Episode 4
Synopsis
In this episode, our experts Jimi, Ingrid and Niall are visiting three gardens under the theme of ‘Gardens That Intrigue‘ in Co. Kilkenny, Co. Louth and Co. Wicklow. These gardens ask us to re-examine what we mean by the term garden, they ask us to reassess what a garden is supposed to do for us beyond plants and furniture. The gardeners this week have created three unique spaces and their goals and motivations are all different. But each garden is intriguing and exciting for any visitor. Our experts will assess the success of these three gardens and discover what motives the gardeners are driven by.
Lamber De Bie – Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny
Lamber grew up in Holland and gets his love of gardening from his mum. He recalls hot summers, climbing trees and jumping in his mother’s pond with his three brothers. He moved to Ireland in 1993. He moved for a year and never left. He lives with his husband Pat and their two dogs.
Lamber appreciates the rain in Ireland because it is the reason we have such a beautiful country. There are different pockets of interest in the garden such as a south facing courtyard with a large outdoor dining area, two further small courtyards, and seven different water features.
Fiona Crawley – Ardee, Co. Louth
Fiona lives in a small house in Ardee, with husband, Paul and son, Robin. She is very proud of her little garden there, but it’s not her only garden. When Fiona was just a child, the house her father built burned down, only weeks after the family moved in. Her father kept the land – and left a bit to each of his children.
Fiona says she and Paul are just guardians, her son Robin is the third generation and Fiona is passing down the knowledge she got from my father. When Fiona is on the bog, she can feel her father. Since her father passed, Fiona has carried on his legacy. He planted oaks from seed over 30 years ago which she tends now. The trees are thriving in the bog and it is now deemed an ’emerging oak forest’.
It also has native downy birch trees. Fiona and Paul manage the paths through the forest, and clear bramble to allow the myriad of ferns, moss and cotton to flourish. In the centre she has a traditional garden of various flowers set around some small cabins they’ve built so they can stay there overnight during the summer.
It’s completely off grid. no electricity, just solar power, harvesting rainwater from the roofs
As we are all aware bogs are more important than rainforests in managing climate change through their ability to store carbon. So her life’s work, her garden, is about her love of nature and Ireland’s unique role in the climate fight.
Catherine McCann – Glenmalure, Co. Wicklow
Catherine grew up in Dublin. She was a nun for 25 years and during that time she trained as a physiotherapist, a profession which she loved and practiced for 35 years.
In her later years as physiotherapist at Baggot St Hospital, she moved into primary healthcare becoming particularly interested in family carers and ageing care. This led her to becoming an author as well.
Catherine is immensely proud of her PhD on people’s experiences in the garden, ‘Exploring personal experiences in a garden in the light of the sacred’ which she wrote at 70, and later this was turned into a book.
Catherine bought her home in Glenmalure 42 years ago when she was priced out of Dublin. The cottage was built in 1932, the same year that Catherine was born. When she bought the cottage, she hadn’t intended it to be a sculpture garden. She decided to brighten up a dark corner of the garden with a sculpture and it developed from there.
Over the years visitors have found this garden a place of tranquillity and inspiration, some calling it a peace garden, others viewing it as a place for reflection and some for celebrations.
This one acre garden includes a stream with a bridge, two ponds on different levels, a patio, gazebo, seating areas, shrub beds and undulating lawns.
SERIES OVERVIEW
Ireland’s Garden Heroes
This new series for RTÉ One reveals the hard work and imagination ordinary people have put into their gardens across the island. We’ve sought out the best amateur gardeners to celebrate the joy of transforming your own space. Each week three contestants will open their gates to our experts horticulturalist Jimi Blake, garden designer Niall Maxwell and landscape designer Ingrid Swan. The experts will take the tour, examining every leaf and sniff every flower, to evaluate the gardens. How the garden is laid out, how the planting has been done, and what features have been added, are all investigated. But we also want to know what the garden means to the owner. Maybe it’s a place of adventure for kids, perhaps it’s a special space for relaxation, or maybe it’s a fully functional extension of your home, for entertaining and dining. How the garden fits into and enhances your life is an important factor too.
The gardens will be split into different categories in each episode, and the experts will assess the plants, the design, the functionality, and the feel of the garden before ultimately choosing a winner. Each episode will have an individual winner, and they will become one of Ireland’s Garden Heroes.
This series is a celebration of nature, of planting and growing things, and the beauty we can all create for ourselves.
Further details on the experts:
Jimi Blake – Horticulturist, owner of Hunting Brook Gardens
http://www.huntingbrook.com/lectures-tours/about-jimi/
Niall Maxwell – Garden Designerhttps://www.niallmaxwell.ie/
Ingrid Swan – Landscape Designerhttps://glda.ie/designerprofile/ingrid-swan/