IRELAND'S
CASTLE GARDENS
Flowers and Fairies for Garden Lovers
It’s not just the green fields of gently rolling hills cut by mossy
fences of stone which give make Ireland its “emerald isle” nickname.
The land of blarney and luck overflows in summer with lush greenery of
gardens and color rich flower blooms, in every county of the country,
from east to west, Dungarven to Donegal. Many of the gardens of Ireland
are set against the romantic backdrop of Irish castles, maintained in
the glory which once signified the gentry. Visiting the gardens of Ireland
can be easy on the budget. While not free, a stroll through majestic
beauty is usually just a few euros. The average admission is around €5
to €7 per person, or less with a group. Many of the tourist gardens
have cafes on the grounds, where visitors can have a tea or a simple
lunch. With a bit of planning, it is possible in many gardens to bring
your own picnic basket, or purchase a lunch basket, and find a spot on
the grounds to enjoy the perfect day surrounded by nature and history.
In Mullingar of County Westmeath, the elegant Belvedere
House Gardens and Park features a Victorian walled garden, with its
famous Jealous Wall folly. For the garden explorer new to Ireland, a
folly is not a
mistake, but an architectural construction found in formal gardens whose
only purpose is decoration. The old stable at the Belvedere
House has
a restaurant, interpretive center and children’s playground to
keep the kids entertained. High on the walls of the garden,, foxgloves
grow from out of the crevices and the statues of two lovely ladies are
practically enveloped in tall grasses. Visit the manor house with an
interactive tour presenting the “Upstairs-Downstairs” aspect
of life in an Irish manor. The view from the terrace of the Lough Ennell
lake is spectacular, with picnic tables set on the lakeshore.
In
County Waterford near Cork with its famous Blarney Castle, the gardens
of Lismore
Castle are some of the most impressive in the land. So timeless
that a romantic poet of the Elizabethan age was inspired to write
of fairies while sitting under the branches of its famous Yew trees,
and
Fred Astaire once strolled among the hyacinth during his visits to
his sister Adele who lived in the castle for a time (see Lismore
Castle & Gardens). The 17th Century formal Upper Garden was designed for the
castle by
the
first
Earl of
Cork
in
1605, while the more casual Lower Garden is the Victorian addition,
all set in stunning fashion against one of Ireland’s most photographed
castle images, from the bridge approach below where Lismore Castle
stands above the river. The castle, still the home of the Dukes of Devonshire,
is not open to the public, but the gardens feature a private art
gallery
and restaurant.
In Ballypatrick of Clonmel in Country Tipperary, the Killurney Garden
was begun in the mid-80’s by Mildred Stokes. The best time to visit
is July, but the gardens are open until September by appointment, Admission
is €5. Surrounding the 1880’s farmhouse built in the 1880s,
the garden has a stream running along the side of the property where
over 80 roses grow on the grounds along with many unusual trees and shrubs
- including a Judas tree and a giant fir cone. There is a large collection
of grasses, hellebores and clematis as well.
Some
gardens are entirely informal, on the grounds of castles open to the
public or associated with castle turned into hotels, more
wandering the grounds of estates with groves of Rhododendrons, and quiet
babbling
brooks through lush greenery lined pastures. Just a short ride from
Dublin,
the wild woodland Rhododendron groves of Howth Castle, over looking
the bays of the Irish sea, Florence Court in Northern Ireland (see Florence
Court and Castle Coole), near the underground caverns of
the Marble Arch Geopark, or the popular parkland
castle grounds
of Kilkenny (see Kilkenny
Castle). At Belfast Castle, count the nine cats in the terrace garden (see Belfast Castle).
A couple of websites offer up the features of the gardens of Ireland
for visitors to discover. Castles
and Gardens of Ireland serves up
a full range of manor houses and castles with gardens throughout Ireland. Garden.ie is associated
with Ireland’s gardening magazine, The
Irish Garden. Aside from listings of gardens in the country, the site
offers forums for gardening enthusiasts where members can post photos
of the own backyard gardens or the gardens they visited. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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SEE ALSO:
IRELAND COASTAL COTTAGES – BY THE WEEK
