Discovery time
After unveiling his clockwork masterpiece, Diarmuid tours his favourite gardens in Northern Ireland
LAST week the nation celebrated Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. The sun shone in good part and crowds enjoyed the pomp and ceremony and parades.
And I was at the unveiling of a commemorative garden I designed to mark this occasion.
Regular readers may remember the clockwork garden I created for Chelsea Flower Show some years ago. This garden has now found its forever home in the beautiful grounds of Antrim Castle Gardens in Northern Ireland.
At first glance it is a gentle garden of terraces and topiary in the Arts and Crafts style, complete with octagonal folly and sunken Italianate pond.
The planting is predominantly swathes of flowering perennials and evergreen topiary in the shape of conical bay trees and buxus balls. The surprise occurs every 15 minutes when the garden springs to life and begins to move. Powered by underground machinery of motors, cogs and wheels, box balls set amid floral drifts start to bob up and down, the conical bay trees twirl and the circular bed packed with colourful gerberas moves around the folly like a carousel.
Happily, the sun was shining, and the herbaceous planting was a riot of colour.
Knautia macedonica ‘Melton Pastels’ is a nectar-rich perennial with delightful pincushion flowers in varying shades of pink, rose and crimson and was attracting butterflies and bees.
Cottage garden favourites included Thalictrum ‘Black Stockings’, so called for its dark stems, and Baptisia ‘Lemon Meringue’, with delicious yellow flowers that contrasted beautifully with the dark black irises.
Salvia ‘Caradonna’ provided spikes of rich purple flowers and Achillea’s discs of acid yellow flat flowerheads mingled with vibrant orange Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’. Other easy-going perennials included the lovely violet-blue blossoms of Nepeta’s ‘Walker’s Low’, rich trumpet lilies, and the eye-catching sea holly Eryngium ‘Big Blue’.
I’d love you to come and see it and why not take in some of the great gardens of Northern Ireland while you’re there?
The walled gardens at Glenarm Castle further up the coast in County Antrim have lots to offer the garden visitor. The beautiful herbaceous borders, kitchen gardens, an amazing display of espaliered apple trees, a viewing mount, and indoor glasshouses are among the attractions and this year an additional woodland walk has been opened.
Mount Stewart on the shores of Strangford Lough in County Down is a personal favourite. The grand but quirky garden reflects a rich tapestry of design and great planting artistry that was the hallmark of its creator Edith, Lady Londonderry. The mild climate of Strangford Lough allows astonishing levels of planting experimentation. The formal areas exude a strong Mediterranean feel and resemble an Italian villa landscape. The wooded areas support a range of plants from all corners of the world, ensuring something to see whatever the season.
Finish off your horticultural holiday with a trip to Castlewellan Arboretum in County Down, home to an outstanding collection of trees and shrubs, including Chilean eucryphias, Australian athrotaxis and Chinese rhododendrons. The arboretum holds many trees with record heights in the British Isles.