“We wanted to keep the history alive”

This enchanting garden in historic County Antrim enjoys a fresh flourish of colour in autumn. Owner Maurice Parkinson reveals its highlights

This unusual garden near Ballyclare in County Antrim is full of Irish heritage and folklore. There are Irish plants such as McGredy roses, silene and escallonia, pagan symbols embedded in the design, and local basalt stone used in the walls, steps and bridges. Patterned walks, ‘fairy’ trees and an orchard of old Irish apple trees create a poetic atmosphere that’s sympathetic to the garden’s rural setting. “We bought the property in 1995 and started developing it soon after,” says owner Maurice Parkinson, who created the garden with his wife, Joy. “It was a small, run-down 16-acre farmstead complete with cottage, defunct kitchen garden and farm buildings – some of which are at least 300 years old. “It was only once we’d moved in that we realised the significance of the site and its surrounding landscape. It’s one of the original plantation settlements established under the dictat of Sir Arthur Chichester, Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1607–1616. Sir Arthur was the principal landlord in the east of Ulster, and tenant farmers had to adhere to strict conditions regarding the layout of their fields – typically in a square or rectangular pattern divided by banks and ditches, with trees and hedges planted on the banks. These became a distinctive landscape feature in this part of Ulster, and are still here at Ballyrobert Gardens. “We realised this heritage should be uppermost in the design for our new garden,” says Maurice. “So, we set about integrating traditional landscape features that reflect the broader history of the area, but without it looking too contrived.” Today, fairy folklore, paganism and early Christian symbolism all feature in the design. “The surrounding landscape includes pagan rock carvings, stone circles and landforms such as the Holestone at Doagh, which is just a few miles away,” says Maurice. “Here at

“Fairy folklore, paganism and early Christian symbolism all feature in the design”

sweeping scale (clockwise from top left) Red-stemmed cornus echoes the peeling cinnamon bark of Acer griseum contrasting with Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’; the formal front garden; Euphorbia cornigera ‘Goldener Turm’; red persicaria, mauve phlox, pink-tinted Hydrangea paniculata and white astilbe jostle in this cool pastel bed; Caryopteris clandonensis ‘Heavenly Blue’; late crocosmia ‘Zambesi’

“The strength of a planting scheme lies in its ability to blend with the natural”

AUTUMN TINTS (clockwise from above) Maurice clipped this hornbeam into a ‘holetree’; Cyclamen hederifolium; Ballyrobert has its own lake complete with crannog (protected island); Darmera peltata, rodgersia and hostas beneath Abies koreana; a floral feast of sunny rudbeckia with calamagrostis Ballyrobert I’ve created my own ‘holetree’ in the garden, by trimming a hornbeam into a similar shape. Fairies or ‘little folk’ are an everpresent part of the Ulster landscape too. “We had to include them,” says Maurice. “We’ve got a fairy tree at the entrance to the garden, a basalt pillar with a flat top so the fairies can dance on it, and moon windows along the main drive as a reminder of the area’s pre-Christian history. At the back of the garden we’ve indented a Celtic spiral into a field of rushes, with an oak tree at its centre. “Ulster has been subject to human invasion throughout its history, and at one time the native population responded by building protective islands on the lakes called ‘crannogs’. Our lake at Ballyrobert has its own crannog accordingly.” The garden here is quintessentially natural and informal, merging seamlessly with its surrounding landscape. “It’s been designed so there are no boundaries,” says Maurice. “I dislike the idea of garden rooms, so here we’ve created a series of informal areas that flow from one to the next, each with its own theme. “We like to use colour, form and texture to hold the planting schemes together – with pastel shades in one border, cool areas of white, blue and yellow, and hotter planting schemes in the sunnier locations. For us the real strength of a planting scheme lies in its ability to blend gracefully with the natural and traditional landscape. We do this by avoiding plants such as hybrid tea roses and brightly coloured bedding plants. And there’s not a leyland cypress tree in sight!” Autumn is an important time for the garden. “We’ve chosen plants for f lowers and foliage to create a major show at this time of year,” says Maurice. “We’ve got Japanese maples and a bronze rodgersia, which really excel. “In winter we have Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ and Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’, whose vibrant stems have a colourful impact that continues into early spring to herald the snowdrops and hellebores,” says Maurice. “We have more than 150 snowdrops, with the earliest ones f lowering in December and the last in April.” From spring onwards, the garden comes alive with successive waves of colour from herbaceous plants such as hemerocallis, astilbe, geranium and persicaria. Wild creatures seem pretty keen on the garden too. “We have a policy of gardening organically and making habitats for wildlife,” explains Maurice. “A vast array of birds come – everything from snipe and woodcock in winter to long-eared owls and spotted flycatchers in summer. And otters are frequent visitors to the lake.” While the current garden extends to six acres, Joy and Maurice have begun developing the remainder of their 16-acre site, creating patterned walks through fields of rushes and wildf lowers. “We’ve laid out the paths in concentric rings and spirals because both of these shapes feature a lot in the stonework at ancient burial grounds throughout Ireland,” explains Maurice. “Our main aim has been to create areas for quiet contemplation, in a wildlife-friendly setting.”