DREAM GARDEN

A love of plants and Spain’s Alhambra inspired this exuberant yet reflective Dublin scheme

A love of plants is joyfully evident in this exuberant scheme in Dublin that takes its cues from Spain’s Alhambra.

DESIGNER PROFILE Author, broadcaster, lecturer and consultant Helen Dillon created one of Ireland’s most famous gardens at her Dublin home, opening it to the public for 30 years before she moved last year. Winner of an RHS Gold Veitch Memorial Medal, Helen has written five books and lectures on gardens and plants worldwide.

WHAT WAS THE GARDEN LIKE BEFORE YOU STARTED TO WORK ON IT?

When my husband, Val, and I moved into our Georgian house in Dublin in the 1970s, it had a huge lawn, a fruit and vegetable garden and apple trees. At first, I thought I would leave it as it was, but I soon realised a new design was needed for all the plants I wanted to grow.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE DESIGN?

I am not professionally trained and I never drew up a formal plan, but I have always loved ornamental plants and the garden’s design evolved to accommodate them. Initially I created two deep herbaceous borders on either side of a central lawn. The lawn took the eye through the planting towards an ivy archway, which led you along a narrow pathway to a shady area at the back of the plot, punctuated by an urn at the end. Val was obsessed with the lawn, feeding it and mowing it regularly, but in 2000, we decided to replace it with a canal.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE THE CANAL?

A trip to the Alhambra in Spain pushed me into wanting a water feature. The Moorish garden there has the most wonderful reflective pool, and I liked the way it created a sense of peace. To capture this idea in my own garden, I used the plot’s gentle slope to design a canal that cascaded gradually, so that the water made a soothing sound as it spilled from one level to the next towards the house. There is a round pool at the top, by the ivy archway, and a deeper pool at the end, close to the house, where I have planted a few aquatics. The rest of the water was unplanted, to reflect the sky.

HOW DID YOU COMBINE COLOUR AND SCENT IN THE FLOWER BORDERS?

My first idea was to separate the colours, and for many years I had a blue border on one side and a red one on the other. But eventually I got fed up with it, and created a lovely muddle. I like colours that bounce off one another, such as yellow perennial Helianthus

‘Lemon Queen’ (sunflowers) next to spires of deep blue Aconitum (monkshood), and bright red roses alongside purple Lythrum salicaria

(loosestrife). Scent adds an important element, too, and I used my favourite fragrant plants, including Hesperis matronalis (sweet rocket), Daphne bholua (Nepalese paper plant), regal lilies, Phlox

paniculata (perennial phlox) and roses.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR CREATING HERBACEOUS BORDERS?

I select one or two standout plants that will dominate the borders in each season. In spring, I use the tall annual Hesperis matronalis

(sweet rocket); I sow seed in July and plant out the seedlings in November. This is followed in summer by roses and lilies, and finally in autumn I include helianthus and dahlias for late colour. I also plant some flowers, such as lilies, dahlias and agapanthus, in black pots, which I keep on the patio until they are ready to open, and then bring them into the borders to fill gaps left by the spring blooms. The pots are easy to disguise with other plants.

HAVE YOU ANY KEY MAINTENANCE TIPS?

I am not an organic gardener, and I do spray my roses with fungicide to prevent black spot. I take out weeds in spring but by the summer, they are not a big problem because the borders are so densely packed that they do not have a chance to take hold. I also grow any plants that are vulnerable to slugs, such as dahlias, in pots, where I can keep an eye on them and pick off the pests.