It will always be “Kennedy Park”!

The Irish state bought Ballysop House and adjoining 400 acres in 1964 putting into effect its aim to establish a national arboretum which was officially opened on the 29th. of May, 1968. The general layout of the park was influenced by visits to the Arnold (Boston) and Morton (Illinois) Arboretums where a grand circuit allowed …

Genius loci

In ancient Rome, a genius loci was the spirit which protected a place, a territorial guardian angel of sorts. Nowadays, it is a phrase used in reference to garden design and was first enunciated by Alexander Pope. He contended that garden or landscape designs must always be adopted to the location for which they are …

Know Yourself!

I was told yesterday that I should change the name of this blog to "An Irish UNDERgardener". The Dublin branch of the Alpine Garden Society had their annual lunch yesterday in the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire and I had been asked to speak ahead of the lunch. Triona, their events organiser, persuaded …

Those Unexpected Kindnesses.

Those unexpected acts of kindness lift one's heart and have a worth far in excess of their monetary value. Last weekend I was in receipt of not one, not two, but three of these beautiful acts of kindness. Happy me! Last Saturday was one of dreadful weather with Storm Dennis roaring over the country giving …

A Snowdrop and Hellebore Extravaganza

This project at Mount Congreve Gardens was started only last year so it was both a surprise and a huge delight so see it is an immediate success and has already made a huge and beautiful impact on this area of the garden. I had expected it to take a few years to develop but …

Three Trees at Mount Congreve Gardens

We had a beautiful day today. After suffering the tedium of being indoors because of stormy weather, wishing to be outside walking or gardening, we had a day of beautiful weather today and made the very most of it with a most enjoyable visit to Mount Congreve. The garden has been closed for the past …

The Pollinator Victory Garden…A Review.

Small changes in our gardening can make an enormous difference to our world – The “Act locally, think globally” concept could never be applied so effectively! We can each, in our individual gardens, make small changes which will be beneficial to our environment, to the pollinators of our country and its ecology without, and this …

On Reflection, I’m a Road Burner

On reflection – look back at the previous post, if you are confused! On reflection, I reckon I am only a pair of Nike’s Vaporfly running shoes away from being a sporting superstar.   I’ve just completed a 92Km walk – granted, in piecemeal fashion – and reckon that’s a reasonably achievement for 66-year-old, an …

The Last Leg.

The Waterford Greenway is a walking/cycling route developed on the track of the disused railway line between Waterford and Dungarvan and is 46Km in total length. We live very close to the Waterford end of the Greenway and used walk the old railway very regularly before it was redeveloped. In fact, we used bemoan the …