We just got back from a biking/sightseeing tour of Ireland, and yes, Ireland is as green, temperate and moist as they say, and that makes for wonderful growing conditions. Everywhere we went were beautiful gardens and both familiar and new wildflowers. In this post will be some pretty amazing cultivated gardens, and the wildflower post will follow soon.

Tidy Towns

Our itinerary started in Cork and moved on to Ennis, Galway, the Aran Islands, and Connemara in the west of Ireland, and ended in Dublin. We learned that cities, towns, and villages in Ireland have a friendly contest called Tidy Towns, which started to encourage clean and neat town centers, but quickly became a competition based on how beautiful the seasonal plantings were. We were delighted with the abundance, color, and good health of the plantings everywhere we went.

Kylemore Abbey

The northwest of Ireland is sparsely populated, windy, and a bit desolate. But the scenery is spectacular and writers, artists, and wealthy visitors have been entranced. A wealthy English couple built Kylemore Castle on the shores of one of the region’s many lakes.

While the castle and its immediate grounds are wonderful, the main attraction for me was the walled Victorian garden. Build in the 1860’s, it was both a showpiece for flowerbeds and a working vegetable and fruit garden. By the 1920’s the gentry had sold the castle, and the Benedictine nuns moved in. They still maintain their community there and open the castle and grounds to the public. In the 1990’s they began restoring the garden and it is a masterpiece.

Dublin Castle

Our trip ended in Dublin, and our last tour was of Dublin Castle, which has a wonderful garden behind the castle. In this large and formal space, the plantings around the edge are relaxed, abundant, and skillfully arranged. Surprisingly, many of the plants are natives from the US! It was lovely to end the trip with a fun garden visit.