5 of Ireland’s Best Gardens to Visit this Weekend
Margaret Gormley, Chief Park Superintendent with the Office of Public Works, picks five public gardens to add to your bucket list!
Margaret Gormley has an exciting job. She is Chief Park Superintendent with the Office of Public Works (OPW) which manages over 30 historic parks and gardens around Ireland. Bord Bia Bloom asked her to recommend five great gardens to visit this weekend. ‘With so many wonderful properties and gardens open to the public it is so difficult to choose a top five, but here is a selection of some of my favourite gardens to visit around Ireland at this time of year.’
Glebe House & Gardens, Donegal
Glebe House and Gardens is an artist’s haven in the Donegal Hills, with its wonderful tree collection, rhododendrons and herbaceous plantings.
www.glebegallery.ie
Irish National War Memorial Gardens, Dublin
Irish National War Memorial Gardens, the commemorative garden on the banks of the River Liffey in Dublin, is famous for its rose gardens, herbaceous borders and formal avenues, which were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
www.opwdublincommemorative.ie
Doneraile House & Gardens, Cork
Doneraile House and Gardens in Co Cork, with its magnificent Capability Brown-style landscape, has many wonderful tree-lined walks and is home to Fallow Deer.
www.heritageireland.ie
Derrynane House & Gardens, Kerry
Derrynane House and Gardens, home of ‘The Liberator’ Daniel O’Connell, has a unique collection of sub-tropical woodland garden and exotic plants. Its sheltered location on the Caherdaniel coast in Kerry also offers an exciting opportunity to enjoy the unique coastal habitats in this National Historic Park. www.derrynanehouse.ie
Phoenix Park Victorian Kitchen Walled Garden, Dublin
One of the highlights at Bloom is this wonderfully restored 19th century walled garden with its magnificent herbaceous borders, fruit and vegetable displays. Biodiversity and plant pollination are a must see in this kitchen garden.
www.phoenixpark.ie
Download the brochure Ireland’s Historic Gardens in the Care of the Office of Public Works to learn more about these and other historic gardens all around Ireland.
The OPW is a proud partner of Bord Bia Bloom.
