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Gash Gardens

Garden

A garden for plant enthusiasts to inspire those making new gardens.

Address:

Castletown
Portlaoise
Co Laois

About Portlaoise

Tel: +353 57 873 2247

Please mention ireland-guide.com when enquiring.

Gash Gardens

Opening Months: May, June, July, August, September
Opening Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Opening Hours: 10am-5pm (Sun by appointment only)
Admission Charge: €5

Appointment Only
Admission Charge

Georgina Campbell

Anyone needing the courage to start a garden from complete scratch could do no better than to visit Gash. It was started in 1986 by the late Noel Keenan in a field behind his farm, and what started as a walk to the river Nore became a fully fledged fantasy with contrasting areas covering four acres. The garden has now achieved remarkable maturity.

The star of the show is the Moon House Grotto, where a waterfall cascading from a mound of rocks, tumbles past a circular window into a lily pond. Around it gravel paths meander around raised beds with a wonderful collection of herbaceous and alpine plants, and past a whole variety of features, from a gazebo to a stream garden.

Eyecatchers among the plant population include Persicaria virginana ‘Painter’s Palette’, Ribes speciosum the fuchsia flowered currant and Veratrum nigrum producing its brown black flowers for the first time. A large collection of hardy geraniums features throughout the

garden, personalities like ‘Mrs Kendall Clark’ and ‘Bill Wallace’ are bound to win friends.

Beyond a bridge over a stream - a great excuse to grow damp loving plants like gunneras and hostas - is a soothing garden with lawn winding around informal beds of mixed planting. Contrasting use of foliage helps to create year round interest with splashes of lime green or golden foliage, and hydrangeas like the velvety leafed lace cap H aspera and ‘Annabelle’ provide a late display.The hidden walkway to the river and the laburnum tunnel provide a sense of adventure.

There is something very special about a two generational garden. Mary Keenan has taken over her father’s mantle, planting a new border of old fashioned roses like ‘Baron Girod de l’Ain’, and R chinensis ‘Mutabilis’, and beginning a collection of kniphofias and crocosmias with beauties like C ‘Star of the East’and K ‘Bees’Lemon’.

Best time of year to visit: June, July, August

Gardens Strengths

This is a plant enthusiasts garden featuring a collection of interesting and unusual plants

Rare Plants worth mentioning

Cornus controversa 'Variegata'; Ribes speciosum; Flowering specimen of Davidia involucrata

Groups & Tours

Groups Accepted
Groups Need Appointments
Accept Only Groups
Guided Tours

Minimum Group Size:

Tour Days:

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Tour Times

All tours by appointment only

Additional

Trails

Festivals

None

Events

None

Other Facilities

Picnics permitted, dogs must be on lead

Miscellaneous

Moonhouse with gushing water cascade overhead; looped walk along the banks of the River Nore

Home > Gash Gardens

Choose your language:

- ireland -

Gash Gardens

Garden

A garden for plant enthusiasts to inspire those making new gardens.

Please mention ireland-guide.com when enquiring.