Mount Usher Gardens, Ashford, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

[Paddy Tobin]

We visited Mount Usher on the 26th of April but have only now gotten round to posting a few photographs. For general information, I have copied some information from the Mount Usher website. The final line give a warning of sorts - that the planting style is very natural in its approach and that the visitor should bear this in mind. You will find beautiful plants of Trillium grandiflorum growing cheek by jowl with celandine, wild garlic, buttercup and the like. Imagine a beautiful Celmesia semicordate growing among ground elder. This may startle you but the celmesia was growing in perfect good health and did not seem at all put out by the wild things which surrounded it - but then again, it is a native of N.Z. and they're a tough sort down there. (Now, give me a moment while I attempt to dislodge my tongue from my cheek.)

From the Mount Usher Gardens website:

The History of the House & Gardens
Mount Usher was once a working mill. It was first a tuck mill and later a corn mill.
The mill used the Killiskey river, a tributary of the River Vartry, to turn its wheel.
Where the main house is today, there was a small cottage with less than an acre in
front of it which was used to grow potatoes.

The gardens came into being in a romantic way. Edward Walpole Senior, a Dublin
businessman, was very fond of walking in the Wicklow hills. He often stayed at
Hunter's Hotel, Newrathbridge, which is still, as it was then, a comfortable hotel. 
He seems to have met with the owner of the mill, Sam Sutton, and become friendly with him. At all events Walpole
began to stay at the miller's house rather than the hotel. When Sutton's lease expired, Walpole took it over in 1868.
Thus began an association which was to last over 100 years. In 1980, the property was bought by the current owner, Madelaine Jay.

In the early days of the garden, the Walpoles were fortunate in having a great deal of expert help and advice.
Yet the garden is not a manicured showpiece and it is not a botanical warehouse. It is a collection of felicitous
natural plantings according to Robinson's principles and must be approached with that in mind. 


I shall start with a run of photographs posted in the order in which they were taken as we walked around the garden. Later I will post some of individual plants.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

Oh, boy! I'm going to enjoy this visit!  What a magical place... or is it your super photos, Paddy?

[Paddy Tobin]

There was a hitch there for a few minutes when photographs wouldn't upload to the site. Seems to be working again now.

Hope you enjoy them Maggi. It really is a beautiful garden.   Isn't it fabulous to have a stream running through the garden?

Paddy

[Paddy Tobin]

Walking on...

[Paddy Tobin]

A few plants from the garden.  Paddy

[Lvandelft]

Stunning pictures Paddy!
Again a garden to visit in future on my wantlist! Thanks a lot for sharing!

One question: why are you visiting such beautiful places when it's raining?     

[Maggi Young]

Thanks for persisting through the posting hiccup, Paddy... it was playing silly devils with me,too, earlier!
Would you look at that Acer!? It is a work of art and nature combined.... fabulous!
I have heard of Mount Usher, of course.... but I had no notion of this beautiful landscape... even the stream is "sculpted" with those little weirs  
And this paradise is still in private hands, is it?  How lucky the owner is!


Luit, Ireland is always raining ( except on Mark in the North!).....
....how else do you suppose it got to be so GREEN??

[Paddy Tobin]

Last few strands of my hair being pulled out here as  my final 6 photographs have been rejected so many times. Here we go again.

Luit,

This is Ireland - it rains here A LOT.

Maggi, uploading photographs is very difficult tonight. Even though I have reduced to 6 per post when normally 10 would be accepted my postings have been rejected as being too large several times. But I am stubborn.

Winding it up now. Well, actually, this is my third time attempting to wind it up; site difficulties.

Apart from the Michelia which caught my eye, or rather my nose, during this visit below is my favourite tree in Mount Usher. This is Pinus montezumae. I make a point of going to see this tree each time I visit the garden and each time fall in love with it again. I haven't posted any  photograph, but there are several specimens of Taxodium distichum whose wonderfully constructed trunks I always admire.

If you can help with a name for the final plant illustrated I would be most grateful. It has caught my eye previously but I have never identified it.

Lesley, should be be reading; this was the garden where I saw the twisty Cordaline australis. I have made enquiries about it but have had no reply to date.

Paddy

[Paddy Tobin]

What's this?

Paddy

[Paddy Tobin]

Apologies that some of the photographs may not be with the corresponding text. Unfortunately the site was experiencing uploading difficulties tonight and photographs were being constantly rejected as being too large a file.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

Paddy, I have made a post recording these difficulties in the appropriate thread.


Thanks for sticking with it! 

[Paddy Tobin]

OK Maggi. Goodnight, I'm off to bed now. That took ages. Paddy

[Lesley Cox]

A fantastic journey Paddy, and my grateful and most appreciative thanks for all your wonderful pics and the time taken to upload them through the frustrations. Truly heroic!

I'd love to see the Celmisia in ground elder (thank God we don't have that here so far as I'm aware.) As for your tongue in cheek comment, yes, we're hardy folks especially in the south and can take a good joke against ourselves.

This is a glorious place, one I hope to visit some day. You will be my guide Paddy.

[johnw]

Paddy - I don't think I ever seen such an exquisitely beautiful garden.

Can you find out what the incredible rhododendron is just after the Montezuma pine?

When I click on the photos to enlarge they disappear with a blue question marked box.

Thanks again

johnw

[Lvandelft]

This is Ireland - it rains here A LOT.

So glad you took my question as serious.............