DAY 1: West Wicklow Gardens
June Blake’s Garden
We all met at June Blake’s Garden, where Dara (June’s Son) gave us a tour. June then met us for a cup of tea and some stories.
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Welcome to June’s Gardens
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June Blake’s Garden
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Home made scones at the newly opened tea room
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Chat with Gardener June Blake (left)
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Hunting Brook Gardens
Located just five minutes from June’s garden, Huntingbrook Garden was our second stop. Unfortunately, Gardener Jimi Blake was away and it is Dara that showed us around.
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Grangecon Cafe
We drove into the centre of Blessington for lunch at the Grangecon Café
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Russborough Rhododendron Trail
After lunch, we stopped at Russborough House to follow the short trail to the Rhododendrons.
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National Birds of Prey Centre
Before leaving Russborough House, we managed a short visit of the National Birds of Prey Centre located pass Russborough’s West Wing.
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National Birds of Prey
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Meet baby owl!!!
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Patthana Garden
Our last visit was in the small village of Kiltegan, passed Baltinglass, where we toured TJ’s Patthana Garden.
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Brooklodge and Macreddin Village
A 25 minutes’ drive over the hills brought us to The Brooklodge and Macreddin Village to spend the night after a meal at the Strawberry Tree.
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DAY 2: Wicklow Mountains, Spiritual Garden and Exotic Trees
Shekina Scultpure Garden
We left the Brooklodge around 9.30am and drove over ‘…..’ (with stunning views of Lugnaquilla, Ireland’s highest mountain outside of Kerry) to arrive at Shekina Sculpture Garden.
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The visit starts with owner Catherine McCann
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National Botanic Gardens at Kilmaccuragh
Passed Rathdrum we stopped at the National Botanic Gardens at Kilmaccuragh for a tour.
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Hunters Hotel
We concluded our trip with a short drive to Hunters Hotel for lunch and a visit of their vegetable gardens
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