Our Annual General Meeting is the largest and most popular event of the year. This year we are based in Cork with our meeting and AGM dinner at the Blarney Castle Hotel.
As always, there will be a programme of garden visits for both days.
On Saturday we will visit Blarney Castle Garden:
Blarney Castle Gardens
Head Gardener (and IGPS committee member) Adam Whitbourn and his team have well and truly put the Gardens at Blarney on every gardener’s map. A fern garden, poison garden, Irish garden, bog garden, jungle border, herbaceous borders, waterfalls, boardwalks, stumpery, ancient Yew trees, Willow tunnels, arboretums and pinetum, and collections of plants such as Japanese Maples, Rhododendrons, Irish Heritage Plants, Hostas, Bamboos and Grasses, rare Conifers, and so much more. There’s something for everyone at Blarney.
On Sunday we will be visiting three gardens…
‘Coosheen’
Hester Forde’s Garden, ‘Coosheen’, is situated on the Lee estuary in Cork harbour and houses and an amazing collection of plants for its size. Described as “a woodland garden in a suburban space”, the garden has become well known for being worthy of visiting at any time of year. Through her garden, her stall at ISNA plant fairs, the organisation of the annual Snowdrop Gala, her committee work for the Cork Alpine Hardy Plant Society, and her inspiring gardening lectures, Hester has built up a reputation as one of Cork’s finest plantspeople.‘Poulacurry’
Surrounding a large Georgian country house, Maireid Harty’s ‘Poulacurry’ gardens possess a traditional, romantic, old-world charm. Even with its formality, there is something quite relaxing about strolling through this garden. Finials, allées, urns, topiary, and the wafting scent of the Rose garden all invite the visitor to explore further. A very photogenic garden.‘Hillside’
Featured in books and TV programmes, Mary Byrne’s garden, ‘Hillside’, is a mature plantsperson’s garden on a gentle south facing slope and enclosed by woodland. The large and sprawling nature of ‘Hillside’ leaves the visitor with many different areas to stroll through and explore. Ponds surrounded by a large rockery and waterfall, scree beds, meandering pathways through woodland, a large patio with panoramic views over Cork Harbour. This garden is a real treasure trove of unusual plants with many Australian and South African plants flourishing there. A plantperson’s paradise.
You can book your tickets for the weekend via Eventbrite
