Jane Powers loves to visit other people's gardens
The idea of gardeners having cabin fever while working outside in their own patch may seem odd. But sometimes the all-toofamiliar sight of one's dry old soil and holey hostas can be a little dispiriting. That is the time to cut and run, for an hour or two, or perhaps an entire afternoon.
We usually escape to Co Wicklow, where there are gardens in plenty for us to snoop around. The Wicklow Gardens Festival, which starts tomorrow, is in its 16th year, and now includes 42 gardens. Each time round, the line-up changes a little, with some gardens dropping out of the scheme, and others joining. Among those joining this year is the old-fashioned garden at Warble Bank in Newtownmountkennedy, lovingly tended by Anne Condell, whose family have been here since 1900. Fruit, flowers and vegetables all grow together in a traditional cottage garden.
Also new to the group is Paula Tanham's Calluna in Roundwood, one of the highest gardens in the country open to the public. The two-and-a-half acre plot opens for just two Saturdays in July, when visitors can inspect the wildlife pond, herbaceous plantings, and the organic herbs and vegetables.
As in previous years, the Wicklow Gardens Festival has spread to adjoining counties, offering three gardens in Carlow (Altamont, Ballon and Hardymount), three in Wexford (The Bay, Camolin Potting Shed and Ram House), and in Dublin the Walkers' wild and lush acreage at Fernhill in Sandyford.In fact, the country is criss-crossed by garden trails.
Visiting gardens is a painless way to learn about plants, and soil, and design - at the expense of other people's experience. One garden may give us some idea of compelling plant associations, another may display unusual trees and shrubs, yet another may feature a perfect vegetable potager, and still another may reveal the secrets of a successful compost heap.
On the new-found popularity of the latter subject, Harry Brown from Lismore writes to me, "When we opened our garden for the very first time last summer, I put a little pile of compost in front of the bin and it created a great deal of interest. One lady actually drove home to Cappoquin and dragged her husband back to see it!" That was a wise woman. She had gone garden-visiting with that most essential piece of equipment: an open and enthusiastic mind.
MIND YOUR MANNERS
Many of the gardens that open in summer are private spaces. So . . .
Go with an open mind: although you may not like all of what you see, there's bound to be something that offers food for thought.
Bring your camera and notebook: take pictures of plant combinations that you like, and note their names. But don't take snaps of the garden owner without their permission.
Keep your criticisms to yourself, and don't offer the owner unlooked-for advice. And don't mention the weeds.
Ask questions, but be reasonable, it's a garden visit, not a consultation. And try to resist telling anecdotes about your own plants and garden. The garden owner has heard it all.
Keep children under control. Some are just too lively to bring on garden visits, and their need to blow off steam can't be accommodated in a carefully-kept space.
If there is an "honesty box" for you to pay the admission charge, do put the money in. Don't steal plants, flowers, cuttings, or labels. Some gardens sell plants; some owners will give you a cutting.
Observe signs asking you not to pass certain points, and don't look in windows, or wander into houses. Don't turn up outside opening hours without an appointment.
TRAILS AND FESTIVALS
Connemara Garden Trail: Breandán Ó Scanáill, 095-21148, thepapershop@anu.ie.
Cork Open Gardens: Neil Williams, Cedar Lodge, Baneshane, Midleton, Co Cork; 021-4613379; nswilliams@eircom.net.
Dublin Garden Group: John Beatty, Knockcree, Glenamuck Road, Carrickmines, Dublin 18, 01-2955884, www.dublingardens.com.
Limerick Garden Trail: Helen O'Brien, Knockpatrick, Foynes, Co Limerick, 069-65256.
Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland: www.rhsi.ie.
South East Gardens Festival, June 7th-19th: Margaret Power, Abbeylands, Ferrybank, Waterford, 051-832081, and Orchardstown Garden Centre, Cork Road, Waterford.
South Tipperary Garden Trail, July 9th-10th: Mildred Stokes, Killurney Gardens, Ballypatrick, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, 052-33155.
West Cork Garden Trail, June 11th-26th: Phemie Rose, Kilravock Garden, Durrus, 027-61111, www.westcorkgardentrail.com.
Wicklow Gardens Festival, May 1st - August 14th: Wicklow Tourism, 0404-20070, www.wicklow.ie.
Brochures are available from those above, but do send a stamped addressed envelope. For more information, see the May issue of Irish Garden magazine.