Celebrity Gardener Diarmuid Gavin, launches the 2017 Wicklow Gardens Season

“What amazes people when they come to Ireland, and especially to Wicklow, is the range of plants that can be grown here, plants that have been sourced from all corners of the planet.  Because of Wicklow’s temperate climate, with very few extremes of hot or cold, wet or dry, you could be anywhere around the world just by looking at the plants that grow here.”  Says Diarmuid Gavin, who was this year’s guest speaker at the launch of the 2017 Wicklow Gardens Season.  

The launch was organised by Wicklow County Tourism, in partnership with the Office of Public Works, and was recently held at the National Botanic Gardens at Kilmacurragh.

Wicklow is home to some of Ireland’s most beautiful and exciting gardens. Visit world renowned Mount Usher in Ashford, the National Botanic Gardens at Kilmacurragh, Killruddery Gardens or Powerscourt Gardens, recently voted No.3 in the World’s Top Ten Gardens by National Geographic.  

Wicklow is also home to some amazing smaller gardens, garnering international acclaim and media attention for Wicklow, highlighting the immense creativity of its designers.  June Blake’s Garden, Hunting Brook Gardens, and secret gardens like Knockanree or Wrens Wood all possess outstanding natural beauty with a diversity of planting and garden design, each distinctive in its own right. The RHSI Garden in Russborough House has breathed new life into the old garden’s original layout and dimensions, restoring it to its former glory and attracting many visitors.

“It’s not without reason that Wicklow is called the ‘Garden County.’ With its varied and diverse landscapes, mild climate, rich deep, often acid soils, Wicklow is one of the best places in Britain and Ireland to garden”, says Seamus O’Brien, head gardener at Kilmacurragh.  “The county’s coastal scenery is stunning and many Wicklow gardens make the best use of a ‘borrowed view’ of mountain, sea and rolling green and unspoiled countryside”.

Well over twenty gardens are opening their doors to visitors and garden enthusiasts over the next few months.  While some open all year long, others for just a few days during the season or by appointment only.  Wicklow is truly a world class destination for garden lovers, and Wicklow residents are blessed to have such wonders on their doorstep.

For more information, please go to:  visitwicklow.ie/wicklowgardens