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 abundance of exotic, tender plants from New Zealand and Central and South America.
I was initially baffled to see so many Chilean lantern trees, Crinodendron hookerianum, an evergreen bush/tree that covers itself with superb dangling red lantern-like flowers.
This is hardy to minus-10 celsius (H4, Zone 8b) which means it ought to be able to survive here in protected gardens, but I have yet to see it.
In its native habitat, Crinodendron grows happily near streams and in humid, shady spots. The only problem I heard gardeners in Ireland mention is that it can succumb if planted in a place that becomes too wet in winter.
Pretty much every garden I visited in Ireland had masses of the white flowering Libertia grandiflora. I loved it.
I even found it growing at Killruddery in the woodland area under giant beech trees. I could not believe how beautiful it looked with the sturdy upright grassy foliage and dazzlingly white flowers displayed at the the top of very sturdy stems.
In New Zealand, where it goes by the name satin flower or New Zealand iris, it is regarded as an evergreen clump with “sculptural qualities.”
At first, I confused it with the orange form, Libertia peregrinans, which I have seen growing in gardens in Victoria and have even tried (unsuccessfully) to grow in my own garden. However, I was corrected by one of Ireland’s top plantsman, Jimi Blake, who pointed out that L. grandiflora and L. peregrinans are quite different.
While the Chilean lantern tree and Libertia grass continually grabbed my attention in Ireland, I was totally mesmerized by the abundance of Chilean myrtle trees (Luma apiculata). They were everywhere. And looked fantastic with their beautiful cinnamon coloured bark and small, tight, dark green leaves.
The bark of these trees peels away to reveal cream-white patches, adding to the tree’s overall beauty.
Apparently, this myrtle also grows happily in the Andes between Chile and Argentina and is much hardier than the Mediterranean myrtles I have seen in Spain and Italy. In Ireland, it has adapted to the acidic, clay soil and grows beautifully.
Echium pininana is a plant I have seen in gardens on the Cote d’azur and in southern Italy, but I was surprised to see so many in Ireland; they are after native to the Canary Islands.
At Killruddery, I saw an entire border filled with huge echiums along with a large Chilean myrtle.
However, I saw no echiums – not one – in equally big estate Irish gardens, such as Mount Usher, Altamont and Powerscourt.
Olearia macrodonta was another unusual find in a Dublin garden. This holly-like evergreen tree was in full flower and covered with lovely white clusters of daisy-like flowers. Like the crinodendron, this, too, get an H4 or Z8 rating, which I would have never have thought possible in Ireland, a land I have always thought of as wet and cold and sunless but green.
Nothofagus, southern beech trees, I have seen in gardens on the Sunshine Coast here in British Columbia, but in Ireland I was astonished at the size of some specimens with enormous trunks and massive branching structure reaching high into the sky.
Other plant surprises included seeing giant white and blue abutilons, phormiums in full bloom with exotic flower stalks reaching high above the familiar sword-like leaves and a striking purple wattle tree (Acacia baileyana purpurea) in full bloom against the side of a gently flowing river at Mount Usher.
In the same place, I was delighted to see a massive Mexican blue pine, Pinus montezumae, with its clusters of striking blue needles.
I have also yet to see Pseudopanax crassifolius, a quirky lancewood tree, native again to New Zealand, growing in Vancouver and I was also taken aback by the silvery screen of the leaves of Celmisia semicordata ‘David Shackleton’, an alpine plant from New Zeland, that I was told was hardy enough to grow outside year round on the lower slopes of the Wicklow Mountains.
Trees – big, established, old trees – caught my attention everywhere. I could not stop taking photographs of them. They looks so majestic and it was a pleasure to put my hand on them and get a sense of their deep and abiding strength.
In particular, I loved seeing all the giant beech trees that I am sure were more than 100 years old as well as rare and unusual specimens, such as a Drimys winteri chilensis, again tender in all but zones 8a to 10b, growing happily and flowering profusely.
This Drimys tree is native to Mexico, Chile and Argentina, but here it was looking fabulous with a huge canopy of blooms in an Irish garden. Wonderful.
In my own garden, I have grown Astellia Silver Spears for many years and loved it, especially underscored by masses of purple oxalis, but in Ireland I was thrilled to find a lovely clumps of a striking bronze-leafed version that looks just as attractive. Now I would love to find one for my garden.
All in all it was a real eye-opener going to see gardens in Ireland. I was extremely grateful for suggestions by Jane Powers in her excellent book, The Irish Garden, and for the help of Michael Maguire of the Dublin Garden Group for recommending gardens to see.
