Gardening purists may be perplexed or even annoyed by what they see at Farmleigh this month, but they will certainly be stimulated.
Two unusual displays - by rising stars in the gardening world, Chelsea Flower Show winner Mary Reynolds and TV gardener Diarmuid Gavin, with his co-presenter Seán Cunningham - were launched last night at the estate in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
Their work, according to the Minister of State for the Office of Public Works, Tom Parlon, would "certainly challenge the imagination of anyone who comes to view them".
"Mary's takes a traditional, historical approach, going back to Stonehenge," he says. Diarmuid's is, well, "a bit of lunacy". Either way, the Minister thinks that "all straight gardeners are going to think that somebody's a bit daft".
Mary, who lives in Hollywood, Co Wicklow, explains that her "Buncloch" or "Foundation Stone" display, which will be permanent, is based on the theme of what Farmleigh stands for.
"The Government has council meetings and they come up with ideas and decisions and the effects ripple out. When you drop a pebble in water, it ripples out in concentric circles," she says. So the display is of nine small circular grass ripples, 20 metres in diameter, spreading out from the centrepiece, a Wicklow granite bowl crafted by sculptor Ger Maycock and filled with water. The bowl represents the council, with change emanating from the centre.
The centre is the source of light, like the sun, around which the nine planets revolve. These are represented by nine lichen-covered granite boulders which are placed the way they were aligned at noon on April 24th, 1916, the time of the Easter proclamation. A copy of the proclamation is part of the exhibit.
Mary, who specialises in using native plants, recently completed a permanent display for Kew Gardens in London.
Diarmuid and Seán's "piece of lunacy" comprises 175 brightly coloured steel balls on stems of varying heights, entitled "Dotty about Farmleigh". The co-presenters of BBC's Homefront in the Garden wanted to create a display that was "a colourful reaction to the green", says Diarmuid. The idea comes from the 1950s Festival of Britain, and "when the sun is shining it will give some incredibly strong patterned lines against the grass".
Described as resembling an undulating caterpillar or a series of lollipop sticks, the display will form the basis for the duo's entry to next year's Chelsea Flower Show, which will be contrasted against "100 shades of green" in the plants that will be used.
Mr Parlon, amused or even perplexed by the designs, is suitably proud of Farmleigh.
"It's a fabulous facility for the State to have, for visiting heads of State, but it is vital that it is opened up to them."
And there can be no doubt that the State is doing its utmost to tempt the nation to be its guests at the sumptuous estate over the summer. There are four month-long themed programmes including music, cooking and literature, with August representing gardening.
July's theme was music and last night marked the end of the month-long RTÉ Proms series, with the music of Abba composers Bjorn and Benny, as played by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
All events are free but some require tickets. Information is available at www.farmleigh.ie or (01) 8157200.
