could imagine being very happy to garden in them - with help of course.

4 Sep, 2012

 

I enjoyed all your blogs Andrew - favourite.....was the garden belonging to Jimi Blake. I loved how so many different plants, colour and textures were in his borders. That would be the ideal garden for me :)

4 Sep, 2012

 

This is my fav Andrew....stunning!!!

4 Sep, 2012

 

What an enjoyable tour - thank you. Even with the rain, it looks lovely. Missed your previous blogs, I think; must have a look now.

4 Sep, 2012

 

Really enjoyed this Andrew, such beautiful scenes there, I especially like the Moorish arch, with the view of the Mediterranean garden, looks like you had a wonderful holiday!

4 Sep, 2012

 

I love them all,Andrew.:0)

4 Sep, 2012

 

I`ved loved them all Andrew but had another look and my favourite has to be the first one Lady Edith Londonderry`s gardens at Mount Stewart.
They all had parts that I loved, it must have been a fantastic holiday, thankyou for sharing with us, really enjoyed every one...

5 Sep, 2012

 

Yes, I've seen them all now and loved them. Thank you so much for taking the trouble to create all the great blogs.

5 Sep, 2012

 

What a joy to have visited all those beautiful gardens, I really do not have a firm favourite because I found them all inspiring, thanks for taking the time to blog.

5 Sep, 2012

 

Enjoyed all 4 blogs Andrew, thanks for putting them on : )

6 Sep, 2012

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