Heritage Trees within Ards Friary
I love getting out and about visiting gardens, I find this so inspiring!
Seeing how other gardeners approach problems such as plant choice, pruning, maintenance and how they add features such as ponds, seating areas, fountains can be so enjoyable and provide me with a wealth of ideas for planning and designing gardens.
I’m fortunate to visit loads of great gardens every year in my capacity as a Horticulturist.
Sometimes it’s to advise on design, on maintenance, on pest or disease management, historical garden restoration and even to judge gardening competitions and as such I visit every type of garden, from the small terraced to the country estate and everyone has me taking pictures and logging ideas into my tiny crammed brain.
In Donegal we are blessed with many great gardens, from the small to the stately we have them all, and in turn the Donegal Garden Trail offers the public access to some of the finest gardens in the county.
The Donegal Garden Trail comprises 24 gardens spread out over the county from GreenCastle to Killybegs and Fallcarragh to Lifford.
I’ve been fortunate enough to visit a good few of the gardens over the past few years, and I’d encourage you all to make a point of visiting some this year.
Some like Ros Ban in Raphoe and Glenveagh Castle are open all the year round, others like Blackrock in Lifford are open for one spectacular weekend a year only.
Bluebells in Baronscourt Estate
Ros Ban Gardens
A garden which I describe as a ‘game changer’ in my own outlook on gardening- a multi roomed, multi layered garden which explores the cultural and medicinal uses for plants. Spread over 3 acres the garden includes extensive medical plants, displays of geology and everything from information panels on wild grasses to displays of old Irish lettering. All made to come alive with the enthusiasm and vast knowledge of the owners Bob & Ann Kavanagh, who both blow me away with their passion for gardening. I’ve visited this garden both with Horticultural students and as an individual and after each visit I always come away knowing a little bit more about medicinal plants and the ecology of the garden. Located about 2 miles from Ros Ban are both Oakfield Park and Beltany View.
Within the Italian Garden in Drenagh Estate Nr Limavady
Oakfield Park
Oakfield Park is a great example of what can be achieved with the help of a masterplan. The 100acres of gardens at Oakfield are a triumph of landscape design. Oakfield Park works on so many levels, there is of course the railways, the castle, the lake but also there is the walled kitchen garden, the formal lawns, the tree avenues, the wildflower meadows and the use of Follies throughout the garden. Oakfield Park is so well planned, so well designed and the masterplan to well executed that its hard to believe that you’re not in a 100 year old garden, you are in fact in a garden with is (mostly) 15-10 years old. Explore all the trails and walks and you’ll have 8 miles walked, and been exposed to features, design elements and planting inspired by Sir Gerry and Lady Heathers visits to some of the worlds greatest gardens.
Former Head Gardeners House in Bogay Glebe, Newtowncunningham
Beltany View
Like Oakfield Park this is a newish garden. Created from a greenfield site from 2000 by the current owners, Dutch couple Marjan and Ton Banert this is a great example of what can be created in a difficult location and how to maximise what the great lord has given you. Ton has taken on a stream which ran through the garden and turned this into a series of ponds which are connected via piping buried in the garden. Each pond is wonderfully planted and the final pond has countless Koi! Marjan and Ton are wonderful hosts who talk through their plant successes and failures as they worked to create and develop the garden.
As you can see the Raphoe area is somewhat of a ‘hot spot’ for gardening, with these three great gardens all within a short hop of each other. However these Horticultural gems are not a new phenomenon to Raphoe, the gardens of the now ruined Raphoe castle were once lush paradises of Horticulture which included , amongst other things, orange trees, brought back by the various Bishops through their European Travels. Sadly the Palace is now a ruin but the footprint of the walled garden can still be seen.
Harveys Point Hotel
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After a visit to the famous Harveys Point carvery why not enjoy a stroll around the grounds. The gardens of the hotel, managed by Pat Murphy, are a showcase of seasonal colours, high impact planting and careful management to ensure that view from the hotel are enhanced by the grounds. Little touches like hedge heights are all carefully planned as to allow hotel patrons to experience the beauty of Lough Eske.
Salthill House
A mecca of flowers. A garden full of flowers. Flowers Flowers Flowers! Elizabeth Temple has taken a walled garden and turned it into a showcase of all things Horticultural over the past 20+years. A visit to Salthill House will inspire you, from the Snowdrops in the early spring to the Peony Roses and Perennials of the summer. Elizabeth has such skill at gardening that in the height of summer the garden just looks like it happens all by itself, you can’t see the countless stakes and supports that are used to keep every plant looking straight and well….just wonderful! Salthill House is a garden which, like Oakfield Park, attracts gardeners from all over Ireland and the UK, we are so fortunate to have Salthill on our doorstep! And as for the lazy beds for vegetable growing……just amazing!
McIlroys Garden in Buncrana
From walled Georgian estates to perhaps more modest surroundings and I do hope that Susie McIlroy doesn’t take offence by that last statement. Susies garden is a wonderful town garden, located in the heart of Buncrana. Susie and her husband Jack have a magnificent garden full of bedding plants and wonderfully maintained hedges, shrubs, massive hanging baskets and perennials. While gardens like Oakfield Park, Salthill House, Dunmore House and the likes are special, I would argue that gardens like McIlroys in Buncrana are perhaps even more appealing to the general public. The ability to see what other gardeners have done with perhaps a similar sized space that you may have at home is really appealing.
One of the 100+ plus varieties of roses in Noras Rose Garden in Ballybofey
Donegal, and to include Derry have many great gardens that are open to the public, some all the time, some specific weekends and some by appointment. For kitchen garden inspiration a visit to Beech Hill Hotel and Rathmullan House are musts, for tropical inspiration a visit to Seamus Gallaghers amazing garden at Cluain na dTor in Fallcarragh is a ‘knock your socks off’ experience, seeing a garden in Donegal full of Banana Trees and other tropical wonders is just amazing, many of the plants Seamus has you’ll struggle to see outside of a Botanical Gardens, so it’s a must visit for you. The designed landscape around Culdaff House, Dunmore House, Castle Grove Hotel and Ards Friary are a must see.
Some of the planting in Blackrock Garden in Lifford
Also look out for open days at Brooke Hall and Hamstead Hall in Derry and The Manse in Eglinton, these two gardens are jaw-droppingly beautiful.
As I said before, I visit countless gardens every year and to me every garden offers something special, for example I was in Oakfield Park this week with a group of 53 people and it was the display of wild orchids which had me reaching for my camera, a display which wasn’t there 2 weeks ago and will be gone in 2 weeks – Its reasons like this that I enjoy visiting the same garden at different times of the year.
Details of all the gardens included in the Donegal Gareth Trail 2015 can be found on the www.donegalgardentrail.com website, and for loads of pictures from each visit www.garethaustin.com and do a wee search through the blog there.
Anyways I have to go, I’m doing exactly what I preach and off visiting gardens today – Ballywalter Park over Belfast way is where I’m heading today….lucky me!
Next Week….I’ve enjoyed talking about them so much this week I’m going to start detailing each garden more from next week…so a great garden every week!
Gareth Austin
Gareth Austin is resident Horticulturist with BBC Radio Foyle, a member of the Chartered Institute of Horticulturists and Horticultural Lecturer with the National Learning Network. For more see www.garethaustin.com or join Gareth on Twitter @GardenerGareth .
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