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The May issue of The Irish Garden is on sale now!

The May issue of The Irish Garden magazine is now available from 4,000 newsagents nationwide. As the garden primes itself for summer’s peak performance this issue is jam packed with ideas, advice and tips on what you can do to get busy and get ahead in the garden.

May is a busy time of the year for gardeners, but with the longer, warmer days it’s the perfect time to be outside enjoying the fresh air. We hope you’ll find lots of inspiration in the new issue of The Irish Garden – below is a preview of what you can expect.

Good Gardening!

Gerry Daly

Inside this issue

– Merry May: As May breathes new life into gardens we look at some of the brightest summer flowers, plants and shrubs to focus on this month.

– What to do now? As the weather becomes warmer we need to be more vigilant about watering, pruning and deadheading in the garden. We have four pages of advice and tips for your garden this month.

– The American Dream: We talk to Marilyn and Ray Farrell who moved from Maine in the United States to Kerry, and how they’ve cultivated their dream garden which provides a wide range of habitats to support biodiversity.

– Garden Rooms: Fionnuala Fallon demonstrates how you can use ‘garden rooms’ as a way to turn an uninspiring rectangle of your garden into an attractive, inviting and efficient space.

Welcome to a new issue of The Irish Garden!

The latest issue of The Irish Garden magazine goes on sale in newsagents nationwide from Thursday, 01 April 2021. Welcome back to you, our loyal readers, as we start into a new gardening season and welcome also to our new readers — long may gardening be an interest of yours. The arrival of Easter marks a turning point in the year, the beginning of new opportunities and a time for optimism. There’s an almost audible sense of growth and the garden is filled with new life and a sense of promise.

In the April issue, we have made some changes to the content, design and presentation of the magazine that we hope will make it more enjoyable to readers and attractive on the shop shelves. For new gardeners, we aim to develop your initial interest into a life-long pursuit, growing some of your own food and making your surroundings more amenable for time spent relaxing in your garden, still the safest place to be during the crisis. For our longstanding loyal readers, all your favourite articles and writers are still present, except stalwarts Helen Dillon, Rae McIntyre and Carl Wright, and some new contributors have started.

Inside this issue

April is an exciting month in the garden and we have a special colour splash right at the beginning of the magazine featuring early-season plants looking good at this time. We also offer plenty of ideas and advice for what you should be doing in the garden now.
In PLANT PROFILE, James Wickham describes a wisteria in full bloom as one of the greatest perfections of the plant kingdom and outlines some particularly beautiful species and cultivars. Even though our opportunities to travel are limited at present.
In GARDEN VISIT, Shirley Lanigan brings us on a journey to visit a new garden in south Tipperary that has achieved remarkable maturity in a short few years. Fionnuala Fallon gives us an insight into growing garden flowers for cutting.
In NOTEBOOKS, Carmel Duignan and Conrad McCormick relate some interesting observations about plants in their own gardens in the north and east.
In a special FEATURE, we mark the 30-year anniversary of The Irish Garden magazine with a review of some of the changes and trends in gardening in Ireland, particularly over the last ten years.
In addition to our established panel of experts sharing their seasonal tips and nuggets of gardening wisdom, this month’s magazine welcomes some new contributors from amongst Ireland’s most experienced gardeners and top gardening writers.

All the contributors and creative people who worked on this magazine hope that you enjoy reading the April issue in the 30^th year of publication of The Irish Garden!

Good gardening!

🌸🥕🌿🌱 THE RESULTS ARE IN! 🌱🌿🥕🌸

We teamed up with Bord Bia for our summer long Gromór Competition on the Ray D’Arcy Show. As well as getting advice and tips on http://www.gromor.ie/, our gardening guru Gerry Daly joined Ray in studio every Tuesday afternoon for several weeks, to help get your gardens growing. There was €5000 worth of prizes to give away on the 25th of August and we asked you to send in pictures, or a video of how your outdoor space or garden has improved and grown during the Lockdown to Garden@RTE.ie.

Thank you for all your wonderful submissions and congratulations to our winners – Lets Keep Gardening!

Here are the five different categories that entries were judged (showing the winning gardens):-

1.) BEST USE OF SPACE

This could be anything from a windowsill or a balcony to a flower box at the end of your cul de sac. Those of you out there who live in a more urban setting may have decided to make the most of your little patch and we would love to see how you’ve added new life to the space.

2.) MOST COLOURFUL

It’s never too late to add a burst of colour to the garden! Do you have the most vibrant flower display in the country? Even painted furniture could brighten up the dullest of spots. This is a real chance to get as creative and colourful as you can!

3.) LOCKDOWN GARDEN

Have you changed the way you use your outdoor space since we were all asked to stay at home? Perhaps you finally got to do that project you have always been meaning to do. Maybe the kids transformed the back into an obstacle course, or you created a little haven that you can call your own.

4.) VEGGIE GARDEN

There is nothing like the taste of fresh veggies plucked straight from your own soil, and now is the perfect time to start digging and planting. www.Gromor.ie has guides and tips for all you first time veggie growers out there. This is also a perfect project for Little Growers to get involved with.

5.) GARDEN PORTRAIT

Anything goes in this category! Did you manage to capture the perfect cartwheel being performed on the grass? Maybe a family of foxes paid a visit when you had the camera at the ready, or you snapped a picture of a beloved family member paying you an outdoor visit.

VIEW GARDENS OPEN 2020 HERE

The good news is that gardens available for public visiting are once again… open, following the lifting of pandemic restrictions on movement.

In a new digital format, the attached GARDENS OPEN 2020 GUIDE lists 100 gardens, both pubic and privately owned, that are open to visitors this year. Particularly in the current circumstances, make sure to contact the garden owner the day before you travel to confirm the opening dates and times.

This guide is produced by Irish Garden Publishers Ltd, publishers of The Irish Garden magazine and Garden.ie website. Feel free to use it in your own website, your e-mail list, or as part of your own publicity. But please give credit and inform us of your use.

It is a free resource to the end-user but a fee is charged for listing and advertising. For details, contact: adverts@theirishgarden.ie

Happy days’ visiting!

Gerry Daly

VIEW GARDENS OPEN 2020 HERE

In this month’s magazine, James Wickham tiptoes through the tulip’s rich history and picks out some of his favourites

With all the natural elegance and poise of catwalk supermodels, tulips flirt their satiny head gear as spring gently nudges into early summer. The name tulip comes from the Turkish word for turban and gardeners have fallen under their spell since the first bulbs were introduced into western gardens over four hundred years ago. Initially prized by the Ottomans in their Turkish palaces, tulips found their way to Holland in the mid 16^th century via Dutch merchants dealing in luxury items such as silks, spices and precious jewels. Within a few short decades, the tulip become the most esteemed and coveted flower among the wealthy classes.

To continue reading this article pick up a copy of The Irish Garden today. Or subscribe by visiting www.irishgardensubs.com. Prefer to phone? Call Kim at 01-2947712 (10am to 1pm, Monday to Friday).

The new Mr Middleton flower bulb catalogue is full of new and exciting bulbs and plants. Among the new additions are Calanthe orchids. These spectacular plants won a gold medal at Bloom 2019. Calanthe are hardy orchids that often boast a clove-like fragrance. Although you may be under the impression that hardy orchids are hard to grow, calanthe are not. Calanthe orchids prefer light shade and will flower best in slightly moist, rich garden soil but they also tolerate very dark dry shade. They are very easy-to-grow shade perennials that multiply into very large clumps clothed in small but plentiful long spikes that carry dozens of flowers in shades of yellow, pink, red and white. Calanthe’s retail for €20 each (Code: 170/SB262).

In this month’s magazine, Ray McIntyre visited the garden of Mike and Patricia Colahan, which commands striking views of Fair Head

Fair Head, a headland rising nearly 600 feet above the sea and mentioned in a million weather forecasts, is at Ireland’s north-easterly tip. It has given rise to myths and legends that featured warring suitors, the murder of a beautiful golden-haired chieftain’s daughter and was a favourite haunt of a malevolent creature known as The Grey Man who delighted in all manner of evil doings; sinking ships was just one of them.

Mike and Patricia Colahan live near Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, and have a striking view of Fair Head three miles away from both their house and garden. They are virtually unfazed by the ancient myths and legends. When they bought their house in 2001 there was no garden at all. Originally it had been the orchard of an old house, but both had been cleared and the ground was comprised entirely of grass. Mike and Patricia, who are retired doctors, were keen on gardening and set about creating a garden in their one-acre ‘blank canvas’.

Elho has unveiled its 2020 collection, featuring new ranges and enhanced colour options on existing ranges. For those with small green spaces, or balcony gardens, the greenville hanging planters with an integrated saucer. The corsica vertical forest provides an ideal compact growing solution. Discover the veggie wall, an all-in-one solution with a trellis for climbing vegetables, fruits and flowers. Whether you want to convert your living room into a botanical garden or transform your garden into an additional entertaining space, Elho has a pot to suit every taste and every plant! Visit www.elho.com.

A garden gazebo is the perfect place to relax in your garden. Classic garden gazebos from Victorian Garden Buildings are handmade by skilled and experienced craftsmen in Western red cedar. Customers can choose from a wide range of sizes from 1.8m and many design options. Classic gazebos are supplied and installed throughout Ireland. Throughout the month of March, each Victorian gazebo ordered from Owen Chubb will come with a free cedar bench worth €450. To find out more see: www.victoriangardenbuildings.com, visit the Owen Chubb showroom, or phone: 087-2306-128.

The April issue of The Irish Garden magazine is going out as normal…

In shops soon!

Jerpoint Glass Studio is a small glass company, a true family business. For the past 40 years, the master craftsmen at Jerpoint Glass Studio have created beautiful Irish handmade glass for your home and garden. Drawing on many years of glass blowing tradition the skilled craftsmen individually create each piece in the Jerpoint collection. Jerpoint Glass will enhance any space and makes a thoughtful and welcome gift for someone special.

Fill in the form below to enter:

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In this month’s magazine, Billy Moore shares over forty years’ experience and enjoyment growing alpine plants and rock gardening.

I first became interested in alpines more than forty years ago and my fascination with these sparking denizens of high places has deepened over those years. My earliest thrill was to see Gentiana verna, the spring gentian, which I had grown from seed, in flower in a raised bed outside my kitchen window. I have seen its amazingly rich blue flowers previously in the Burren, wild, but was completely bowled over to be able to enjoy it in my own garden. It is easily raised from seed but in my experience declines quickly after a year or two and soon dies. The only way to have it permanently in your garden is to sow seed every year so that you always have new plants coming on. It is worth the trouble. I have had many similar joys with other plants since, but the gentian, being the first, sticks in my mind.

A folly from Delaney Concrete could be the perfect addition to your garden. Manufactured from pre-cast concrete, these follies can be erected in just a day, transforming your garden into a very special place. Delaney Concrete, a family company based in Wexford, has modelled these follies in the tradition of the great houses of Ireland and Britain, and now you can have these classical designs in your garden too. Dome style follies are also available. www.delaneyconcrete.ie or 053-9244767

Dunne and Dineen has unveiled its brand new range of garden pots for 2020. Suitable for both indoors and outdoors, the pots come in a range of beautiful colours and glazes. For more information about the stylish platers, visit: dunneanddineen.ie/

Two shows hosted by The Irish Specialist Nursery Association, (ISNA) will occur this March.

The first show is on the 21st March at The Red Stables, St Annes Park, Raheny, Dublin 5 running from 9.30 to 3pm. Admission is free. There will be many of our members taking part in this show and they will have some new and exciting plants for the garden, to include herbaceous perennials, shrubs, trees and garden paraphernalia.

The second is on 29th March at Airfield Estate, Overend Way, Dundrum, Dublin 14 running from 9.30 to 5pm. There will be many of our members taking part in this show and they will have some new and exciting plants for the garden, to include herbaceous perennials, shrubs, trees and garden paraphernalia.

You can view other ISNA events for 2020 here https://www.irishspecialistnurseriesassociation.com/2018-calendar-isna-plant-fairs-other-plant-fairs-and-garden-shows/

In this month’s magazine, Frank Macken suggests 10 ways to improve you garden

Though much bandied about, the term ‘maintenance-free garden’ is an illusion. There is no garden in existence that is completely maintenance-free, even a paved garden needs to be swept and cleaned. But there are ways to reduce the amount of time, effort and expense.

1. Tidy up and de-clutter

A good garden clean-up and clear out is a logical starting point. Our gardens can become the repository for all sorts of junk. Go around you garden and gather up everything that should not be there. Assemble into a neat pile and get rid of it. It could be quite a mound and you may need to order a skip. As it is driven away, bask in the satisfaction of a job well done. Resolve to keep your garden rubbish-free. While storage is an essential use of garden space, the word storage implies that it will be for a limited period of time and not become a permanent dumping ground.

The Grow & Store is handmade by experienced craftsmen using the finest Western red cedar. The garden building blends wood and glass with the innovative full-length automatic ridge ventilation. Gabriel Ash greenhouses are the only timber greenhouses endorsed by the RHS. For even more peace of mind, Owen Chubb offers its customers a 10-year guarantee. Grow and Store is 9ft wide and available in lengths from 6ft. Prices start from €5,900 (excl. delivery, installation and VAT). Order a Grow & Store in March to receive a Free Baby Grand coldframe (worth over €500). For more details, phone 087-2306128.

On Saturday, 28 March at 2pm, Woodville Walled Garden, Co. Galway will host a spring is in the air-themed festival. Distinguish garden writer Mary Waldron will speak at the event. After the talk, there will be a guided tour of the garden where attendees can see head gardener Marie Kelly’s Heritage Daffodil Collection. Tickets are €15 per person and include light refreshments. Booking is essential. Contact Margarita: 087-906-9191 or email woodvillegardens@gmail.com

***EVENT CANCELLATION NOTICE***

Waterford Regional Gardening Club regret to advise that our event – History & Horticulture, due to take place on Thursday 5^th March in the Viking Hotel is now CANCELLED due to unforeseen circumstances. We apologies for any inconvenience – Club Committee.

In this month’s magazine, Éanna Ní Lamhna describes the life and lore of the smooth newt

I received a dead newt in the post last month. It was all wrapped up carefully in a large matchbox and the senders – an interested group of school children from Mallow who had found the dead newt – asked very nicely if I could tell them what it was, as their teacher wasn’t too sure. Looking like a tiny dragon, it had a long tail, four short legs and a long, flat head. It was a smooth newt, the only species of newt we have here in Ireland. There are two other species in Britain, but only the smooth newt arrived in Ireland after the Ice Age and before the land bridge formed.

In this month’s magazine, actor Jenny Dixon discusses her favourite plant

My favourite is the sweet pea – it’s very fragrant, delicate and feminine and the colours are lovely pastels, creams and whites, pale pinks, purples and reds. It’s very easy to grow from seed and it’s not high maintenance. I first came across sweet peas in my grandad’s garden, my mam grows them now in her garden.

We have a garden. We have trees and flowers and indoor plants as well. When I start the week, I open all the windows in the house, water all the plants and take off the dead leaves. Sometimes the week can be so busy, so at least I know they’ve had a good start to the week.

It’s a rambling cottage garden, it’s not an overly manicured look, I like a mixture of colour as opposed to too structured. We have some winter heathers for colour, a big bushy chrysanthemum and fuchsia. I planted spring bulbs in October, daffodils and tulips. I went for the pink and purple palette and splashes of yellow in between. I’m looking forward to seeing them.

22nd & 23rd February 2020

10am – 4pm

Mount Venus Nursery is a specialist nursery tucked away in the scenic Dublin hills overlooking the city. Over the past 20 years we have been growing one if the widest collections of hardy garden plants in Ireland.

Great Winter structure is the reward of a carefully planned garden, but there is always something stirring beneath. One of the first to appear, and perhaps the most dazzling of the late winter flowers, are Hellebores.

For more visit www.mountvenusnursery.com

Saturday 22nd February,
9.00am – 5.00pm
At our new big and better warehouse

144D Slaney Close, Dublin Industrial Estate
Glasnevin Dublin 11. (5 minutes from M50 junction 5)

Be the first to get the new season varieties, plus rare and unusual plants and bulbs… a must attend event for all serious gardeners. Exclusive varieties only available from Mr. Middleton on the day. If you need directions please check them on www.mrmiddleton.com

Spring that is.

It was a wet winter, but it was a mild one. Still the growing season is a little ahead of itself. All the more reason to get out and start gardening if you haven’t already done so. That’s the message we’re sending with the March issue of The Irish Garden, which will be landing on doorsteps later this month!

If you don’t already subscribe, why not consider it? There are many great benefits including having the magazine sent straight to your door and our members newsletter with great offers and prizes! It also makes a great Valentines gift for the garden lover in your life!

You might have also noticed that Garden.ie is already in bloom for spring 2020. Check out our Garden.ie Club where you can keep a digital record of your garden, see what others are doing with theirs and make new friends. Do you have a burning gardening question? Ask Gerry Daly in our newly relaunched Ask Gerry page. Or check out our brand-new Competitions page, where you can be in with a chance to win a lovely full-length coat courtesy of Jack Murphy Clothing. As always, our What To Do Now section is packed with great gardening tips.

Feedback on the site is always most welcome.

The Garden.ie team

The Malvern coat is a signature of the Jack Murphy Heritage collection and is the ultimate jacket for any outdoor pursuits. Its classic full length style lends to all manners of outdoor work and play, whether it’s out in the garden, a forest hike or watching the game. Designed to offer uncompromising wet weather functionality, features include taped seams, a cape so the rainwater runs off, cosy check lining, adjustable cuffs and of course it is waterproof and windproof.

Waterproof and windproof
Detachable hood
Heritage Check lining
Elegant cape feature and turn up cuffs
Internal leg straps for leg protection
Back vent and corduroy collar detail