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Journal The

Autumn/Winter 2026

Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland Cumann Ríoga Gairneoireach na hÉireann

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Note From The Chair In Russborough making a video for social media.

Maybe it took a difficult season to realise the importance of choosing plants suited to our conditions, protecting our soil, conserving water and valuing biodiversity.

ear Members,

Autumn comes as a relief after the summer we have just had. Drought, heat, hosepipe ban – tough for gardeners as we watched plants wither and fruit and vegetables fail to develop. I was probably not the only gardener showering with my feet in a plastic trug and keeping a bucket in the sink. And then there was the triage to decide which plant should get the precious water.

The El Nino forecast is for a mild and wet Autumn. What that means in the garden we have yet to find out. But we have bulbs to plant, seeds to collect, seeds to sow. It is good to be outside. Do review your photos, dream big (but not invasive) and head for some retail therapy at your favourite garden centre.

A lot of lessons have surely been learned. What survives, what doesn’t?

For many of us having company while gardening makes it much more enjoyable. As well as our gardens at RHSI Bellefield and RHSI Russborough, there are community gardens, residents’ associations and Tidy Towns groups all welcoming extra hands and expertise.

In my small urban garden this was the summer to ditch the many pots, to appreciate the agapanthus that finally flowered, and to buy supermarket red geraniums, which I am sure no true RHSI member ever does. And I got a whole new appreciation of dry shade and what a very sad hydrangea looks like.

With best wishes for your autumn gardening. Gillian Davidson Chair Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland

And yet when the rain came, and heavily, everything perked up again so fast, even the hydrangea.

Note From The Editor Editor and wife Nicola - The Garden Boss

cultivars) and Galanthus (e.g., G. elwesii var. monostictus ‘Remember Remember’ and G. plicatus subsp. plicatus ‘Three Ships’) will brighten the days before Christmas. This issue contains great articles that I hope will provide interest for everyone – there are timely articles on daffodils and tulips to encourage us to plant some now; beautiful gardens are described – perhaps plan a visit in 2027? – articles to encourage us to garden in a sustainable manner for our changing climate; and, of course, we have our regular reports on Partner Gardens and Bellefield. As always, I am indebted to the work of the editorial team: Mary, Noreen, Peggy, Carla, Frazer, and Orlaith who all work hard to help create each issue. I am sorry to note that Brona Dore is providing this issue with what will be the last of her wonderful articles on vegetable growing. I take this opportunity to thank Brona for her work on behalf of the journal – her contributions will be missed. I hope you will find something to enjoy in this issue of the journal and, as always, I encourage us all to get out to our gardens and enjoy the changing seasons – with my best wishes for good luck and good gardening.

am starting this ’Note from the Editor’ by sending thanks to George Cunningham and to Marguerite Arbuthnot-O’Brien – to George for asking me if I would like a copy of the 40th Special Edition of Crann and to Marguerite for sending me the copy. For anyone who does not know Crann is Ireland’s Tree Magazine. Reading this excellent publication brought to mind something from many years ago – in 1973 the British GPO issued a stamp featuring a tree with the slogan “Plant a tree in 73” and followed it in the next year with another saying “Plant one more in 74”. With the magazine in front of me on my desk, and with an idea raised by Mary Hackett, I think a future issue of The Journal should have an article on trees, perhaps trees suitable for small gardens here in Ireland, as I believe we should all plant at least one tree in our lifetimes – we may not live to see that tree in its glorious maturity but it is something that our children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren may enjoy. As we move from the glory of summer towards autumn and winter, we may regret the passing of the sunny days of June, July and August but we can look forward to the promise of our autumn and winter plants to bring life and colour to our gardens. Autumn will see Nerines and Colchicums add life to the borders and Crocus (e.g., C. mathewii and its

Peter Dr Peter Milligan, Editor, The Journal, RHSI 3

Contents 6

Recent Developments in Miniature Daffodil Breeding Brian Duncan VMH

21 Exotics in a Wexford Garden Mary Hackett 24 The Bellefield Limes Dr George Cunningham 29 Gardening in Drought Conditions Nicola Haines

page 6

32 The Monster and The Curse Dr Peter Milligan 33 Tulips – New Introductions and Old Favourites Thomas Quearney 37 A Garden Surrounded by Ocean Mary Hackett

page 21

41 RHSI News and Events Orlaith Murphy 45 From the Editor’s Garden Peter and Nicola Milligan 49 Walking and Talking Biodiversity and Sustainability at Powerscourt Gardens Rosemary O’Flynn 55 Annes Grove Gardens Linda Hogan

page 33

page 37

58 Water Stress and Plant Strategy Hui Xing 66 My Harvest Brona Dore 72 The AI Gardener Professor Mark Keane 77 Partner Gardens Noreen Keane 79 Russborough Notes Carla King

page 49

81 RHSI Bellefield – Developments 2026 Paul Smyth

Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland Cumann Ríoga Gairneoireach na hÉireann Volume 18, Part 2, October 2026 © COVER PHOTO: Rosa ‘Apple Blossom’ Dr Nicola Milligan

Editor: Dr Peter Milligan

Advertising: Frazer McDonogh Print and Design: Printrun

CONTRIBUTORS Dr George Cunningham is an author and historian who volunteers at Bellefield where he is helping develop the Bellefield library. Brona Dore “has something on her table from her garden every day” and is a Tour Guide with the Travel Department Garden Holidays. Brian Duncan MBE VMH is an internationally known and renowned hybridiser and exhibitor of daffodils. Mary Hackett is the Associate Editor of the RHSI Journal. Nicola Haines is a Partner in Tierney Haines Architects and is in charge of the Landscape Design Department. Linda Hogan is the Head Gardener at Annes Grove Gardens. Professor Mark Keane is Professor of Computer Science at UCD and Chair of the RHSI Education Committee. Noreen Keane, RHSI board member, co-ordinates the RHSI Partner Garden Scheme. Carla King volunteers at Russborough where she is a member of the gardening team. Orlaith Murphy is the Operations Manager at the RHSI. Rosemary O’Flynn is a Horticulturalist and member of the Powerscourt Gardening Team. Thomas Quearney is Managing Director at Mr. Middleton which was the first online Irish garden shop. Paul Smyth is the Head Gardener at RHSI Bellefield. Hui Xing is a Lecturer at the Teagasc College of Amenity Horticulture| National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin.

Recent Developments in Miniature Daffodil Breeding

any of those involved in the growing and breeding of standard sized daffodils for garden and exhibition purposes have had little time for, or shown much interest in, miniature daffodils. Miniature daffodils are more closely related to wild species and may not have the highly bred neat, precise, smooth perfection, symmetry and formal pose of their larger cousins. Accordingly, they were largely ignored,

Brian S. Duncan VMH

not totally ignored and the amazing work of Alec Gray from Cornwall and, to a lesser extent, John Blanchard ensured that excellent new varieties were being made available for those who appreciated them. Alec Gray with 120 varieties registered from about 1938 has had the major influence and many of his magnificent varieties are still being grown in vast quantities in Holland and can be found in all the major catalogues. It is an amazing fact that his ‘Tete-a-Tete’ has accounted for more than half the total hectarage of daffodils grown in Holland and it is nearly impossible to go out in springtime without seeing this wonderful little variety in public plantings, gardens and window boxes. Sadly, he never got a penny in royalties for creating one of the most famous daffodils of all time. It may be worth noting some of his special varieties, mostly still available and with which readers may be familiar –

even despised by some exhibitors who are committed to the accepted standards for exhibition daffodils above all else. To my shame I spent 36 years ignoring the miniatures as my hybridizing efforts were concentrated on trying to perfect the form of the near perfect and on intensifying and creating new colours – all in an effort to exhibit in the RHS Engleheart cup class for varieties bred and raised by the exhibitor. Like many others I failed to appreciate the elegance, style and intrinsic beauty of the miniatures and species. Worse still I failed to recognize the challenge and opportunities presented by their rather limited colour range and irregular forms. In the year 2000 I was chairman of the RHS Daffodil & Tulip Committee. In this role I felt dreadfully inadequate when questions arose about miniature and species daffodils. I had never been to see species in their native habitats as had several of the Committee members and I felt the need to catch up a little. Thus, I timidly asked John Blanchard if I could possibly join him on one of his expeditions to Iberia. Thankfully he readily agreed and in less than half a day I was hooked as we discovered a lovely population of N. triandrus growing in profusion in a steep ditch. That was the first of nearly 20 such trips with John in future years. I was so lucky to have such a friend and mentor. I’ve often said that, regardless of whatever success I might have had in exhibiting daffodils, nothing has brought more pleasure than seeing lovely populations of species daffodils in their many and varied natural habitats.

April Tears

1939 Bebop

1949 Bobbysoxer1949

Clare

1938 Demure

1953 Elka

1999

Gipsy Queen 1969 Jumblie

1937 Mitzi

1946

Xit

1948 Tete-a-Tete 1949 Sun Dial

Candlepower 1975 Camborne 1995

1955

The output of the father and son team of Douglas and John Blanchard was numerically less significant. They registered 77 varieties of which only about a dozen were miniatures. But what miniatures! They are still regularly winning prizes and most are still grown in quantity in Holland.

Despite the remarks above I should stress that miniature daffodils were 7

Icicle

1962

Hailstorm

1968

Pequenita

1985

Sabrosa

1986

Crevette

1992

Miss Klein

2008

Peseta

2012

N. Itsy Bitsy Splitsy

N. Little Mary Lou

With the exception of ‘Crevette’ which was classified as White/Orange all the other varieties were either Yellow, White or a combination of these two basic colours. And so, the target for future breeders was obvious – to attempt to inject the amazing range of colours available in standard daffodils into the miniatures. Also, there were no really miniature double or split corona daffodils which added to the targets of modern hybridists. The aims were clear but achievement has not been easy as so many miniature crosses involving species result in ‘dead-end’ sterile hybrids.

N. Pink Sparks

USA

quite a few are miniatures and some are definitely exciting breakthrough varieties. The lovely yellow orange ‘Itsy Bitsy Splitsy’ not only brought bright orange colour but was also the first split corona miniature daffodil. Unsurprisingly it gained the medal for Innovation by the American Daffodil Society and was also recognised by the RHS by the Award of the Ralph B. White Memorial Medal as the best new daffodil exhibited at any of the four RHS shows devoted to daffodils in 2007.

Professor Harold Koopowitz of Orchid fame has been raising daffodils in California for almost 50 years and has registered over seventy varieties,

In addition, Harold also introduced pink cups to miniatures with a nice little group of small Tazetta hybrids. Mostly these are bred from the intermediate

Currently there are breeders concentrating on miniature daffodils in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, England, Holland and Northern Ireland. Already there are some lovely new varieties and there are great prospects for exciting developments in the near future.

N. Baby Bliss

N. Verdant Sparks

sized and colourful ‘Pink China’ crossed with the delightful little species N. dubius. These were registered between 2010 and 2013 – they are delightful and have been named to honour ladies – ‘Little Dianne’, ‘Little Pinkie’, ‘Martha Cash’ ‘Little Karen’ and ‘Little Mary Lou’. Harold has worked intensively to introduce stronger colours and more colours into miniature daffodils. He thinks his ‘Pink Nessie’ 2P-P has the deepest pink perianth yet seen in miniature daffodils. His pink rimmed split corona ‘Pink Sparks’ 11aW-WWP is an exciting new development and probably the first of its kind. He has also concentrated on making miniature doubles and has sent me several very promising looking pictures. The first of these, ‘Baby Bliss’ 4Y-Y, is already being traded by Michiel de Waard’s Flying Colours Daffodil business in Holland. Harold says he now has a range of new miniature pink doubles, red cups and green flowers and such developments are exciting for the future. Already his distinctive ‘Verdant Sparks’ classified as 7G-G and bred from N. viridiflorus x N. jonquilla is proving very popular.

N. Shaumut

but I am not familiar enough with their output but we can expect good things in the future. Already Clay Higgins has registered the lovely 2W-P ‘Shaumut’ bred from the aforementioned ‘Pink China’ crossed with the prolific little white trumpet ‘Elka’. Already it has won several Gold Ribbon awards at ADS shows. Though not a colour break Bob Spotts from California registered ‘Kokopelli’ 7Y-Y in 2007 and it is an amazingly prolific and free flowering little multi-headed variety that I think is now readily available. Many years ago, Manuel Matos Lima had the

There are several other breeders in the United States working on miniatures 9

N. Peach Twist

N. Andy Blanchard

is probably the only person who has specialised exclusively on miniatures. Her hybridising has covered most of the divisions in the RHS classification. She likes tiny flowers and the informality of some of the species and the largest number of her seedlings are in Div. 12 – i.e., those that do not quite fit the definition of any the other divisions. The delightful little species N. rupicola has been used extensively and Anne has not hesitated to cross Bulbocodium varieties with other species and these seedlings also tend to be classified as Div. 12. She has bred a lovely selection of Hoop Petticoat daffodils with nicely flared coronas. Little trumpets and Cyclamineus hybrids also feature strongly in her enviable collection of

foresight to cross the autumn flowering N. viridiflorus to breed green flowers. In the favourable Californian climate Bob Spotts and Harold Koopowitz are trying to progress his work. England Undoubtedly Anne Wright of Dryad Nursery is currently the most prolific and successful breeder of miniature daffodils in England. In addition, she has had great success in breeding snowdrops, including a range of lovely yellows and those with beautiful green outer petals. Anne has been breeding and registering miniature daffodils since about 2014 and has already named almost 100 varieties. I think she 10

N. Re-entry

N. Little Goldheart

12 cm stem with a frilly trumpet that matures to pale peach. ‘Little Goldheart’, classified as 2W-YYW and bred from (‘Pequenita’ x N. rupicola subsp. watieri) was registered in 2022. It is a personal favourite of mine. It has single creamy/ lemon flowers of perfect form on short upright stems. The outstanding attraction is the golden corona that has a beautifully distinct and sharply defined pure white rim. Anne says ‘Re-entry’ 7Y-Y, her selection from N. rupicola never fails to make her smile when it ‘does its thing’ imitating a space capsule re-entering the atmosphere. This vivid imagination sparked by the reflexed form of perianth and cup must explain the unusual name ‘Re-Entry’. The precision of the six lobed cup and

lovely miniatures. Anne is my major competitor and we enjoy a friendly rivalry at RHS shows. A few of Anne’s favourites are ‘Andy Blanchard’ 5Y-Y bred from (N. triandrus subsp. triandrus x N. cyclamineus), This was registered in 2012. It is a dainty and unique miniature, sometimes producing two flowers on a stem but when single it looks like a creamy/lemon version of N. cyclamineus. Anne loves her ‘Peach Twist’ 1W-O from (‘Snipe’ x ‘Candlepower’) which she registered in 2019. Twisted petals are not normally accepted by exhibitors but this has such beautifully symmetrical twists that it has even had a Best Bloom award. It is an eye-catching little flower on a 11

N. Taralga Reales

breakthrough miniature seedlings each year. He also breeds a lot of intermediate flowers to feed into his miniature programme which aims for exhibition, decorative and novelty flowers. Undoubtedly, he raised a lot of lovely flowers but we will have to be patient about seeing or being able to obtain them because Graham has not been registering names recently and has practically stopped exporting. However, many of his selections have been sent to Holland for trial, increase and potential naming and marketing – I know from personal contact with the grower that he is excited about some of the selections.

delicately mucronate perianth tips is most appealing. In recognition of her outstanding snowdrop and daffodil breeding successes Anne has been recognised by the award of the Reginald Cory Memorial Cup by the RHS in 2023. This is the top RHS award for plant hybridisers of any genus. Australia or Southern Hemisphere Graham Fleming of Keira Bulbs from Victoria makes many crosses and sows thousands of seeds of miniature daffodils each year. Numerically he is probably the biggest breeder of miniature daffodils in the world. From his miniature breeding programme, he claims to expect at least 5 – 6

Clay Higgins in America obtained from Keira a nice Yellow Orange Tazetta seedling and named it ‘Taralga Reales’ 12

8Y-O which brings good colour into a miniature flower. Northern Ireland In Northern Ireland there has been three of us breeding miniatures for the last 20 – 25 years: Nial Watson, Derrick Turbitt and myself. More recently Dave Hardy of Esker Farm Daffodils has been breeding a few miniatures – his targets are very similar to the rest of us, maybe with an added emphasis on greenie, but he admits that so far, he has not produced anything that would qualify as a breakthrough. We look forward to exciting things in the future.

N. Ringhaddy Dawn

Nial Watson tells me that twentyfive years ago he decided to have a go at breeding miniature daffodils. Like many others he thought that he would try and introduce more colour and variety of form into miniatures. He says he managed to grow a few seedlings but only with wishy washy colour in coronas and they were too big – so he lost heart. Years later he decided to have another go after Kate Reade gave him some small flowered N. rupicola bulbs. By intercrossing the smallest bulbs of this variable species, he had tiny selections (c. 15mm dia.) to use in his breeding programme. ‘Ringhaddy Dawn’ 2Y-O (‘Ballydorn Gem’ 9W-GWW x N. rupicola) is a very promising result. Another breakthrough flower is ‘Asterisk’ 11a W-GWW, a distinctive split corona kind. Alas, it just fails the miniature 50mm diameter standard by 2mm but one hopes that it may sometimes be fertile to allow further progress. Undoubtedly Nial’s most successful miniature to date has been a lovely little double named ‘Tiny Alice’ 4Y-O which is now commercially available and it has

N. Asterisk

N. Tiny Alice 13

N. Causeway Cheryl

it becomes available. I was pleased when Derrick told me that the pollen parent was one of my seedlings that I had given him at one of the shows. We look forward to more lovely things from Derrick.

been awarded the RHS Ralph B White Medal for innovation. In future we can expect variation in the form of Bulbocodium types, some rimmed varieties and some autumn flowering greenies. Already some promising prototypes have been selected and are under trial as numbered seedlings.

I started hybridising daffodils in 1964 having been encouraged to do so by my mentor, guide and friend Tom Bloomer. However, I only started breeding miniatures in the year 2000 – so much time wasted!! Like others I wanted to create new forms and to inject the range of orange, red and pink colours that we so enjoy in standard daffodils. This is easily said but not so easily done. Many of the resultant seedlings were too big and many were sterile, especially where a species type had been used as one parent. Being as competitive as I am I also wanted to breed some new exhibition types and this has been easier and more successful. To date I have registered

Though Derrick Turbitt has been raising daffodils for many years, the first of his eight named varieties was only registered in 2022. None of these are miniatures. Though he has a range of really good exhibition miniatures still awaiting names they hardly qualify as ‘breakthrough’ varieties. However, he has a little Cyclamineus hybrid of immaculate and precise form which has a pure white trumpet. It is distinct and special – he plans to name it ‘Causeway Cheryl’. The stock is still small but will be in great demand when 14

N. Great Try

N. Silver Pearls

about 30 miniature varieties. Many of these have been shown successfully at RHS shows but do not necessarily qualify as colour breaks or new forms. ‘Maria’ an orange cupped cyclamineus hybrid from Holland that was fertile, (unlike many cyclamineus hybrids) was crossed with the tiny yellow species N. triandrus subsp. concolor (syn. lusitanicus). This cross produced several promising and colourful seedlings two of which have been named as ‘Great Try’ and ‘Winning Try’, both are 5Y-O’s and reflect my interest in rugby. They have each won many prizes and in 2017 ‘Great Try’ was awarded the RHS Ralph B. White Memorial Medal for Innovation.

N. Angel’s Song

awards at RHS and other shows. Several nice white/orange flowers emerged and recently I named ‘Junior High’ and ‘Tender Thought’. There are several other numbered seedlings still under trial but the trouble with many of these dubius seedlings is that the stems are too long for ideal proportion – because we have to use standard or intermediate sized daffodils as the other parent. For pinks I used the deep coloured variety ‘Soprano’ and the intermediate sized and shorter stemmed ‘Pink China’. Angel’s Song’

Another of my favourite species N. rupicola has been crossed with all sorts of things in an effort to breed orange/ red, pink and pure white multi-flowered miniatures as well as doubles and split corona kinds. Several seedlings show promise but only a few have been named. ‘Silver Pearls’ 8W-GWW is a glistening pure white with a deep green eye has been very successful at shows and has several ‘Best Miniature’ 15

N. Delicate Balance

N. Threesome

crossing ‘Maria Pia’ 11aY-R x N. dubius gave me one I called ‘Threesome’ 11aW-Y which has been a prize winner and was also awarded the RHS Ralph B. White Memorial Medal for innovation in 2019. It normally produces 2 -3 flowers per stem.

8W-WPP and the very subtly coloured ‘Delicate Balance’ 8W-WWP have been named so far and there are a few deeper coloured flowers under trial. My attempts to raise miniature Split corona daffodils using N. rupicola resulted in a few lovely flowers but they were intermediate in size rather than miniature. Like so many crosses involving species they all seem to be sterile and cannot be used for further development as I would wish. However,

‘Rip van Winkle’ of unknown Irish origin and first recorded first in 1884. It is still being grown as the only near miniature. It has a poor stem, a shaggy rugged multi-petal form and was 17

N. Double Trouble

once described by the Rev. George Englehart as a horrid little monster. I hoped to improve it and crossed ‘Van Sion’ with the miniature trumpet species N. asturiensis. This produced several seedlings a bit like ‘Rip van Winkle’ and also with poor stems that had to be discarded. One that appealed to me was a neat little joker that I named ‘Double Trouble’ 4Y-Y – I am hoping that it will do well and not cause too much trouble.

have bulbs that are rather short lived or do not produce offsets so the plants rely on reproduction by seed.

I still have many seedlings under trial and hope that several more will be worth naming. Miniatures require lengthy trials to establish their longevity and hardiness. Some of the parental species are from warmer areas of the Iberian Peninsula and some seem to

Indeed, having had several Dutch friends visit my seedling beds it always seemed that they admired the larger flowers. Accordingly, I think they like plants of a bit more substance to give greater impact in the garden and when they speak of miniatures,

Holland Wondering about miniature breeding in Holland I asked a good friend in the trade and he was not aware of any breeders of true miniatures as we understand them i.e., not more than 50mm in diameter.

N. Effigy

miniatures bred and grown by Malcolm Wheeler and I see in Daffseek that he registered ‘Effigy’ 2W-O from N. atlanticus x a red cupped poeticus variety – and from the same cross ‘Ninepins’ 3W-YYO. Both of these have good orange colour. I am sure there are other breeders working on miniatures but show records tend to indicate that the major emphasis is on standard and Intermediate sized daffodils.

they are thinking of varieties such as the wonderful ‘Tete-a Tete’ (which as mentioned accounts for almost one half of the acreage under daffodils in Holland) and ‘Jetfire’. Having said that, I should also say that many breeders throughout the world still rely on our Dutch friends to grow on, increase and distribute our best flowers. However, there is a new player in the field, airline pilot Michiel de Waard who operates as Flying Colours Daffodils. He was brought up in the bulb business and his family took over Roger Braithwaite’s specialist business. Michiel has an interest in miniatures and now also has access to the Harold Koopowitz miniature varieties. I understand that he has started hybridising and so he has access to a fine range of flowers to play with. Watch this space!

Conclusion With help and advice from hybridising friends I have tried to give some indication of the level of activity and developments in miniature daffodil breeding throughout the world. I am sure that I must have failed to mention the good work of some hybridisers who deserved to be included in this article. I apologise to anyone who might feel slighted – just blame it on my failing memory and being a bit out of date with current happenings. 

New Zealand From visits to New Zealand some time ago I remember some lovely 19

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Planting in the Long Border Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’

Exotics in a Wexford Garden

Rachel Darlington grows a plantsperson’s garden on Knocknalour

ardening today is not just about plants; communication is part of the package. Rachel Darlington, who gardens with her husband Norman at Douentza Garden outside Bunclody, Co Wexford, is an accomplished communicator. You may follow her YouTube channel Gardening at Douentza, or have read her articles in The Irish Garden, collected as Journal of an Irish Garden, or know her e-book on orchids, My Windowsill Monsters. Maybe you have attended one of her lectures or, as I did this summer, had the pleasure of her guiding you through the garden. Helen Dillon described Douentza as full of well-grown, unusual plants. Jimi Blake called the planting “eclectic”. Rachel’s palette is fiery: reds, ochres and oranges, spicy pinks, and insistent yellows. This colour is balanced by interesting trees and shrubs, and by lawns meticulously maintained by Norman.

Mary Hackett

Epiphyllum ‘Hard to Believe’

Josh’s garden

combining her favourite colours. Ibervillea lindheimeri has a large tuberous root, rather like a dusty rock; in growth, it becomes a climber with flexible shoots three or more metres long. Rachel has a large collection of Cymbidium orchids. These semiterrestrial plants produce long-lasting, exotic blooms from late autumn to spring. In the Douentza glasshouse, shade cloth protects them from excessive sun. Bletilla orchids are native to South-East Asia. Their common name is Hardy Orchid, though hardiness is relative in challenging Irish conditions. Among the extensive collection of cacti and succulents, I particularly liked Echeveria secunda f. secunda ‘Compton Carousel’, a variegated succulent whose blue-grey rosettes have creamcoloured margins that can grow to 20 cm across. Rachel also has an extensive collection of Aloes and Gasteria, the latter native to South Africa.

From Douentza, a town in central Mopti Region, Mali, to this acre of garden on Knocknalour is quite a journey. Perhaps that African adventure first sparked Rachel’s interest in exotic plants. Her garden is full of treasures. A disciple of Christopher Lloyd and a graduate of Jimi Blake’s Plantsperson course at Hunting Brook, she is drawn to striking forms in leaf and flower. Carnivorous plants are a particular feature. Rachel has travelled in Borneo, Malaysia and Thailand, seeing nepenthes, ant plants and orchids in their native habitats, but she also takes inspiration from nearby gardens. The semicircle of copper beech framing a fine specimen of Cornus controversa was inspired by similar planting at nearby Coolaught Gardens. Before we walk around the garden, Rachel introduces me to some of her glasshouse gems. Here she grows the plants she loves: cacti, succulents and South African bulbs too tender for the garden. For practical reasons, she confines herself to sub-tropical specimens that can survive winter at 5 degrees Centigrade. Epiphyllum ‘Hard to Believe’ was in flower in midJune, its showy pink and orange bloom

Although exotics are an important part of the planting at Douentza, this is, at heart, a flower garden. Nepenthes, Sarracenia, Roscoea, Tetrapanax and Paulownia play second fiddle—though still an important supporting role—to Rachel’s love of flowers. The garden is 22

generously planted with spring bulbs. Tulips are a particular feature, with lily-flowered varieties in planters and the large blooms of Fosteriana tulips brightening the spring borders. Trillium thrive here, and bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, in its double form, is a favourite spring flower. When we walked the garden in June, Alstroemeria ‘Verona’ and ‘Oriana’ were star performers. Sweet William, foxgloves largely the Digitalis purpurea ‘Pam’s Choice’, Canterbury bells and Artemisia ludoviciana ‘Valerie Finnis’ helped fill any gaps. Rachel loves the airy feel of annuals; this year she sowed more than 600 varieties. Throughout the garden, and especially in Josh’s Garden on the west side - named for Rachel and Norman’s son, who died tragically in 2017—cosmos, tagetes and cornflowers wave through lilies, salvia and lobelia.

Planting in the Long Border Alstroemeria ‘Oriana’

Sobralia Mirabilis

Rachel uses unconventional colour combinations with confidence. Both the new border started in 2026, and the established long border use a distinctly hot palette. Orange Alstroemeria ‘Oriana’ is set against cerise Geraniums ‘Anne Thomson’ and ‘Dragon Heart’ (‘Bremdra’). Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’, Lavon tree lilies, Lilium regale and Hemerocallis ‘Kwanso Flore Plena’ with golden euonymus, grasses, delphinium, the crimson snapdragons ‘Madame Butterfly Red’ and ‘Double Shot Crimson’, tagetes and blue hydrangeas complete a vivid, eye-catching planting.

Summer Planting

group visits from June to August. Preferred group size is 10-30. Children are welcome with parental control. Restricted access for limited-mobility visitors. No dogs.  Douentza Garden is an RHSI Partner Garden Douentza Garden Knocknalour, Bunclody Co Wexford, Y21 X651 Contact: Rachel Darlington Mobile: 089 276 0609 Email: rachel.darlington65@gmail.com

Douentza is a plantsperson’s garden of particular interest to gardeners interested in incorporating the exotic into perennial borders. Access is by prior arrangement only. Individual visits cannot always be accommodated. The garden is open for pre-arranged 23

A Bellefield majestic lime in Spring slowly awakening from its wintry slumber

The Bellefield Limes in Context Dr George Cunningham 24

“I have heard the pigeons of the Seven Woods Make their faint thunder, and the garden bees Hum in the lime-tree flowers; ….” W.B. Yeats, In the Seven Woods, 1903.

he majestic limes, Tilia europaea, which grace the fields in front of Bellefield House, Shinrone, are of a cultivated variety and were probably planted in the first part of the nineteenth-century. They are plantation limes, probably imported from England, and interspersed on the land as decorative features rather than for commercial use. Indeed, a feature of the surviving big house demesnes in South Offaly are the numbers of mature limes, all seemingly planted around the same time. They grow quickly as may be seen from the avenue of limes planted along the back avenue of the nearby Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Silence (formerly known as Mt St Joseph Abbey Roscrea) in the 1920s. Also, a long line of limes graced the roadside boundary of Inane House, on the Limerick Road outside Roscrea until fairly recently when they were removed for road widening. My favourite avenue is that of limes in Gloster House Demesne, between Birr and Roscrea. They are a joy to behold in every season and are cherished by Mary and Tom Alexander (the present owners of the demesne). But we nearly lost them. Over thirty years ago while the Salesian Sisters still had a secondary school and novitiate there, a ‘cowboy tree surgeon’ — equipped with a chainsaw rather than a six-shooter — pronounced them

Its rich nectar much beloved of bees

dangerous and that he would have to take them down. The nuns sought my help and I was able to enlist the support of members of the Tree Council of Ireland who surveyed them. They found the limes completely healthy but the beeches at the gate were dangerous and had to come down! Thankfully, today, such cowboys are few and far between. There is some suggestion that the hybrid small-leaved lime, Tilia cordata, was once native to this country. But to date, the accepted theory is that in early medieval Ireland we had only native species (the main ones form the Irish alphabet) and that exotics, like beech, lime, horse chestnut, sycamore, plane, cypresses, cedars and such like were introduced into Ireland from the late seventeenth century on. This is mainly what the pollen record shows. 25

The limes at Bellefield will be the venerated elders of the newly-planted arboretum

The Irish word for lime, teile, seems to be a corrupt form of tilia. Placenames may indicate former plantings or individual trees but care must be taken as the old Irish teile may not always be associated with tilia. For example, Kiltilly in Wexford is given the modern Irish form, Cill Teile, but the Ordnance Survey Letters of 1840 interprets it as Cill tSíle, Sheila’s or Celia’s wood. On the other hand, Kiltealy does seem to be Cill Teile, church of the lime tree, but again older forms used Cill Teidhile, Teidhil being a personal name.

But surely colonising monks, say from Tintern in Wales to Tintern Minor in Wexford would have brought young trees with them? And so too with other new religious orders, but not in sufficient numbers to show up in the pollen records. I believe it to be of great significance that the twelfth-century lives of Saints Colum of Terryglass and Ruadhán of Lorrha, both near Lough Derg in Tipperary North, mention the lime tree and its honeyed sap, “…. lime tree whose sap on dripping down …. sated the whole community…”. The life of Finnian of Clonard also describes how the ‘tylia’ provided food and drink. Were the biographers/hagiographers correct in their tree-naming? If so, it brings a new dimension to trees in Irish history. In the saints’ lives mostly trees are just socalled, (not unlike present-day Ireland where the majority of the population cannot name even the common trees) …. ‘under the shade of a certain tree,’…. ’a large tree,’ ….’ a tree across the road’. I am not aware of any native lime-wood in Ireland — is there one there waiting to be discovered?

In medieval times lime wood, being soft, light and fine-grained, was much prized for carving religious objects, household objects and musical instruments, particularly so for intricate carving. Also, in times past the strong fibres beneath the bark was used for cordage and mats, essential household materials. We have a poor record in Ireland for letting trees reach a ripe old age. Not so in Germany, for example, where in many 26

New life emerging in early summer on the lower lime branches at Bellefield

The silhouette of a young lime- its heartshaped leaves, the hanging berries and a distinctive lime twig

These towering limes are an integral part of the biodiversity of this extraordinary demesne, now in the loving care of the RHSI. 

communities limes are revered. Up until recently a lime tree in the village of Upstedt in Lower Saxony was reckoned to be Germany’s oldest tree at about 1,000 years of age. Now the honour is claimed by the Allgau yew, near Steibis in Bavaria at 1100 years of age. We have a long way to go!

Roger Phillips, Trees in Britain, Europe and North America, Pan Books, 1978, ISBN 10: 0330254804 / ISBN 13: 9780330254809 Alan Mitchell, The Complete guide to trees of Britain and Northern Europe, Dragon’s World Ltd., 1985, ISBN 10 1850280002 / ISBN 13: 9781850280002 George Cunningham, Review of Professor Pádraig Ó Riain’s Beatha Ailbhe, Irish Text Society, 2017 in Tipperary Historical Journal, 2019, pp. 176-180. Barbara Evelyn Nicholson, The Oxford Book of Trees, OUP, 1984, ISBN 10: 019910011X / ISBN 13: 9780199100118 Christine Zucchelli, Trees of Inspiration, sacred trees and bushes of Ireland, The Collins Press, 2009, ISBN 10: 1848890133 / ISBN 13: 9781848890138

Our Bellefield Tilia europaea, also known as the hybrid common lime or European linden has all the attributes of age-old limes: height to almost 40 metres; numerous suckers produced at base and dense burrs on the trunk with green-yellow or white fragrant flowers that open in July (its nectar beloved of bees) becoming drooping clusters of fruit. The heart-shaped leaves are often covered with a shiny resin or honey dew exuded by aphids which amass on the trees.

Author and Historian, Dr George Cunningham, is a Bellefield volunteer where he is helping develop the library there. His latest book, Essays from Roscrea, has just been published by Parkmore Press.

Let’s give a nod to those pioneers who brought these plantation limes to our shores and to the Bellefield landowners of long ago who gifted them to us. 27

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Iris siberica

Gardening in Drought Conditions

ur increasingly unpredictable weather is challenging some assumptions about what will thrive in our gardens. Landscape designer Nicola Haines considers what recent dry summers can teach us about plant choice, water management and designing for a changing climate. As a landscape designer, I prefer to work with a palette of plants I have tried and trusted in my own garden. There is no substitute for lived experience. Plants, (infuriatingly), rarely read the books and sometimes do exactly the opposite of what we expect when they encounter the reality of a particular garden.

Choosing Plants for an Uncertain Irish Climate Nicola Haines

Our changing climate is presenting gardeners with an increasingly difficult combination of conditions: heavy rainfall throughout autumn and winter followed by long periods of summer dryness. If this becomes the new normal and summer water restrictions become 29

The plant list below has been created with the help of the knowledgeable community of landscape designers in the GLDA (Garden Landscape Design Association,) based on their observations of plants that have thrived in their own and their clients’ gardens this summer. These are suggestions rather than definitive lists, soil, aspect, wind exposure and establishment all have an enormous influence.

Eryngium alpinum ‘Superbum’

Trees: Crataegus, Malus, Prunus, Pyrus and Quercus have generally performed well, as have Pinus and Olea europaea. Acers have been a pleasant surprise in some gardens, coping better with dry conditions than expected. Heptacodium, in particular, has proved remarkably resilient and is an excellent small tree for urban gardens.

increasingly frequent, we will need to reconsider both the plants we choose and the way we garden. As gardeners, we know that the right plant in the right place is the key to success. I cannot remember a time when this has been more important. Drought is not simply about the amount of rain we receive. Its timing and distribution are equally significant. A garden may receive plenty of rainfall over the year and still experience severe soil-moisture deficits during the growing season. Many plants that we know will tolerate dry conditions can be vulnerable to wet winters. Verbena bonariensis is a good example. It will grow in the most unlikely cracks and crevices and appears wonderfully tolerant of heat and drought, but winter wet can prove its downfall. The challenge may increasingly be finding plants capable of coping with both extremes. Those recommended for rain gardens and planters are a useful starting point, as they are selected for conditions that can fluctuate between waterlogging and drought. Both the AllIreland Pollinator Plan and Dublin City Council provide guidance on designing and planting rain planters, including suggestions for suitable species.

Shrubs: A number of shrubs have also remained largely unfazed, including Rosa, Pyracantha, Cotoneaster, Viburnum, Ceratostigma, Indigofera, Mahonia, Berberis, Nandina, Euonymus, Euphorbia and Cistus. Grasses: The ornamental grasses have perhaps been the stars. Panicum ‘Squaw’, Poa labillardierei, Stipa, Pennisetum, Sesleria and Chionochloa rubra have all performed well, while Miscanthus has flowered particularly strongly. Perennials: Succisa pratensis, Agapanthus, Persicaria amplexicaulis, Echinops, Iris, Eryngium, Erigeron, Achillea, Nepeta, Kniphofia, Salvia and many Geranium have shown considerable resilience. 30

Failures: Moisture loving Cornus kousa and Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ have struggled, likewise perennials including Astrantia, Thalictrum, Rudbeckia and Geranium nodosum have suffered in exposed, dry conditions. Hydrangea, some Carex and Deschampsia have also struggled, it will be interesting to see how many of these plants will come back next summer. So how can we reduce the damage? The first priority is to capture water when it is available, for use during the drier months. Water butts, ponds and other forms of rainwater harvesting allow us to make better use of the heavy rainfall when it arrives. Improve the soil with compost and organic matter, and mulch well. Organic matter acts as a sponge within the soil, retaining moisture for uptake by the plants. A good layer of mulch helps reduce evaporation and keeps the root zone cooler. When watering is necessary for newly planted trees, watering slowly and deeply so that moisture reaches the roots rather than simply wetting the surface is best practice.

Echium pininana

does the soil dry first? Our gardens are already providing the answers. We just need to listen.  References:

Garden and Landscape Designers Association, https://www.glda.ie National Biodiversity Data Centre, All Ireland Pollinator Plan, 2026-2030, https://pollinators.ie Drought-Resistant Planting, Beth Chatto, Francis Lincoln, 2000, ISBN 10: 0711214255, ISBN 13: 9780711214255 Waterwise Garden, Tom Massey, RHS, 2025, ISBN 13:9780241740224 Drought Resistant Planting, RHS, https:// www.rhs.org.uk/garden-design/droughtresistant-gardening and Rain Gardens, RHS, https://www.rhs.org.uk/garden-features/ rain-gardens All photographs were provided by, and are copyright of Stephen Tierney.

Windbreaks and creating shade reduce moisture loss through evaporation and create more favourable microclimates. Ultimately, drought-resilient gardening is not about producing a definitive list of indestructible plants. It is about becoming more observant gardeners and understanding our individual sites. Which plants are thriving, which are suffering, where does water naturally collect, and where 31

Galanthus elwesii ‘Curse of the WereRabbit’ – copyright Joe Sharman, Monksilver Nursery

Narcissus ‘Rip van Winkle’ – copyright Daffseek: Susan Duncan, USA

Engleheart’s (1851-1936) description of it as “a horrid little monster”. It could be argued that Rev. Engleheart knew what he was talking about as he is credited with the introduction of over 700 cultivars but a kinder comment came from a friend who said it was “her little punk daffodil”.

The Monster & The Curse Dr Peter Milligan

And now for the curse. I do not know if you are familiar with the “Wallace and Gromit” animations produced by Nick Parks: Nicola and I must admit to watching them and enjoying them greatly. One such animation was titled “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” so I was intrigued when I saw a new galanthus introduction bearing this name: Galanthus elwesii ‘Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ I lost no time in searching for this and was able to obtain three bulbs from a well know breeder and grower of snowdrops in England. The cultivar is described by him as “every flower is different with extra petals, petaloid spathes and all sorts of weirdness going on”. I have yet to flower this myself, as the bulbs were only obtained this year, but I hope to be able to report in the spring/summer edition of 2027 on just how weird is this cultivar.

erhaps a somewhat dramatic title for this short piece but read on and see what you think. One of the great daffodil hybridizers of Ireland was William Baylor Hartland (1836-1912): based in Cork he raised, or registered, somewhere in the region of 120 cultivars (https://daffseek. org). On page twenty-one of his “Ye Original Little Booke of Daffodils” (1885) he has a section entitled “Monstrosities or Double Daffodils” with a sub-text stating “all double flowers are reckoned by botanists monstrosities in nature”. Rather strong stuff and I am not sure that botanists of today would agree with that sentiment. But the monster mentioned in the title of this article is the first cultivar listed in this section of Hartland’s catalogue: ‘Rip van Winkle’ – today listed as a 4 Y-Y (division 4) cultivar – this old daffodil is still readily available from many sources and I think is worth growing. The photograph shows the cultivar and I am not sure that it deserves the Rev. George

So, a daffodil denounced as a “monster” and a snowdrop as having “all sorts of weirdness going on” – who could resist them – so, go on, get some and form your own opinion.  32

Tulipa ‘Daydream’

Tulips New introductions and old favourites Thomas Quearney, Managing Director, Mr Middleton

ew spring flowers offer quite the range, colour and sheer anticipation of tulips. Planting those rather unremarkable-looking bulbs on a cold autumn day is an act of faith but come April and May the reward can be extraordinary. From elegant lilyflowered tulips to flamboyant doubles and fringed varieties, there is a tulip for almost every style of garden. Every autumn brings exciting new varieties to tempt us, but alongside these introductions there remains an important place for tried-and-tested tulips that, given the right conditions, can return reliably for many years.

Tulipa ‘Snow Crystal’

Tulipa ‘Icecream Galleria’

be appreciated at close quarters.

At Mr Middleton, selecting new tulips is one of the highlights of our year. With so many new varieties appearing we look beyond the catalogue photograph. A new tulip must offer something genuinely worthwhile, whether an unusual colour, exceptional flower form, strong stems, good garden performance or simply that indefinable quality that makes you stop and look twice.

For gardeners who enjoy something unusual, ‘Ice Cream Galleria’ is a real talking point. Its extraordinary double flowers have the appearance of a scoop of ice cream and demonstrate just how far tulip breeding has progressed from the simple forms of their wild ancestors. ‘Jade Maiden’ brings a more refined elegance, while ‘Red Ranger’ provides the strong, vibrant colour that tulips do so well. Our other newcomers include ‘Mayfair’, ‘Orange Passion’, ‘Belville’, ‘Supri Erotic’ and ‘Sweet Valley’. Together they demonstrate the extraordinary diversity available to today’s gardener, from bold oranges and reds to softer shades that can be woven through more subtle planting schemes.

New Tulips for This Season Among our new introductions this autumn, ‘Paleis het Loo’ is particularly striking, with beautifully formed coral pink flowers and sophisticated colouring that works wonderfully through a mixed border. It is the sort of tulip that combines particularly well with springflowering perennials and biennials rather than demanding a bed to itself.

I increasingly like to see tulips planted amongst other plants rather than standing alone in formal blocks. Emerging perennials help disguise the tulip foliage as it begins to fade, while the tulips provide invaluable colour before the herbaceous border really gets under way.

‘Snow Crystal’ offers something entirely different. Its extravagant, heavily fringed white flowers have an almost frosted appearance and bring wonderful texture to pots and borders. It is a tulip that really deserves to be planted where its intricate flowers can 34

Tulips That Come Back One of the questions we are most frequently asked is: “Which tulips will flower again next year?” The answer is not quite as straightforward as we might like. Many modern tulips give a magnificent display in their first spring but gradually decline afterwards. However, some groups are considerably better at returning, and Darwin Hybrid tulips remain among my first choices for gardeners wanting a more permanent display.

Tulipa ‘Candy Cloud’

‘Pink Impression’ is an outstanding example, producing large, luminous pink flowers on strong stems. The classic ‘Apeldoorn’ remains difficult to beat for brilliant, red and dependable garden performance. ‘Golden Parade’ provides magnificent golden-yellow flowers, while ‘Ivory Floradale’ offers a softer creamy-ivory alternative that combines beautifully with blues, purples and darker tulips. ‘Daydream’ is another favourite of mine. Its flowers open yellow and gradually develop wonderful warm orange tones as they mature, so a planting seems to change colour as the season progresses.

Tulipa clusiana ‘Lady Jane’

hard to beat. These smaller tulips are much closer to the wild ancestors of our large-flowered garden varieties. They may lack the sheer size of a modern Darwin Hybrid or double tulip, but they compensate with character, resilience and a wonderfully natural appearance.

Given good conditions, these are tulips worth leaving undisturbed in the ground rather than treating as annual bedding. Don’t Forget the Species Tulips

Varieties such as Tulipa tarda, Tulipa cretica ‘Hilde’ and Tulipa clusiana ‘Lady Jane’ are particularly rewarding. They are ideal for rock gardens, gravel

For gardeners who really want tulips to settle down and make themselves at home, however, species tulips are 35

Perennial Tulips

Tulipa clusiana ‘Lady Jane’

Good drainage is equally important. Tulips dislike sitting in cold, wet ground, particularly during their dormant period. Plant the larger garden tulips deeply – around 15–20 cm – in well-drained soil. In heavier ground, incorporating grit or improving the soil structure can make a considerable difference.

gardens, sunny banks, the front of borders and amongst low-growing perennials. In the right position they can remain for years, gradually increasing into attractive colonies. One of their great charms is that some species will also self-seed when they are happy. This gives a very different effect from the regimented tulip displays we traditionally associate with spring bedding. Plants begin to appear naturally amongst stones, gravel and neighbouring plants, creating a garden that becomes better and more established with age.

An autumn and spring feed with seaweed will also help maintain healthy growth and build strong bulbs for the following season. I also recommend removing the developing seed heads from large hybrid tulips after flowering so that the plant’s energy is directed back into the bulb. Species tulips, of course, should be left to set seed if you want them to naturalise.

Patience is required. A tulip grown from seed will take several years before it reaches flowering size, but for me that is part of the pleasure. Gardening is not always about instant results.

Perhaps that is the real joy of growing tulips. Every autumn we can experiment with the latest introductions and enjoy something completely new, while at the same time planting dependable Darwin Hybrids and little species tulips that may still be flowering in the garden many springs from now. 

Give Them the Right Conditions The secret to perennializing tulips is largely about what happens after flowering. Tulips need their foliage to manufacture and return energy to the bulb, so resist the temptation to cut away untidy leaves too early. Let them yellow and die back naturally.

Mr Middleton was the first Irish online garden shop. Following closure of their Dublin shop in Mary Street, the business is now 100% online. 36

A Garden Surrounded by Ocean

An aerial view of the house and gardens

John and Angela Donnellan are restoring a walled garden in Kinvara

n a wet June morning in Co. Galway water is all around us. Duras Gardens occupy a narrow spit of land that reaches into Kinvara Bay, the Atlantic pressing close from every direction. To the east is the limestone shoulder of the Burren. Wind is a constant companion. In this landscape shaped by weather, tide and long memory, a garden might appear an interruption. Instead, Duras feels part of a centuries old conversation between cultivation and shelter, intention and place.

Mary Hackett

Angela and John Donnellan were living in Kinvara when Duras House came up for sale in 2015. They wanted a house with a garden they could restore, and this property offered both — along with a formidable challenge. The Irish Youth Hostel Association, An Óige, had operated a hostel here from 1961 until 2011. As the hostel became less active, a local community group Doorus Orchard Garden cultivated a small part of the walled garden. By 37

The Rose Garden is underplanted with Iris

The Gate into the Walled Garden

whether they had found the garden’s original paths. John had tracked down a 19th century Ordnance Survey map, and they began probing the soil with spades. Some paths lay just inches below the surface; others were buried more than a foot deep. All were in poor condition. Over six months, contractors levelled the ground, reinstated the paths and redefined the beds, moving 100 tonnes of gravel and countless loads of compost through the garden’s single small gate.

the time the Donnellans arrived, the house was damp, the garden derelict, and the whole site overgrown. For two determined gardeners, it was perfect. The house has a distinguished past. Built in 1866 as a holiday retreat for Count Florimond Jacques de Basterot — a Frenchman with Galway roots — Duras House became a gathering place for late 19th century writers and thinkers. Lady Augusta Gregory visited often. It was here, “in this very room,” John notes, that she and W. B. Yeats first discussed the idea of an Irish National Theatre, a conversation that would eventually become the Abbey Theatre.

A chance meeting at an RHSI event held in Russborough House proved pivotal. Garden designer and consultant on historical gardens Daphne Levine Shackleton visited Durus for a day’s consultation, confirming many of the family’s instincts and refining others. Her sketch guided the garden’s renovation with the Donnellans adding personal touches. The double herbaceous border running north to south in soft pastels was her idea; hotter colours are reserved for the east west axis. A conversation with Helen Dillon about using yew for structure also shaped the design. Expert advice set the direction, but the garden matured through the Donnellans’ input and hard work.

When the Donnellans moved in, the walled garden was a mass of ivy, briars and wind sown saplings. They used herbicide only once, bringing in professionals to tackle ivy that wasn’t just climbing the walls but growing out of them. Briars had to be cut back with similar force. The ivy acting like a sail, was pulling at the stonework; corners were already undermined. On the walls capstones had loosened and fallen stones scattered the ground. Stabilising the walls became the first essential task. Friend and mentor, the gardener Sean McManamon, walked the cleared space with the family and asked

Today, Duras is a new garden held within Victorian walls. The restored 38

include heritage apples, quince, malus and medlar. Two gypsy Mirabelle trees, already heavy with fruit, are especially enviable. A White Marseilles fig, grown from a cutting of the Lambert Palace fig believed to date from 1556, anchors one corner. Another old fig, tucked into the western wall, is thought to have been brought from Palestine by Count de Basterot in the mid 1800s.

walled garden and Italianate courtyard include a new rose garden, ponds and a heritage orchard. Garden antiques — including a Temple Folly sourced in the UK — nod to the site’s origins, while refurbished outbuildings, one adorned with a Pompeian mural, add character. The planting leans toward romance rather than Victorian formality. In June, Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’ spills in violet drifts across the paths, and climbers layer the walls in soft abundance.

Lady Gregory once described the Duras garden she knew as “a pleasant place to pass an idle day.” Yeats placed it “in the grounds of a little country house on the seacoast, where Galway ends and Clare begins.” Under John and Angela Donnellan’s care, Duras Garden is coming to life again — a modern garden shaped by knowledge, patience and Atlantic weather, yet entirely at ease with its past.

Shelter is essential on this exposed Atlantic site. Many specimen trees were lost during the 20th century, so planting continues. Wind tolerant choices such as Amelanchier lamarckii and Acer griseum thrive, while more surprising successes — Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis ‘Sunburst’, Davidia involucrata, Cornus kousa var. chinensis ‘China Girl’ - benefit from the high walls. Magnolias revel in the heavy clay, with M. ‘Blue Opel’, M. ‘Leonard Messel’ and M. wilsonii adding seasonal drama. John is an enthusiastic propagator and has raised many of the perennials and shrubs from cuttings. Deep shrub borders soften the wind; box, yew and beech hedges lend structure and protection.

Duras Gardens are open to visitors May to September by prior appointment only. Because of steps and uneven levels, the garden is not suitable for visitors with limited mobility. Dogs are not allowed in the garden. The family also offer Airbnb accommodation in the Garden Lodge with full access to the gardens. Details on Airbnb, Duras Garden Lodge Kinvara. 

By high summer, roses take over. The clay soil, steady moisture and mild climate suit them. The Donnellans favour pink, white and purple varieties that climb the walls, spill through the courtyard and mass in the rose garden.

Duras Gardens is an RHSI Partner Garden Durras Gardens Parkmore, Kinvara, Co Galway H91 H7E2 Contact by Email: John@duras.ie Phone: 086 2569108 No website. Instagram and Facebook accounts as durasgardens All photographs are provided by, and are copyright of, Andreas Riemenschneider of Doorusphoto

As the walled garden was reclaimed, fruit trees planted by the former community garden had to be moved. John was pleased that some returned to the community and now thrive in local gardens. Recent replantings 39

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RH S I E V E N TS 20 26 10/11 Oct

Weekend RHSI Bellefield

10 Oct

Live talk at Bellefield, Carl Wright, The Making of Caher Bridge

14 Oct

Zoom Talk, Hannah Fox - Propagation through the Year / Micro Nursery

4 Nov

Zoom Talk, Aoife Munn, Rain Gardens

7 Nov

Bellefield workshop – Winter pruning

18 Nov

Zoom Talk, Eric Cederberg Pollinator Ecology & Perennials for Biodiversity

21 Nov

Bellefield workshop – Winter wildlife in the garden

2 Dec

Zoom Talk, Diane Gallagher - Floral Art Demonstration

4/5 Dec

Bellefield Christmas wreath making

5 Dec

Christmas Lunch, National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire

RH S I E V E N TS 20 27 13 Jan

Zoom Talk Tom Coward

16 Jan

Bellefield workshop – Winter propagation

27 Jan

Zoom Talk Paul Smyth

5/7 Feb

Snowdrop Long Weekend RHSI Bellefield, Shinrone

6 Feb

Day Tour (ex Dublin) to RHSI Bellefield (snowdrops)

10 Feb

Zoom Talk Delia Termini

24 Feb

Zoom Talk Dean Charlton

6 Mar

Bellefield workshop – Get started growing veg

10 Mar

Zoom Talk Henrik Sjoman

20 Mar

Live Talk, at Botanic Gardens, Diarmuid Gavin

21 Mar

RHSI Bellefield Plant Fair

PULL IT

out

PIN IT

Keep this centrefold on your noticeboard or fridge 42

RH S I E V E N TS 20 27 7/9 Apr

3 Day Tour to RHS Garden Bridgewater, UK

14 Apr

Zoom Talk Peter Wyse Jackson

17 Apr

RHSI Plant Sale, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire

24/25 Apr

Weekend RHSI Bellefield

28 Apr

Zoom Talk Rosie Maye

16 May

RHSI Russborough Garden Show

29 May

Day Tour to Philip Hollwey’s Garden and Huntingdon Castle

5/6 Jun

Weekend RHSI Bellefield

19 Jun

Day Tour to Angela O’Reilly’s Rose Garden

29 Jun/2 Jul 4 Day Tour to Gardens of Kerry 14 Jul

Day Tour (ex Bellefield) to Gardens of Clare

17/18 Jul

Weekend RHSI Bellefield

24 Jul

Day Tour to Montalto Estate & Gardens, Co. Down

4/5 Sept

Weekend RHSI Bellefield

7/10 Sept

4 Day Tour to gardens of the Cotswolds, UK,

15 Sept

Zoom Talk Hester Forde

29 Sept

Zoom Talk Ciaran FitzGerald & AGM

9 Oct

Live Talk at RHSI Bellefield TBA

20 Oct

Zoom Talk Jack Aldridge

3 Nov

Zoom Talk Steve Edney

17 Nov

Zoom Talk Tom Hart Dyke

1 Dec

Zoom Floral Art Demonstration, Lorraine O’Brien

4 Dec

Christmas Lunch, National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire

PLAN YOUR

year

so you always know what’s coming up at the RHSI. 43

C. agrippinum

From the Editor’s Garden Peter Milligan and Nicola Milligan

icola and I had popped into Walkers of Newtownards in Co. Down – a favourite spot for buying bulbs, plants and seeds – on the hunt for some outdoor Hyacinth bulbs. We ended up buying species Crocus, Muscari and Fritillaria persica for Nicola and I managed to sneak in a few more Daffodil bulbs as well as the Hyacinths. Standing chatting at the counter the conversation, while talking about bulbs in general, had mentioned the intrinsic beauty of Colchicums and I promised that I would write about these beautiful plants in this issue of “From the Editor’s Garden” – we grow quite a

C. ‘Felbrigg’

C. ‘Glory of Threave’

mid-autumn depending on conditions in the garden.

few Colchicums and are always on the hunt for more and feel that they should be lauded more often and grown more widely. Generally, Walkers will have some in stock.

As mentioned above there are many species but there are a goodly number that are easy to grow in most gardens and will flower year after year.

This genus of corms (botanically I think they should be regarded as corms but many people will refer to them as bulbs) is now believed to contain approximately 160 species and a number of the more popular or easily grown species have numerous cultivars. Referred to as autumn crocus (they are not crocus), meadow saffron (I do not know why), and naked ladies (as most flower before the leaves appear) these beautiful plants will flower from early to

In flower with us at the time of writing is Colchicum x agrippinum – this is considered to be a cross between C. variegatum and C. autumnale and, as the photograph shows, has a beautiful purple chequered flower with a strong central white line. Another favourite is C. ‘Felbrigg’ – named for the National Trust property 46

in Norfolk (the gardens used to hold a national collection of Colchicums before they were dispersed) – this plant was obtained from Felbrigg by Christopher Grey-Wilson who named it after it received an award from the RHS. It is thought to be a large selection of C. cilicicum. Keeping with the theme of plants named for places we grow C. ‘Glory of Threave’. Christopher Grey-Wilson writing about this cultivar says “this is a very elegant cultivar with relatively small, narrowly wine-glass-shaped flowers …. the dark flowers bear a metallic sheen matched by few other cultivars”. It could be argued that C. ‘Faberge’s Silver’ has an equally beautiful sheen on its flowers.

C. ‘Dick Trotter’

Also, we grow C. ‘Dick Trotter’. Richard Trotter was a friend of the wellknown plantsman E. A. Bowles and it is believed that he received many plants from Bowles’ Garden at Myddelton House. The original plant was found in Brin, Richard Trotter’s Garden, and was named for him. We think it is a beautiful shade of pink with many fine light lines etched in the petals. Grey-Wilson states that is it a seedling arising from C. speciosum ‘Album’ and considers it ‘odd’ that a pink cultivar should arise from a white colchicum.

be C. autumnale ‘Alboplenum’ and C. speciosum ‘Album’ – a pink offspring from two white cultivars.

The penultimate plant that I am going to show a photograph of is C. ‘Waterlily’. Many growers will say that this is the finest, fully double colchicum. If you look at the photograph, I hope you will agree. This is easily grown in the garden and, for us, has bulked up well in a relatively short space of time. Once again, this can be considered an ‘oddity’ as the parentage seems to

Now there is always an exception to the rule. Unlike most colchicums which flower before producing their leaves, C. doerfleri, which is found in the Western Balkan Peninsula, flowers in the winter and has adapted to produce its leaves at the same time as the flowers. It is believed that this adaptation has occurred to protect the flowers in the extreme cold conditions in its native

C. ‘Waterlily’

C. doerfleri ‘Sakura’

habitat. Nicola uses much the same method in her Crocus window boxes, but provides the protective cover using Festuca glauca and Cyclamen! The plant shown here is a named cultivar of the species: C. doerfleri ‘Sakura’.

is absolutely stunning. C. luteum – well the give-away is in the name – the use of luteum tells us that the flower will be yellow. This is the first yellow colchicum we have grown and are eagerly awaiting its first flower.

You may be forgiven for thinking that all colchicum will be various shades of white, pink or purple. The good news is that there are other colours. Recently, this year, we have acquired corms of C. kesselringii ‘Purple Star’ and C. luteum and are waiting for these to flower for us. C. kesselringii ‘Purple Star’ may suggest a flower that is a simple purple – nothing could be further from the truth. The flowers are white with a purple marking which is broad at the base of the flower but thins to a fine narrow line as it reaches the top of the flower – it

We hope this very brief overview of some of the colchicums we grow will encourage you to go out and buy some for yourselves and, next autumn, be sitting enjoying these wonderful flowers in your own gardens.  Christopher Grey-Wilson, Ron Leeds and Robert Rolfe, Colchicums – The Complete Guide, RHS, 2020, ISBN 10: 1911666088 / ISBN 13: 978-1911666080 Ron Leeds, Autumn Bulbs, Batsford Ltd., 2005, ISBN 10: 0713489626 / ISBN 13: 9780713489620 48

Walking and Talking Biodiversity and Sustainability at Powerscourt Gardens Rosemary O’Flynn

et me take you on a walk and talk through Powerscourt Gardens …. It starts at the top of the steps which lead down to the Italian garden and on to Triton Lake, in front of the iconic view of the Sugarloaf Mountain. My name is Rosemary O’Flynn. I am one of eight gardeners here at Powerscourt Gardens and Alex Slazenger is our Head Gardener.

who, in 2023, portrayed biodiversity and sustainability at its very best with her show garden at An Bord Bia’s Bloom in the Park event. Nicola named her garden “The Power of One” and it certainly showed what each one of us can do in our own gardens, no matter how big or small. Nicola recreated an alternative urban front garden showing how one garden and a better choice of car has the power to tackle the effects of pollution and contribute to the environment. It featured recycled materials, a sedum roof, plants for pollinators, trees and plants chosen for their ability to absorb pollution and clean the air, harvested rainwater, etc.

I would like to start by mentioning that Ralph and Gwen Slazenger purchased Powerscourt Estate in 1961. Ralph was a physicist and what caught his eye was not the beautiful house, gardens or panoramic views of the Sugarloaf. It was Powerscourt Waterfall, Ireland’s highest waterfall, which had the potential for development of hydroelectric power. So, sustainability has been at the heart of Powerscourt Estate since its purchase. Also, Powerscourt Gardens has become the first major outdoor visitor attraction to receive an award for sustainability and in 2022, received a Silver Award from the Sustainable Tourism Network (STN), Ireland.

The definition of Biodiversity is the variety of plant and animal life in an area. The definition of Sustainability is the ability to maintain processes or practices continuously over time without depleting resources. With improved sustainable practices, so too will biodiversity improve.

As we walk along, I will mention examples of the initiatives we have in practice which helped us achieve this award. I am reminded of a famous quote by Robert Swan, the Polar explorer and author. He said; “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” I am also reminded of the garden designer Nicola Haines

The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan (AIPP) is a shared plan of action to help our pollinating insects. Its implementation is 50

The AIPP experts tell us about the importance of prioritising and increasing the numbers of native plants, trees, shrubs and wildflowers across the landscape to provide food, shelter and breeding sites for our most important pollinators. These include wild bees, hoverflies, moths and butterflies. The AIPP provides information, recommendations, monitoring schemes and resources to help us all take action for pollinators. Now in its third phase, the AIPP aims to create a landscape with pockets of nature every 200 metres.

coordinated by the National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC). It was set up in 2015 by a group of bee experts who saw that our pollinators here on the island of Ireland were in decline. One-third of our wild bee species are threatened with extinction. Experts agree that they are in trouble due mainly to a lack of food. Our landscape doesn’t provide the abundance and diversity of flowering plants they need to survive throughout their life-cycle. In fact, since the 1970s there has been a 75% reduction in flying insects, globally. Habitat destruction due to changes in land use is the main cause of species decline and extinction. Considering so many of our food crops are pollinated by insects, especially by bees, this is alarming news.

Many of us will have heard the short, catchy phrases that the AIPP use to help us implement elements of their plan; “Don’t Mow, Let it Grow,” “Don’t Sow, Let 51

it Grow,” “No Mow May” and “Let it Bloom June!” You will notice AIPP signposts around the gardens highlighting our wildflower meadows, re-wilding and sensory bee areas. Our Conservation Area lies beneath the mature beech tree-lined avenue as you enter Powerscourt Estate. These trees were planted over 250 years ago by the 1st Viscount Powerscourt. Here we have a huge diversity of native wildflowers which bears the greatest testament to the “No Mow” policy. This unmown, uncultivated and undisturbed area holds an abundance of native wildflowers such as; Viola reichenbachiana (Early Dog Violet), Primula vulgaris (Primrose), Primula veris (Cowslip), Primula x polyantha (False Oxlip), Allium ursinum (Wild Garlic), Anacamptis pyramidalis (Pyramidal Orchid), Prunella vulgaris (Self-heal), Lotus corniculatus (Bird’sfoot Trefoil), Succisa pratensis (Devil’sBit Scabious) amongst many, many more.

scripta (Native Bluebells), Scilla siberica (Siberian squill), Muscari armeniacum and Muscari aucheri varieties (Grape Hyacinth) and more recently we have added Allium (Ornamental onion), Camassia (Quamash) and Eremurus (Fox-tail lily). Existing varieties of narcissus and tulips add to a fabulous pollinator-friendly mixed bulb display from February to June each year. Next, we enter the Walled Garden through the Chorus Gate. This gate was made from a copy of a seventeenth century German gate and was purchased and erected by the 7th Viscount Powerscourt. We stop at the bedding area just inside the gate, which consists of four circular and two rectangular beds which are usually used for summer and winter bedding. Over the past few years, we have been sowing a green manure in these beds, over the winter months. Phacelia tanacetifolia, (also known as Fiddleneck, Purple Tansy or Scorpion weed) is the green manure of choice. It has many benefits; It improves soil structure. It survives mild winters. It is fast growing

The Early Dog Violet, Primrose and Wild Garlic are associated with ancient woodlands and so are known as Ancient Woodland Indicator (AWI) plants. Ancient woods are areas of woodland that have persisted since 1600 and we know that this area has had woodland cover for over 400 years! As we walk through the gardens, our first stop is at the shrubbery. Here we have sown a myriad of pollinatorfriendly perennial bulbs amongst a range of specimen shrubs. These bulbs include; Crocuses (botanical and large-flowering), Chionodoxa luciliae (Glory of the Snow), Galanthus nivalis (Snowdrops), Hyancinthoides non52

summer bedding. This is a flowering plant that fixes nitrogen into the soil when the roots are dug in at the end of the flowering season. It is supported during growth with large hazel branches grown on the estate, crafted into large domes which span the width of the beds. The Rose Garden is situated nearby. Here we have a large collection of roses that are almost 50 years old. We have recently inter-planted these roses with Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips.’ This is an example of Companion Planting- Plants helping other plants. During the heat of summer, S. m. ‘Hot Lips’ releases small amounts of sulphur, helping to protect the roses from fungal infections such as rust, black spot and powdery mildew. We have noticed a marked reduction in black spot and rust and a complete absence of powdery mildew. S. m. ‘Hot Lips’ is a great plant! It bears the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM). It is a designated “Plant for Pollinators” by the RHS and it is very drought tolerant. Its many benefits make it a must-have in the garden and especially amongst roses!

and suppresses weeds by establishing quickly, forming a dense canopy of fern-like foliage. It adds nitrogen to the soil when dug in and this can be done as soon as 8-12 weeks after sowing. Phacelia has a very pollinator-friendly lavender-blue flower and is listed as one of the top honey producing flowers for honeybees. It also self-seeds freely. Other suitable green manures include Vicia faba (Winter Field beans), Limnanthes douglasii (Poached-egg plant) and Sinapis alba (Mustard). Using a green manure is sustainable as it is a natural way of adding nutrition to the soil and it reduces the need for synthetic or artificial fertilisers.

We leave the Walled Garden momentarily, through a small gate close to the 240-year-old ‘Bamberg Gate’ which came from the cathedral at Bamberg in Germany. We walk along the Araucaria Walk, a grove of Chilean Pines, trees also known as “Monkey Puzzles”, (Araucaria araucana), to where our second native pocket forest is located. Using the Miyawaki method of dense, small plantations, 1,000 native saplings including Birch, Scot’s Pine, Wild Cherry and Oak have been planted within a 1/4-acre site. This has been enabled by the work of

Summer bedding is usually a mix of non-native pollinator-friendly flowering plants including Antirrhinum (Snapdragon), Tagetes patula (French Marigold) and Gazania cultivars (African Daisies). These non-native plants or ‘ornamental’ species offer an additional source of nectar and pollen for our pollinators. Roughly every second year, we sow Lathyrus odoratus (Sweet Pea) as 53

volunteers from the “100 Million Trees” project. This is a non-profit organisation set up to plant 100 million native trees over a period of 10 years. The founders, the Mulcahy family, seek corporate sponsorship and use a communitydriven initiative to help reverse the loss of biodiversity caused by the reduction of forests worldwide. This particular pocket forest was planted by a group of women volunteers, led by our Managing Director, Sarah Slazenger, earlier this year to mark International Women’s Day.

the height of the other. These beds have been planted with a mixture of Carex riparia (Greater Pond Sedge), Typha latifolia (Common Bulrush) and Glyceria maxima (Reed Sweet Grass/ Great Manna Grass). These plants use their roots to hold high nitrates, absorb excess nutrients and phosphorus, trap sediments, store carbon and so act as a biological filtration and purification system. This ensures a clean effluent.

At Powerscourt, we make our own compost, on quite a large scale. A good mix of green and brown garden waste from 47 acres of gardens, a 150-acre farm, together with plenty of wellrotted horse manure and spent coffee grounds from the very busy Avoca Café! You will notice wide circles of our rich, dark compost around the base of many of our trees, especially our many specimen trees including those on our Tree Trail. The reasons for this are threefold: firstly, it provides a good source of nutrition. Secondly, it provides a root-zone protective area to deter heavy machinery, mowers and visitors walking too close to the base of these trees and so helps to protect shallow roots from compaction and damage. Thirdly, it acts as a mulch layer, helping to retain moisture.

We return to the gardens and stop again at the Venetian Gate, the entrance to the Herbaceous Border. This gate came from Venice and was also purchased and erected in 1900 by the 7th Viscount Powerscourt who considered it “suitable to the entrance of a garden”. This is where Part 2 of our walking tour will start. I hope you will join me then as we walk through the border to discuss sustainable, naturalising spring bulbs, pollinator-friendly perennials and walk onwards towards Triton Lake to discuss Powerscourt’s wildlife, specimen trees, alternatives to herbicides and pesticides, battery operated tools and vehicles, biomass fuels and some plans for the future! 

Recently, we have re-developed our composting area to accommodate making even more compost. Below it, we have also constructed two reed beds to help purify run-off from the compost. In the distance, not far from the pocket forest, you will see these reed beds, one situated above 54

Annes Grove House and Outbuildings

Annes Grove Gardens

Linda Hogan

elcome to Annes Grove Gardens. A tranquil, secluded valley, rich and sheltered. This is a landscape shaped by water, stone, and an untamed, naturalistic aesthetic. This historic 190-acre estate near Castletownroche, Co Cork, with 30 acres of ornamental gardens, belonged to the Grove Annesley family from the late 1700s until 2015, when it was gifted to the state and is now overseen by the Office of Public Works (OPW). The garden as it stands today was created by Richard Arthur Grove Annesley (1879–1966) and his wife Hilda, who began the work in earnest in 1905. Its core is a Robinsonian design philosophy, an early 20thcentury movement championed by Richard Grove Annesley that rejected rigid, formal planting in favour of letting plants naturalise in woodlands and glens as they would in the wild. He cultivated plants with a pioneering,

“…. a perfect accomplished mingling of natural and formal styles. In the case of Annes Grove the formal style is simple and unpretentious. There is no grandeur … [but rather], the note is one of romantic richness”. E. Hyams, Irish Gardens, 1967

Hilda’s Gate leading into the Walled Garden

Rustic Summerhouse in the Walled Garden

thrive alongside ancient Magnolias: Magnolia macrophylla, Magnolia campbellii, Magnolia wilsonii, Magnolia x wieseneri, etc. These are not ordinary garden hybrid Rhododendrons; they are wild collected specimens many sourced by Frank Kingdon-Ward; one of history’s most adventurous plant hunters. Richard Grove Annesley was part of a select circle of patrons who funded these plant-hunting expeditions across East and Southeast Asia. He began creating the Rhododendron Garden in 1907.

experimental approach. He valued the countryside and its lifestyle, engaging in country pursuits typical for men of his era. A historic early 17th-century house sits at the heart of this garden estate, complemented by later additions and traditional outbuildings such as a dairy yard, midden, and numerous outbuildings. At the front of the house, visitors are greeted by a croquet and tennis lawn framed by majestic specimen trees, including Cedrus libani and a champion tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera. Beyond lies an 18th Century walled garden; modest, unassuming, lacking any grandiosity. No rigid geometric order, loose flowing, romantic with a rustic summer house and ribbon beds of clipped Buxus sempervirens.

Proceeding onward, you encounter the imposing Hydrangea Rock, a striking geological formation where refined lacecap and sturdy mophead cultivars blanket the rugged stone in a spectrum of summer colour. Stone steps lead down through this dramatic outcrop to the River Garden. Here, a deliberate island refuge lies enveloped in verdant, prehistoric vegetation; Gunnera and towering groves of thick bamboo evoke the sense of discovering a primeval botanical realm. The ancient Ginkgo biloba, recognisable by its distinctive fan-shaped leaves, stands alongside

The crown jewel of the gardens is the historic collection of calcifuge plants, dominated by magnificent Rhododendrons and Magnolias. Beneath dappled shade specimens such as the yellow flowering Rhododendron wardii and the large leafed Rhododendron macabeanum 56

Riverside Walk along the Banks of the Awbeg River

The Walled Gardens Double Herbacious Border

gentle current, and the well’s natural ambiance fuelled his epic poetry’s creativity.

the captivating Davidia involucrata, while specimens of Hoheria, Eucryphia cordifolia, and Eucryphia moorei present late-season wonders that command attention. Finally, the sweet, caramel aroma of Cercidiphyllum japonicum engages the senses to herald the onset of autumn, mirrored across the island by the vivid autumnal mosaic of Liquidambar styraciflua.

Today, the team at Annes Grove faces the delicate challenge of preserving the estate’s historic layout, curating its world-class botanical collections, and propagating cuttings from the original plants to ensure their genetic survival. Planned work will safeguard this unique Irish garden’s design philosophy and its historic Himalayan botany, ensuring they thrive for generations to come. 

Descending from the manicured heights into the lower ornamental glen induces a complete change in atmosphere and flora. The Island acts as a protective refuge, shielding delicate plants from strong winds and benefiting from the moisture in the surrounding air. The Island constitutes Annes Grove’s most vital and delicate element. Four-panel Edwardian bog beds and a lily pond feature towering Gunnera, ferns, and vivid Himalayan primulas, notably Primula florindae (Giant Tibetan Cowslip), named for Frank Kingdon-Ward’s first wife. These are situated near Spenser’s Well, a natural low spring named after Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), who authored parts of ‘The Faerie Queene’ beside it. The glen’s serenity, the Awbeg River’s

Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Tuesday & Wednesday: Closed Seasonal Closing: The gardens will close for the season on 27th September 2026 and will reopen in mid-March 2027. Reference [1] E. Hyams, Irish Gardens, Macmillan, London, 1967, pp. 153-155. Photographs: Courtesy of Cathal Noonan Photography, Kachmarsky Photography and the Office of Public Works (OPW) 57

Figure 1: How Water Stress in Plants Affects Physiology Image taken from Futureco Bioscience

Water Stress & Plant Strategy Hui Xing

or generations, Irish gardeners have enjoyed a quiet privilege: rain. We planned borders with the assumption of dependable moisture, selecting Hydrangeas, Rhododendrons, Hostas and lush lawns that thrived in our damp embrace. Our gardening heritage, from the demesne woodlands to the cottage garden, was built

Figure 2: Air bubbles form in the vascular system, blocking the transport of water. Image taken from Researchgate

The visible signs we recognise, wilting, leaf scorch, marginal browning, premature leaf drop are not mere aesthetic disappointments; they are distress signals. Beneath the soil, roots stop extending, unable to push through dry, compacted earth. Nutrient uptake struggles because water is the medium through which minerals are transported. The plant becomes a beacon for opportunistic pests like aphids and spider mites, which preferentially attack weakened hosts. Even after rain returns, the damage can be lasting: reduced root mass, diminished energy reserves for winter, and delayed flowering in subsequent seasons.

on a foundation of reliable Atlantic rainfall. But the changing climate is rewriting the rules. As drought and high temperatures become more frequent visitors to our shores during growing seasons, and as winter storms grow more violent, we must ask not only what happens to our plants, but what our plant choices say about our readiness for the future. The Physiology of Thirst When rain withholds, a plant enters crisis mode. Its stomata, the microscopic mouths on leaf surfaces, clamp shut to prevent water vapour from escaping. This is an emergency response, not a choice. Photosynthesis, which requires carbon dioxide entering through those same stomata, grinds to a halt. Growth ceases. If stress deepens, the water columns within the xylem vessels can snap under tension, a phenomenon known as cavitation. Air bubbles form in the vascular system, blocking the transport of water from roots to leaves. It is, in essence, a plant suffering a stroke.

A Community Under Stress Yet a stressed plant is never alone in its suffering. The garden is a web, and a single thread pulled taut strains the entire network. Reduced nectar and pollen production means less food for bees, hoverflies, and butterflies. Flowering windows shorten or shift, disrupting the synchrony with insect emergence. A plant that flowers two 59

Figure 3: Plant response strategies against drought stress. Image taken from Springer Nature Link

Ireland’s New Reality

weeks early due to heat stress may find its pollinators have not yet emerged; a plant that flowers late may find them already gone.

The data is sobering. Recent summers have brought temperatures nudging 30°C and prolonged dry spells that were once statistical anomalies. Met Éireann records show increasing frequency of “dry spells”, which are defined as fifteen or more consecutive days with less than 1mm of rainfall. The myth of “Ireland is wet” is giving way to a reality of unpredictability: intense rainfall events followed by weeks of nothing, or drought periods interrupted by sudden flooding.

Below ground, the story is equally concerning. Root exudates, the chemical compounds roots release into the soil, change under drought stress, altering the composition and activity of the soil microbiome. Mycorrhizal fungi, which trade nutrients for carbohydrates, may be abandoned as the plant redirects energy to survival. The domino effect is profound: a single stressed tree can reduce soil carbon sequestration, alter water infiltration, and change the pH of the surrounding soil. When we lose one plant to drought, we lose not just its beauty, but its ecological function.

Our traditional planting palette, built on the assumption of constant moisture, is becoming unsustainable without excessive irrigation. And 60

Figure 4: Lawns turning brown at Bots during the dry period in August 2026: “drought escape”. In contrast, trees and shrubs showing “drought tolerance” strategy. Image credit: Hui Xing

that allow them to survive with minimal water. Hairy leaves, Stachys byzantina (Lamb’s-ear) for example, trap a boundary layer of humid air, reducing transpiration. Glaucous wax coatings (seen on Echeveria, many Eucalyptus species) reflect light and seal in moisture. Deep taproots (Cistus, Baptisia) access groundwater far below the surface. Succulent stems (Sedum/Hylotelephium\, Delosperma) and thick rootstock (Heuchera) store water for lean times. Some plants such as rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus), lavender (Lavandula) and conifers have narrow, needle-like leaves that reduce surface area and water loss. Others, like Mahonia, have thick, leathery leaves that resist desiccation.

irrigation, in a changing climate, is a luxury we cannot afford to normalise. Hose-pipe bans are likely to become more frequent. Like it or not. Groundwater tables are under pressure. The water we use on our gardens is water taken from natural systems such as streams, aquifers, and wetlands that are already struggling. Choosing for Resilience: Understanding Drought Resistance In response to more frequent dry periods, ecological design asks us to shift from aesthetics alone to resilience. This is not a sacrifice of beauty, but a redefinition of it. Central to this shift is the concept of drought resistance. It’s a plant’s innate ability to withstand periods of water scarcity. Drought resistance itself operates through three distinct strategies, and understanding these strategies is key to intelligent plant selection.

The second is drought avoidance. These plants escape dry periods altogether. Annuals that complete their life cycle before summer heat arrives, or geophytes like tulips and crocuses that retreat underground into dormant bulbs, are classic avoiders. They simply aren’t present when the drought hits.

The first is drought tolerance. These plants possess permanent physiological and morphological adaptations 61

Figure 5: A bird’s eye view of agriculture grassland under drought stress in summer 2026: “drought escape” of grasses VS “drought tolerance” of trees and shrubs in hedgerows. Image credit: Hui Xing

Figure 6: The dry garden at RHS Garden Hyde Hall is mulched with gravel and stones

rooting native grasses like Molinia caerulea and Deschampsia cespitosa. Underutilised exotics like Phlomis, Brachyglottis and Osteospermum, have proven surprisingly viable in our gardens, offering beauty without the thirst. The Mediterranean Garden, once considered a foreign fantasy, is becoming a practical template.

The third is drought escape, where plants enter dormancy during dry periods, shedding leaves or ceasing growth entirely, only to resume activity when moisture returns. Some perennial lawn grasses use this strategy which was familiar to us during the prolonged dry summer.

But where do these strategies come from? Drought avoidance, tolerance, and escape are not abstract categories. They are the observable outcomes of two fundamental drivers: provenance and functional traits.

As drought intensity increases, the most successful plants often shift from tolerance strategies (maintaining function under stress) to avoidance or escape strategies, such as shedding leaves or reducing transpiration to the bare minimum.

Choosing for Resilience: Provenance and Functional Traits

For us, selecting for drought resistance means choosing plants equipped with these strategies. Native options with proven resilience include Quercus petraea (sessile oak), which has deeper roots than its pedunculate cousin Q. robur; Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn), whose small leaves reduce transpiration; and deep-

Provenance is the geographic origin of a plant or seed, and it shapes the genetic legacy a plant carries. It is the geography of resilience. Functional traits are the measurable characteristics such as leaf size, leaf thickness, root depth, stomatal density 62

that express that legacy in physical form. Together, they explain why a plant adopts a particular drought strategy. This is where horticulture meets ecology, and where we can make informed, evidence-based choices. Provenance matters because populations of the same species, separated by geography, often evolve distinct adaptations to their local conditions. A sessile oak (Quercus petraea) from a dry, southern European site may possess different droughtcoping mechanisms than one from a damp Irish valley. Research on sessile oak has shown that populations from sites with higher silt and carbon content, or with greater vapor pressure deficit during summer, exhibit greater plasticity in water-use efficiency under drought stress. In other words, their provenance, the conditions their ancestors endured, shapes their ability to adapt.

Figure 7: Drought resistant planting. Image taken from RHS

A note of caution: importing material from climates that are too warm can reduce frost hardiness. Seed from south of the 46th parallel, for example, can leave plants vulnerable to late cold snaps. Provenance selection is not about chasing the hottest possible source, but about finding the best match or a slight future match for the conditions the plant will actually experience.

This insight has profound implications for our gardeners. As our climate shifts toward warmer, drier summers, sourcing plant material from provenances that already tolerate such conditions may improve survival and performance. Teagasc’s Fit Forests project is actively investigating which provenances of key forest tree species are best adapted to future Irish conditions, re-evaluating historic provenance trials and assessing whether Irish and foreign seed origins are suitably matched for a warmer climate. For the gardener, this translates into a practical question: when selecting a native oak or birch, can we trace its origin? Does it come from a region with similar or slightly warmer, drier conditions than our own?

If provenance tells us where a plant comes from, functional traits tell us how it survives. They directly influence a plant’s performance and ecological strategy. In the context of drought, traits related to water transport and conservation are especially revealing. This means looking beyond the label when selecting plants. A plant with grey, hairy leaves and a compact habit is not merely aesthetically pleasing; it is displaying its drought strategy. A plant with large, soft, dark green leaves is telling you it expects abundant water. 63

Figure 8: Plant functional traits across plant organs. Image taken from New Phytologist Carmona & Beccari (2025)

stories written in their leaves and roots. When we select with provenance and traits in mind, we are not just gardening. We are anticipating the future.

The functional trait approach asks us to read these signals and select accordingly. In practice, provenance and functional traits inform each other. A lavender from a dry Provençal hillside carries both a provenance adapted to drought and functional traits with narrow, grey leaves and deep roots expressing that adaptation. A native willow from a floodplain may possess neither, despite its ecological value in wetter niches. When designing for resilience, we should therefore ask two questions of every plant considered: Where does this plant’s lineage come from, and what traits is it displaying? The answers will guide selection toward plants that can not only survive the extremes ahead but thrive within them.

A Call to Action We cannot control the weather, but we can control our palette. Every plant choice is a vote for resilience or vulnerability. We are not merely tending a plot. We are responding to the defining challenge of our age with summer drought and winter logging by observing and adapting. Designing for resilience creates a garden that can withstand the extremes yet to come. The rain will return, and so will the drought. Perhaps in the same year. Perhaps in the same month. But they may not return as we remember them. Our gardens need to be living experiments in resilience as the extremes are here. The adaptive garden does not shout. It persists. 

This is not a call for abandoning our beloved garden favourites. It is an invitation to deepen our literacy to see plants not as static ornaments, but as organisms with histories, strategies, and 64

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My Harvest – 2026 A

Brona Dore

childhood filled with homegrown fruit and vegetables meant that my sisters and I learned more about harvesting crops than sowing and planting them. We were taught to pick peas and beans by holding the stalk and then pulling off the pea pods or beans. This was to protect the plants from breakages or even from pulling them out of the ground in the case of Dwarf French Beans. The snap of the stems of Purple Sprouting Broccoli still gives me much pleasure.

We learned how to pick fruit, top and tail gooseberries and various currants at a very young age. Strawberries were carefully picked, again holding the stalk. When we were older, we were allowed to pick tomatoes. The skill here was to break the tomato stem at the knuckle just above the calyx, sometimes called the ‘tomato elbow’. This snaps easily when the tomato is ripe and ensures the calyx stays in place. My father sold some of his tomatoes and was most particular that the calyx was still attached as this helps to preserve the harvested tomato by sealing in moisture. As children we thought the tomato looked better with its green top.

Salad Pot

The Summer of 2026 was the driest summer in my 45 years growing vegetables and fruit. It was not possible to keep everything watered sufficiently. We have our own well and needed to be careful not to deplete our water supply.

and some from my own saved seed. Warmed daily by the sun, tomatoes are delicious this year. They did require a lot of watering. For many years I have grown scullions (when I was growing up – otherwise scallions/Spring Onions/ Salad Onions) in old potato grow bags. This saves on bed space and it is also easier to water the crop. This method keeps us supplied with scullions all year round. I buy young plants in April and plant a second crop in July. I sow seed in March of unusual varieties of Spring Onions – Apache, Lilia, Totem or Ishikura – first in 12 cell modules, 5/7 seed per cell. These are hardened off and planted in 3 litre pots. We should not be importing Spring/Salad Onions from places like Egypt and even South America. Therefore, I challenge everyone to grow a pot of scullions – plants could still be available in garden centres. Otherwise consider sowing Spring Onions next Spring.

First plantings of lettuce bolted much earlier than usual. For many years I have planted up Salad Pots for about eight ‘clients’/friends. So, I did up a number of pots for ourselves. These were much easier to water and harvesting the outside leaves of all the lettuce plants regularly ensured a continuous supply of many varieties of lettuce through June and July. A second planting took place in August and will continue to supply lettuce for another four to six weeks or longer. Tomatoes are very good and continued ripening with the Indian Summer of September. By the end of October any unripe tomatoes will be brought in to the kitchen windowsill. I grew twelve varieties – a bought tumbler, some from purchased seed 67

Tomato Varieties

decided to sow Dwarf French Beans in late June. Some were planted in large pots and some in the ground. The pot crop was excellent due to easier and efficient watering. I recommend sowing two Dwarf French Bean seeds per cell of a six-cell module and placing four plants to a large pot. There is no need to separate the two plants per cell if both seeds germinate.

My Allium Parterre yield was much lower than in previous years – three varieties of white onions, one red onion, shallots and garlic are much smaller in size but no doubt will store very well because they were so dry when boxed up. There have been many years when my onions did not dry sufficiently and many rotted during the winter months. Commercial onion growers have to artificially dry the onion crop. My onion crop this year may not see us through to next spring. Therefore, I will look out for Irish grown onions.

Beetroot seedlings were planted out in mid-April and grew extremely well due to the rain we had in early summer. During the height of the dry summer the leaves wilted down over the beets and seem to have protected the beetroot from the sun. They are a lovely size – between a golf ball and a tennis ball. I cook about four a week and they store very well in a covered dish in the fridge.

My legume crops suffered from the dryness too. Yields were small from my peas and mangetout plants. Runner beans needed watering too and I was away much of the month of June so the plants suffered from lack of water. I 68

The beetroot remains in the ground and fresh leaves have appeared. I will continue using the beetroot from the ground through the winter. Due to the dry weather in April first sowings of parsnips didn’t germinate. I bought another packet of seed, just in case it was seed viability, and did a second sowing in early May – 100% germination. The parsnips will be small this year and it will be November before I dig any, as parsnips need a couple of nights of hard frost to sweeten them. Potatoes are small but still delicious. A couple of stray potatoes from last year yielded an excellent crop quite early. I have saved seed for next year. Scullion Pot

Courgette plants planted out in late May did not do well due to lack of watering. But I planted two courgette plants in large pots – one per pot and again watering was easier and there has been a constant supply of lovely stripy courgettes. Ratatouille was made from a couple of large courgettes and is now in the freezer. Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Leeks have been planted for harvesting in early Spring. I have one small gooseberry bush which has given me about four and half pounds of gooseberries every year but this year I picked over six pounds of gooseberries. The bush was completely denuded of leaves by the Gooseberry Saw Fly caterpillar. Gooseberry and ‘Sea-Salted’ Elderflower Jam was made in mid-June. The elderflowers were gathered from a bush beside the sixth green at Courtown Golf Club which is very close to the sea. Rhubarb and

Onion crop 69

Gooseberry and Sea-Salted Elderflower Jam

Beetroot

Ginger jam was made too and rhubarb cut into chunks for Rhubarb Crumble during the winter is in the freezer. Blueberries were eaten and aronia berries are in the freezer. There is just one apple tree in the garden – ‘Fiesta’ – pollinated by my neighbour’s apple trees. The crop has been extraordinary this year. It is not a storing apple. My husband, Paddy, has been gathering the apples for weeks now and distributed many bags of about twenty apples to neighbours, friends and many businesses in the town of Gorey. Considering how dry the summer was, this apple is so juicy. My Friday harvest for the weekend is one of my favourite times of the week. When all the ornamentals were drooping and losing colour during the hot summer, I suddenly looked down at a plate of salad I had just put together of fresh green and deep purple – ‘Moonred’ Cos lettuce, cooked beetroot, cucumber and ‘Apache’ Salad Onions, I felt so rewarded for all my efforts. 

A Friday Night Harvest 70

The Artificial Gardener

How Will AI Change Horticulture? Professor Mark Keane

A Rose by Another Name

ven though I have worked in Artificial Intelligence (AI) research and education for almost 40 years, I never predicted that I would be discussing it in the local shop on a daily basis. Neither would I have predicted its current transformation of the global economy and its emerging impact on global warming. For me, AI has always been an academic pursuit about trying to understand the ways in which people are creative and computers are not. So, I am afraid I am an AI-sceptic. To be more precise, I am sceptical about the AI bubble, the current hype around it and wild claims about superintelligent machines. But, I guess, I could be wrong! Again.

In the last decade, major breakthroughs in AI have occurred using so-called “neural networks”, to analyse pictures, photos and videos that find statistical patterns in data. Forty years ago, identifying that a photo of a flower contained an image of a flower, and not a fire-engine, was an unsolved problem. Yet, now, many of us routinely use apps that identify plants from a smart-phone photo. Stated simply, these AI programs “learn” to associate a digital image of some object with its name (or label, to use a technical term, well known to gardeners). Here, the program identifies the part of a picture of a flower-bed — with plants and soil and so on — as being a rose. This sounds simple, but as gardeners we know that there are many different types of roses, with different colours, different shapes, heights, foliage and so on. Also, different photos may picture the rose from different perspectives (e.g., full on, from above, or nestled between other plants). Until recently, all of these variations presented significant problems for computers even though as gardeners we generally have no problem labelling roses as being “roses” (knowing that an object

However, even with a healthy dose of scepticism, it is clear that AI will change many human activities, our sense of ourselves and the jobs market. The practice of horticulture and how we garden will not escape those changes. In this article, I consider some of what is currently happening in these spheres and how it all might play out in the future. Importantly, I will also try to give a sense of how these technologies may come up short. 72

in different contexts is the same object is called object constancy, children can do it by 2-3 years of age). However, these AI programs need lots and lots (like billions upon billions) of images to learn these labels and processing this data uses lots and lots of energy (hence, the rampant building of data centres). It is hard to comprehend the scale of this industrial effort; Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is estimated to be currently spending $490 million a day on compute resources. Unfortunately, after processing these billions of images, these programs may still not have learned all the key distinctions between different plants; they may confuse similar plants or, indeed, fail to identify rare plants (as there are fewer photos of them). So, in general, you will find that apps will tend towards the average, because they will process many more images of what commonly occurs. Hence, for the geek-gardener or specialist grower these apps may not be that useful, though they may satisfy most people most of the time.

Plate 1: Shows how a GenAI program can produce pictures of (a) how a specific plant should look if it is growing properly, (b) how a particular leaf should appear if it has powdery mildew.

deliver the capabilities we see today. LLMs are truly impressive and surprising though they also have significant limitations. So, you can now interact with Google’s Gemini program, to ask about sowing Acer seedlings and get a clear stepby-step plan about how to collect the samara when they are brown and dry in autumn, about the potting mix you should use for them, and what stratification they require for optimal germination (along with links to useful web-sites). You can also get further advice by asking Gemini about specific species of Acer and telling it about when you plan to sow them. It is hard not to be impressed by Gemini as a useful source of knowledge and advice. Though, all of this is just an LLM being applied to good-old-fashioned Google Search; here, the Chatbot acts as a go-between, one that is much easier to talk to, than typing multiple queries into Google.

Talk Me Through It All… Of course, currently, perhaps the visible use of AI is in the ChatBots that are always in the news, notably initially launched by OpenAI’s ChatGPT service (technically, these are called Large Language Models or LLMs). These programs use statistical techniques to analyse text from billions of documents (including, apparently, 1000s of old books from Kenny’s Bookshop in Galway). From these analyses they “learn” to predict the next word in a sentence or fill gaps to answer questions or form summaries from common words. Over 15 years ago, I worked in this area, trying to get “meaning” from text-data but I never imagined that next-word prediction would

However, as with the plantidentification apps, these AI programs will commonly give you what commonly occurs. So, its advice can be partial or misleading or even just plain wrong. On 73

A few years ago, I asked OpenAI’s GPT program about a very new research area, which I knew had yet to be processed. The answers I received, which included references to non-existent publications, looked like a carefully constructed tissue of lies to cover the fact that it was fairly ignorant about the topic! What Will It Look Like If It’s Healthy? More recently you will have heard a lot of guff about GenAI, programs that can transform or generate images; these programs have interesting potential uses in horticulture (technically, they are called Generalised Adversarial Networks or GANs). They do not need as many labelled pictures or text as they are learning how to transform one picture into another; you may have seen examples of the “trick” where a photo of someone is turned into a cartoon of them or a landscape photo is rendered in the style of Monet or Van Gogh. This technology has uses in automated monitoring of plant health; here, the program takes a photo of a specific young plant and can show what that plant should look like in 6 weeks if it is growing properly or it can show how it would appear if it was diseased (see Plate 1). Unfortunately, these programs also end up using loads of energy, as they go through billions and billions of trials to learn the correct transformation.

Plate 2: Shows an advert for the “AI Garden: Landscape Design” App from GooglePlay which will picture your re-designed garden and guide you in selecting and buying plants; promising to re-design your garden in seconds!

the Acer seeds, I was reading a nursery manual on woody-plant propagation that advised collecting the seeds of the Manchurian Striped Maple (Acer tegmentum) when they were green (apparently, sowing green seeds reduces cold-dormancy periods). When I challenged Gemini on this, it basically said “Oh yes, there is this other way of doing it, I should have said that you can also sow them when they are green, sorry”. I have encountered this sort of partial advice repeatedly. How you ask the question and how you interact with the system can significantly change the advice given.

These technologies will further accelerate the automation of horticultural production systems, presumably removing many jobs currently being done by people. However, I believe that many fairly basic tasks will still remain for years to come. The one I love to mention is fruit picking. It is still very hard for AI vision systems to spot all the fruit on a bush or tree and robotic hands with fingers that

Furthermore, when these systems stray into areas about which they have less text, they make things up, so-called “hallucinations”, that really should be called “terrible errors”. These errors are a very-hard-to-fix side-effect of the learning process, so they are unavoidable. 74

from human feedback — technically, it’s called Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback — where computergenerated designs can be presented to human experts to get evaluative feedback. This sort of AI program has already shown very impressive performance in planning for games and, in one sense, garden design may not be that much different.

do not squash the fruit turn out to be very hard to design. A few million years of evolution has equipped us humans with very good devices for picking strawberries! But Can They Be Creative by Design? These few examples show that AI is already impinging on the many parts of gardening and horticulture. For gardeners and the horticulturalists there are clear gains in sources of advice and resources. It is also clear that Smart Agriculture methods will progressively change how the horticultural industry will operate, as these new technologies are advanced, in some cases replacing human labour as they become more robust. But, what about the more creative aspects of horticulture, what about garden design and the creation of beautiful gardens. Will these areas also change? Will there still be garden designers a decade from now?

However, the success or, indeed, the creativity of such solutions, still depends on nailing down an awful lot of information about plants and the environment in which they will grow; information that may not be readily available for most gardens. Garden design is, at least, a six-dimensional problem; any planted area has height, depth, breadth, colour, texture and change-over-time, all of which need to be factored into a design along with soil, climate, aspect and other contextual factors. I have not seen any AI system that does a good job of taking all these factors into account, mainly because unlike us, these programs are not out there in a garden wandering around looking at where the sun comes up and the rain falls and so on.

If you do a quick reccy of current garden-design apps, they appear to be quite simple. They mainly concentrate on providing photographic overlays of fairly standardised designs on pictures of your garden (see Plate 2); indeed, in the background, some have people selecting solutions from design libraries. These services are interesting but hardly creative. However, there are AI techniques that can learn to produce designs.

When considering Human Creativity versus AI Creativity (the title of a course I currently teach in UCD), I always point out that we as Humans exist in the World, we interact with the World, learning about that World and the objects in it, and we use that knowledge in our Creative Acts. For me garden design is no different. So, until we have all-singing, all-dancing and all-gardening robots, I do not see how current AI systems can challenge what we know, what we can physically do and how we think about problems in the real world. But, I guess I could be wrong?

One AI technique can learn the best sequence of actions to be taken to achieve some specified goal (e.g., a more pollinator-friendly garden or a more biodiverse garden) by searching through all the possible combinations of actions that could be taken (e.g., actions like planting certain flowers or adding a pond). These programs can also learn 75

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new Partner Garden in the West is always a treat, and we are particularly pleased to welcome beautiful Duras Garden in County Galway. On the shores of Kinvara Bay, the historic house and gardens have been extensively restored over the past 10 years by owners John and Angela Donnellan.

For the full horticultural and historic picture, Mary Hackett’s article in this Journal issue covers her visit to Duras House and Garden during summer 2026. Duras House and Garden Parkmore, Kinvara, Co. Galway. H91 H7E2 Mob: 086 256 9108 Email: john@duras.ie For full information, visiting times etc please check Duras Garden in the Partner Gardens section of the RHSI website before you travel.

The walled garden has been repaired and beautifully replenished with thousands of plants bringing it back to what it may have looked like in the glory days of the 1800s. And whilst it is arguably the highlight of a Duras visit, there is much else that the Donnellans are doing as they look to the future as well as the past.

Winter Visits to Partner Gardens

Airfield Estate Garden. Co. Kilkenny - Rothe House Museum and Garden. Co Limerick- Coolwater Garden. Co. Meath - Loughcrew Gardens, weekends only. Co. Offaly - Birr Castle Demesne. Co. Roscommon - Strokestown House, Gardens & Irish Famine Museum. Co. Waterford - Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens, Mount Congreve Estate. Co. Westmeath - Belvedere House, Gardens & Park. Co. Wexford - Johnstown Castle, Estate, Museum & Gardens. Co. Wicklow Festina Lente, Mount Usher Gardens.

he majority of our Partner Gardens are closed from October to March while a third remain open throughout the year, so do continue to visit. You can enjoy a different experience in your favourite garden as their winter flowering trees and shrubs have their moment against the backdrop of a now more visible garden shape and architecture. The following are open throughout the year: Co. Cork - Ballymaloe Cookery School Garden, Blarney Castle & Gardens, Fota House Victorian Working Garden. Co. Down - Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, Montalto Estate, Mount Stewart House and Gardens, Rowallane Garden. Co. Dublin-

Please visit the Partner Gardens section of the RHSI website for full information, and particularly for winter visiting hours. 77

e have great pleasure in welcoming this beautiful Munster Garden to our Scheme. Just 6 miles from Mitchelstown and with magnificent views over the Galtee Mountains, it is the gardenwithin-a-farm of Mossie and Siobhan O’Mahony, who together have gradually developed and extended it over the past almost 40 years. The one-acre garden in different sections, unfolds as one approaches and then circumnavigates the house. On arrival, the drive is flanked by established shrubs, trees and lawn on one side and on the other, features a bed of Hydrangea ‘Strong Annabelle’, purple salvias and lupins and blue geraniums alongside a Cornus controversa ‘Varigata’.

different colour schemes - one in pale pastels - a mix of campanula, erigeron, linaria, astrantia various geraniums and punctuated by tall stands of Rosa ‘Olivia Rose Austin’. The other border has David Austin roses in shades of peach and apricot, linaria, hemerocallis, watsonia, digitalis with pots of deep crimson anthuriums, poppies and cosmos. Both borders also feature small accents of pittosporum, box and variegated euonymus along with extensive spring bulbs. A further border in white is partly hidden by a neatly pleached lime hedge.

Looking from the east side of the house there is a diminutive, wildflower meadow, adjoining a little underplanted birch woodland. Meanwhile to the west, nestled closer to the house, is a very attractive sheltered garden of vibrant colour where the small regular lawn recently became circular. This newly created colourful amphitheatre is now surrounded by clematis, alstroemeria, crocosmia, acers and box balls against a backdrop of clipped laurel and a small Euonymus ‘Maculata’ with its canopy raised.

And if all this, along with vegetable and cut-flower growing is not enough to look after, Siobhan also runs gardening classes and workshops throughout the year in her garden! O’Mahony Garden Knockadea Ballylanders, Co Limerick V35 PP63 Mob: 087 053 4336 Email:siobhanomahony5@gmail.com For full information, visiting times etc please check the O’Mahony Garden in the Partner Gardens section of the RHSI website before you travel.

Yet another, more formal garden extends behind the house boasting a wide lawn with long, beautifully planted mixed borders on either side. Matched only in size, both borders are in totally 78

Russborough Notes

Carla King

The Russborough Garden show, on Sunday 17 May, was a great success, despite a mixed weather forecast. Volunteer Conor Gill constructed an attractive new stall to greet visitors and sell produce at the gate, while a sweetpea fence was erected to replace its predecessor, which blew down in Storm Eowyn.

fter all the rain of last spring, the walled garden at Russborough, like everywhere else in the country, has just endured the stresses of a long, dry summer. It’s been a struggle to keep plants watered as the well on the Russborough estate got drier and drier and the water pressure fell. But apart from plants in small pots there were no casualties and some, such as melons, butternut and other squashes and pumpkins, tomatoes, courgettes, sunflowers and Verbena bonariensis, all thrived in the sunshine. The roses were free of the blackspot that so often plagues them in our usual damp Irish summers, and the Echium flowered for the first time. The work of weeding, cutting back, deadheading, repotting, raking, harvesting and watering has continued through the summer months.

The summer and early autumn have seen plentiful harvests of beans and peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, beetroots, potatoes, Florence fennel, kohl rabi and berries of various kinds, sold to visitors, along with a wide variety of plants and beautiful bunches of flowers. Now, with the year shifting gear, fresh seed is being sown for autumn and winter vegetables. The leeks, carrots, rocket, celery and parsnips are already 79

Sunflowers

Stall

thriving, and the brassicas – kale, red cabbage, Brussels sprouts and pak choi – are flourishing under netting. Perpetual spinach, rainbow chard, radicchio, lamb’s lettuce and oriental mustard have been sown. Volunteers in Focus Nuala Watters and Caitríona Ryan are carrying out work experience at Russborough as part of their course in Organic Horticulture at the Organic College, Drumcollogher, Co. Limerick, although Nuala was already volunteering here for several years before opting to study. Caitríona enjoys the variety of experience the garden offers – vegetables, fruit, herbs and a whole range of flowering plants and trees – noting that there’s something for everyone, and volunteers are free to work on whichever areas attract them. Russborough Walled Garden, run on organic principles, is a perfect fit for students of organic horticulture. They relish the friendly atmosphere and agree that lunchtime is

Nuala and Caitriona

both enjoyable, full of chat and banter, and an opportunity to learn, noting there’s never a day they don’t find out something new. Nuala’s advice to student volunteers is to start early in the year, so that they can follow the growing cycle in the garden through the seasons.  80

Folly

RHSI Bellefield A Year of Progress

Paul Smyth

hat a year it’s been in the garden! Between endless rain, builders and droughts we’ve had quite the eventful few months. Despite all the challenges, we’ve managed to achieve lots with plenty of new plans for the season ahead. The biggest changes have come about as the result of our just transition project, which involved path widening and the addition of a ramp at the back of the coach house. This resulted in a few opportunities to tackle some of the

Fucshia display

Garden entrance border

new element to the garden and allow us to trial new plants too. Neil Porteous very kindly brought down a few crates of plants for us to trial too -- being in the very middle of Ireland we will certainly put the hardiness of these to the test! Together with Verbena officinalis ‘Bampton’, Atriplex hortensis var. rubra, and a host of large Dahlias we have started to achieve the look we wanted. It will be adapted and no doubt added to in the coming months and years too. The large banana will be protected in situ, and we will lift some of the more precious plants, at least for this year.

borders that we hadn’t touched since taking on the garden in early 2023. The ramps in ways were quite intrusive and meant a digger was needed to take out stumps etc, but that gave us the opportunity to develop the area around the ramps and the border that divided the upper and lower parts of the walled garden. We started by digging out self-seeded willows and a few other trees that were overcrowded and losing shape. It was a drastic clearout, but it was worth it. The Paulownia tomentosa in the bed was cut down and slowly began to respond, after initially looking like it was dead! It now has a healthy new shoot emerging which we will coppice in the future

As the tropical bed was settling in, the area between the old steps and new ramps became the next focus. We could have continued on with the tropical theme, but we decided to take an entirely different approach and added two tonnes of sand to the bed and created a mini sand garden. Again, this is very experimental and for this year we sunk lots of tender plants in pots, just to

We were lucky to receive a gift of a large Musa basjoo from the LOETB in Birr last winter. This, together with all the Hedychium that Angela had collected, plus a few other plants, we decided that a tropical themed border would give a 82

Restored glass house

Lawn art

give it maturity and allow us to change things if needed. Most, if not all of these pots will be protected for the winter. At the start of the season, we had the old creaking willow tree at the entrance of the walled garden pollarded as it was beginning to lean onto the coach house and last year suffered in the summer. Pollarding will allow it to regrow and continue to provide habitat and interest for years to come! It has made a great recovery and now is a talking point in itself as you enter the garden. Our Fuchsia collection finally got the attention it has lacked for the past few years and one day in late spring with the help of our great volunteers we repotted, pruned and organised the entire collection, which I’ve been adding to over the years. The area at the bottom of the steps is now given over to them. They responded with some fantastic blooms and if it wasn’t for the prolonged dry weather would

Fucshia display 83

have performed even better, hopefully next year! The new arboretum was planted in March and April, and suffered in the long dry summer, but with some careful watering at critical moments, we managed to keep everything going! As I type this, we are finalising our bulb order, for naturalising in these areas and in the existing meadows. In the haggard area of the garden, we added a new series of paths and a brand-new bed which is now home to our Salvias and seedling Dahlias. Despite having been planted very late I’m hoping the first frost will be equally late so we can enjoy them long into the autumn! We hope to have lots of Bellefield Dahlia seed available next spring.

Haggard border

bird and bee boxes, workshops and probably more. So, as ever, there will be lots to see for first-time and repeat visitors alike. We look forward to welcoming you to RHSI Bellefield in 2027. Our Snowdrop opening weekend takes place from 5th to 7th February 2027. 

Elsewhere we have started on a new path in the wild woodland to allow visitors to explore more of the 28 acres on site. It is a small start but hopefully we can add to it over time. We’ve plans for yellow borders, gravel gardens, autumn and winter borders, polytunnels, 84

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