Last day in Dublin: Book of Kells, Guinness and literary pubs
Our last days in Dublin were spent making a few important visits - one to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, another to tour the Guinness factory and a few key sights around the cit.
We ended our time in Dublin with a magical literary pub crawl that involved being guided through the streets to quality pubs by...
Last days in Ireland spent in great gardens, Dublin delights
Our last few days in Ireland were spent, first, going down to Wexford and Waterford and seeing some lovely gardens on the way there and back, and then finishing up in Dublin with last minute shopping for gifts and, on the final night, a literary pub tour.
From Wexford, we visited Waterford to see the famous crystal factory and then...
Into two beautiful, old, magical Dublin gardens
Great gardens are not just beautiful but have other special qualities, such as the ability to relax and heal and rejuvenate. Others have the ability to transport you to another place and time and give a powerful sense of transcendence and other-worldliness.
We travelled to the outskirts of Dublin today to visit two unique, beautiful and much loved gardens that...
What was missing at Chelsea this year . . . spectacular potatoes!
At the Chelsea Flower Show last month, I spent quite a bit of time searching for something rather unusual - a fabulous potato exhibit I saw there in the Grand Pavilion back in 2015.
I looked and looked, searched and searched, but this amazing potato exhibit was no where to be found.
Who knew Irish gardens could be this exotic and eclectic
When I went to see gardens in Ireland a few weeks ago, I really expected to see pretty much the same kind of plant material we have in our gardens here in Vancouver.
I knew there would be rhododendrons and azaleas, Japanese maples and hydrangeas and so on.
What I was not expecting to see in Irish gardens was such an...
Two lovely gardens are Ireland’s dynamic duo
Killruddery, a large estate outside of Dublin, has been in the Brabazon family for the past 400 years.
We arrived early Sunday morning and immediately headed to the border with the superb stand of echium.
There must have been more than 30 tall, thick, giant specimens, some at least 16 feet high, scattered throughout the border.
None of us had seen this...
A plantman’s paradise and Ireland’s jewel garden
On our way to Waterford, we stopped at one of the cutting-edge new plant gardens in Ireland, Hunting Brook, owned by Jimi Blake, one of horticulture’s new generation of plant cognoscenti.
Jimi met us at the gate and immediately began pointing out some of his fantastic plant treasures, starting with what he sometimes calls his signature plant, Aralia echincaulis.
We immediately...
Into Altamont, one of Ireland’s great garden treasures.
Altamont is one of Ireland's loveliest gardens, largely due to the work of Corona North who continued the work of improving the garden started by her father.
Before we stepped foot in the main garden, we were dazzled by the Corona North border, which was stunning with a jumble of blue flowering perennials - geraniums, delphiums, nepeta as well as...
Upcoming England-Wales-Ireland Tour
Next month, I will be leading two back-to-back garden tours to England, North Wales, Ireland and then to the Chelsea Flower Show in London.
Each day of these tours I will be posting stories and photographs here. You can follow along with us as we move. And you will get to see and hear about some of the fabulous gardens...
Top new plants and flower displays at Chelsea Flower Show
It's always tricky to decide which are the key plants at the Chelsea Flower Show because there are literally thousands on display.
But it did appear that purple and blue were favoured for flower and foliage colours with sprinklings of white, particularly white flowers of lychnis and ragged robin flowers.
Irises are always a popular pick by designers along with verbascum...
In Dublin fair city where the gardens are so pretty
Dublin is not a huge city. It takes no time at all to walk from St. Stephen's Green to Grafton Street to the River Liffey and O'Connell Street and into the Temple Bar area. Trinity College is close by and St. Patrick's Church and Christ Church are easy to find.
From our hotel, The Long Hall, one of Dublin's most famous...
Second Wales-Ireland tour begins in brilliant sunshine
After the Chelsea Flower Show, which was magnificent and so much fun, we headed back to Manchester to meet our new group to start the second garden tour of the Lake District and North Wales and Ireland.
Manchester, of course, was a much more sombre place because of the tragic event of last week than when we were there for...
Into Bodnant Garden
Bodnant Garden in Tal-y-Cafn, near Colwyn Bay, Conwy, is one of Wales's most famous gardens and one of the most well-known world-wide for the number of excellent plants that have been bred there and successfully introduced to horticulture.
We arrived around lunchtime, after a short trip down from the Lake District. When we arrived, the sun was shining, the sky...
From Waterford to the glorious garden of Mount Usher
Waterford, which is said to be Ireland’s oldest town, dating back to the time when it was a Viking settlement, was a delight.
We toured the famous crystal factory and saw some amazing crystal pieces. We wandered the town and found some fantastic little pubs and great eateries.
Waterford is a very cute, calm, mid-size town with population of 50,000-plus. It...
Ode to Gelert and Powis revisited
From Llandudno, we again headed down to the village of Beddgelert to visit the grave of the dog, Gelert, who lost his life defending the children of Prince Llewellyn against a huge wolf.
When I was 10, I visited this site with my Dad who told me to be like Gelert - loyal and quick to defend but not like...
Into Levens and the Lakes
Before leaving Manchester for the Lake District, we stopped to see the superb art of 20th century painter L.S. Lowry at the Lowry Museum at Salford Quays.
This spectacular complex, opened in 2000 by the Queen, was part of a major transformation of the former derelict dock lands.
Lowry painted dramatic landscapes of factories and mills with smoking chimneys and treeless...
Fewer feature gardens but Chelsea Flower Show still fabulous
It is always a joy to attend the Chelsea Flower Show. This year's show was no exception. It was a delight in every way with stunning display gardens and immaculate plant exhibits and a stunning array of garden sculpture and quirky decorative accessories.
There were fewer main display gardens than in previous years - eight compared to 15 or more...
