Mount Congreve Gardens, Waterford, Ireland

[Paddy Tobin]

Along with members of my local garden club I visited my local treasure of a garden yesterday evening. Unfortunately, though the day had been one of very pleasant weather, the evening deteriorated very quickly and we were shortly walking in quite steady and heavy rain. Nonetheless, Mount Congreve once again fascinated and delighted me and you must recall that I live within ten minutes of the garden and am welcome to visit whenever I wish and do so frequently.

This will be a no-comment gallop around the garden. Rhododendrons were the attraction of the evening. Only the last of the magnolias was still in bloom and the deciduous azaleas had not yet to come into their best. Camellias were patchy in their display. It is most definitely rhododendron time.

Finally, I will show the flower of a tree with which I have fallen deeply in love in the last month. I saw two excellent specimens in full flower in Mount Usher Garden in Ashford, Co. Wicklow and last evening saw the champion specimen for Ireland.

Hope you enjoy. Paddy

[Paddy Tobin]

Continuing on the walk...

[Paddy Tobin]

The flower of the tree of which I wrote above is pictured below. It is Michelia doltsopa, though now subsumed into the genus magnolia which it resembles very closely. The most obvious difference between Michelia species and Magnolia species is that the Michelia carries its flowers in the axes of the leaves while magnolias are tip bearing. The scent of Michelia doltsopa is simply superb, quite like vanilla.

I shall shortly have one growing in the garden.

Paddy

[ashley]

You certainly do it justice with these pictures Paddy (#14 is stunning I think). 

[Susan]

Paddy,

Be careful where you plant your Michelia. I lusted after one for some time and have now had one for 25 years or so.  It is lovely and the perfume in the evening is wonderful. I also have one called M yunnanensis smaller but equally gorgeous. The large one has grown extremely large and is now blocking our sun, and my husband is about to deal to it with a chainsaw!.  It is also a quite grubby tree, in that it drops its old leaves when it is at the height of flowering.  OK if at the back of a border but  at the edge of the lawn where mine is makes quite a mess.  There is one here called M maudiae which I now have on my current 'want' list.

If ever we get to Ireland  Mt Congreve is a must. Thanks for showing it to us.

Susan

[Brian Ellis]

Wonderful garden, thanks for the quick tour Paddy...I like the bluebells under the tree ferns.

[Maggi Young]

Your garden visit was a real treat for this rhododendron lover, Paddy. I find the style of planting quite unusual... all those ...well, flowering hedges, I suppose, beside the paths...not really seen that before.
Wonderful atmospheric photos which I am sure reflect the place well.

You have caught me at a hungry moment with your talk of vanilla scented flowers on the Michelia....tummy now rumbling good-oh! Off to sniff a scented (rhodo) plant  in my own garden to compensate for Michelia longings!!

[Paddy Tobin]

Many thanks for you kind comments on the photographs. I am unashamedly madly in love with Mount Congreve. It is a garden not on the tourist trail as the owner was very particular about his privacy and visitors were not allowed when he was in residence. When he was away then it was always possible to drop in by arrangement with the Head Gardener. As you see, even on a rainy evening, Mount Congreve is a wonderful garden.

Ashley, picture 14 is interesting because there had been a very large beech tree growing there, hence the peculiar slant on the trees in the photograph as they sought light. When the beech was cut down it opened up this beautiful glade and the bluebells, Spanish scillas, thrived with the new light.

Susan, I realise the Michelia will have to be put to the back. There are two other species, M. compressa and also M. figo, which are also available to me from Mount Congreve and which are much smaller. In the end I will probably choose one of the smaller species and content myself with dropping out to Mount Congreve to view it when in flower.

Maggi, Though there are hundreds of rhododendrons in flower in the garden at the moment, one's retinas can only endure so much close up photography of strong colours, hence my reluctance to post photographs of individual plants. It would also have posed the difficulty of recording their names while photographing. I normally do this by photographing a plant's label just before I photograph the plant so that I know that the name precedes the plant on the camera. Unfortunately finding a label in the midst of a planting of perhaps 250 of the same cultivar proves difficult in Mount Congreve. These are the hedges you speak of. Mr. Congreve never planted individual plants, always 50+ of the smaller cultivars and regularly even more. This gave a great effect but the present head gardener regrets the policy of previous years as he now has great stretches of plants which are over crowded and growing in a manner which is not representative of how the plant would grow naturally.

Now, Maggi, just for you, one photograph of a rhododendron - R. 'Glendoick Gold' and I hope I have spelled the name correctly as the label was partially covered by foliage. I thought you might like a Scottish one, from the Cox family if my memory serves me correctly. It was growing just a little under two feet tall and had an excellent yellow flower.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

Paddy, thanks for the rhodo!
Glendoick Gold  is one of the early  ( as in earlier bred, not flowering; though it's quite early flowering, too!) yellow Yakushimanum hybrids....I have seen it at Glendoick, where it struck me as being a deeper yellow, though that may just be the rainy evening weather.

[David Nicholson]

Lovely pictures Paddy, thoroughly enjoyed the visit.

[Paddy Tobin]

Now, that's compliment indeed coming from you, David, the Master Garden Reporter. I just had to show that there are good gardens outside of your local area!!!

Maggi, I think the camera was compensating for the dull conditions. This was taken after 8p.m. in very overcast and rainy conditions and also under heavy tree cover so the light was quite poor. I still prefer not to use the flash as I feel it flattens out the picture too much and overbrightens the colours.

Paddy

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

Maggi, I think the camera was compensating for the dull conditions. This was taken after 8p.m. in very overcast and rainy conditions and also under heavy tree cover so the light was quite poor.

Yes, I see that that would affect yellow colours particularly, Paddy. 
Given that we can see the water on the plants and the evening timing, I think your photos show super colour intensity which belie the condiitions 

[Paddy Tobin]

Maggi,

Out of interest I went out into the garden at 9p.m. tonight and took a series of photographs and found the results were excellent and I wonder if this might be a better time to photograph flowers rather than in the glare of midday sun. I haven't any ready to post.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

Ian always likes the quality of "late light" and certainly isn't keen on bright sunshine for his photos. It is more fun for the photographer to be out  on a lovely day, though, isn't it? 

[Lesley Cox]

Susan's David will most likely be too busy to go with her so I'm going, as bag carrier. Camera too of course.