I was lucky enough to have some spare time on my hands this week and got to go on an well over due visit to The Botanic Gardens out in Glasnevin. I have always found the gardens here a great source of inspiration for my own garden. Given that the last time I visited the gardens they were a wash with spring bulbs, I think it was well over due a good visit!
One of the big highlights of my trip to the gardens this time was going to the walled garden that houses they very attractive vegetable garden. I am always so envious when I go in here and look at all the great vegetables that are growing so well and seem to be about three times the size of my own at home!
I was in awe at how attractive the beds looked as I meandered down the paths looking at all the vegetable garden has to offer. It dawned on me though as I walked around that my own vegetable garden looks rather dull and boring with very little colour. Something that will have to change next year and I will have to introduce some colour to it. A lot of the plants used here act as great companion plants warding off greenfly and also attracting beneficial insects to the area.
The whole garden looked great! The fruit bushes were straining with the sheer weight of fruit on their branches. The same was true for the fruit trees, unlike my own apple trees here in Kildare, the trees in the Botanic Gardens were boasting a great display of fruit.
As I was walking around all the fruit trees I became aware of the huge numbers of bees that were flitting from tree to tree and hovering about the many bright flowers. It was not until I reached the end of one of the walkways that I found out why there were so many in the garden at one time.
Tucked away behind a fence and away from the general public were two very active bee hives! They were a great sight and I spent maybe a bit too much of my time watching as the bees went in and out of the hives.
An other great discovery I made before I left to explore the palm house was inside the greenhouse. The grape vine that on my last visit was completely bare, is now covered in leaves and has great bunches of grapes hanging down all over it. While I know it is in a protected greenhouse I am still always amazed when I see grapes growing successfully in Ireland.
I think I will definitely have to call back to the walled garden again to see how the vegetables mature over the next couple of weeks! Until then I will have to make do with these photos from this trip!
My Name is David Corscadden and I have just finished my degree in horticulture from UCD. I have a keen interest in wildlife friendly gardens or as I like to call them “Wild Gardens”. I have in the last year taken a u-turn in what I thought I would do after college. I have moved more in to the literature side of horticulture and plan to do a masters in journalism next year.
Source: Beyond the Wild Garden – Going Behind the Wall – David Corscadden
