Kilmacurragh Gardens: Wicklow’s hidden wonderland
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Pat Kenny Show. With timber living log cabins. Saturday and Sunday from 10am on Newstalk. Conversation that counts.
As the opening show of Newstalk's summer tour, with thanks to ESB, the largest EV charging network, we're broadcasting from Avondale, the historic home of Charles Stewart Parnell. Now we're surrounded by some of the most beautiful woodlands in the country. But just a few kilometres away lies another of Wicklow's great treasures, Kilmacurra Botanic Gardens. It's set in a sheltered valley near Rathdrum. It's home to one of the finest collections of rhododendrons and magnolias and rare trees in Europe. And yet its story is more than about plants. It's a story of Victorian plant hunters, remarkable collectors, decades of decline, and then...
What makes Kilmacurragh Botanic Gardens a hidden gem in Wicklow?
one of great resurrection. And a man who's dropped by to us here in the pavilion in Avondale, but who's already been to Kilmacurra this morning, is German Gavin, Chelsea gold medal winner and much more besides. German, good morning and welcome. Morning, great to see you. Great to see everybody here. Mind you, I should have been listening. I didn't know there was an audience. And you cleaned up well, it's okay. But they're all going to see me reading my notes now. Now, you dropped in there this morning. Oh yeah, it was amazing. So it's only 10 minutes away from here in Avondale. It's a remarkable estate that I've always been aware of. It's had a kind of complex history down through hundreds and hundreds of years.
And it was abandoned for a time. But in recent, the last 20 years, it has been rescued and the collection of trees has been really rescued. And at the moment that there's kind of two times of the year when it's absolutely brilliant to visit. So that's early spring when the magnolias and the rhododendrons are in flower and it's an unsurpassed. But now the meadows are out and the meadows, even as you drive in, are just looking fantastic. They're just a carpet of native Irish orchids. It's extraordinary. You showed me a picture of yourself, which was taken this morning.
What unique plant collections can be found at Kilmacurragh?
Yeah. And there's a plant that's standing probably twice your size behind you. Twice and the rest. They grow up to two to three metres in height. They're a very rare plant from the Himalayas. So it's Cardiocranum giganticum and that's the giant Himalayan lily.
How did Kilmacurragh Gardens experience a decline and subsequent revival?
Very difficult to grow. You need the right conditions. Obviously the conditions are perfect there and they're perfect in Mount Usher Gardens just down in Ashford. A slightly acidic soil, but that kind of mild, moist and valley setting really suits it. These are like plants from Alice in Wonderland. The trumpets of these flowers are nearly a foot long. They're intoxicating, extraordinary and only in flower for the next week or so. So now's your chance. If you're in the Avondale area, do a detour and make sure you... If you're in Cork, do a detour and come up to the Avondale area. Now, this goes back to a saint I'd never heard of, Saint Muckerogue. I'm glad you pronounced it. Well, I've heard the term. He was a bit of a mucker.
But a muckeroog, St. Muckeroog. Maybe that's it. So in the 17th century, he had a monastery there. And then after the dissolution of the monasteries across the water, that came in in the 1600s to the Acton family, and Thomas Acton built that. one of Ireland's earliest Queen Anne-styled houses. And it was fairly unusual at the time because most of these houses would have been fortified, but this is a very elegant house without all the fortification. Does it still remain, the house? It does. Well, that's a long story. It just about does. And I could say just about up until, you know, only December because the roof was gone in the 80s and into the early 90s there was a couple of A fire sergeant had gone out of the Acton family who had done great work, especially in terms of acquiring plants and understanding what a special place it was in terms of growing plants, especially trees from those areas like China and Japan and parts of Asia.
but the house was almost destroyed. And I remember doing, I was opening something there, I think it was a cafe or something like that, about 10 years ago, and there was a guy who will go on to talk about Seamus.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:48
2
What makes Kilmacurragh Botanic Gardens a hidden gem in Wicklow?
0:48–2:07
3
What unique plant collections can be found at Kilmacurragh?
2:07–2:24
4
How did Kilmacurragh Gardens experience a decline and subsequent revival?
2:24–7:23
5
What are the best times of year to visit Kilmacurragh Gardens?
7:23–9:20