Beyond The Garden Wall – Farmleigh Sunken Garden
Not too long ago I shared a post that had got forgotten in the depths of Beyond The Wild Garden’s drafts. It was about the brilliant walled gardens at Farmleigh House in Dublin.
For anyone who reads the blog you will know how much I love colour and flowers in a garden and the walled garden at Farmleigh had a great deal of both of these for me to salivate over!
The second part of the grounds at Farmleigh that I wanted to share with you all is very different. There is not as much colour but that does not mean there is no interest. Quite the opposite, there is as much if not more interest as you walk from the walled garden underneath the towering trees towards the sunken garden.
As you walk towards the sunken garden, which is believed to date back to around 1907, you are transported through an amazing tunnel of perfectly maintained topiary hedges.
Just as you reach the small ornate gate that leads into the sunken garden, you are greeted with a brilliant modern statue that I feel contrasts the historic garden just meters away. When I saw the installation I couldn’t help but think ‘If only my garden was a bit bigger that would look great in it!’
Inside the low garden walls, apart from a few shrubs around the perimeter of the garden and the towering trees outside the garden, your eyes are monopolised and your mind filled with awe (Well at least mine was!) as you look out over the very ornate topiary.
I have to say the topiary peacocks and spirals are fantastic to look at but I don’t think they could outshine the great carved marble fountain in the very centre of the tiered garden.
As I sat on one of the perfectly placed benches within the garden, I could not get over the power of geometry in a garden like this and how even though there was very little colour in it, the garden was liberating and one that stuck in my mind for weeks later.
Note:
It is important to note that if you do plan to visit the gardens that from time to time it is closed to public when a state visit is taking place. It is always a good idea to double check before you make the trip out. The gardens are normally open from 10.00-18.00 (Last admission 17.30). For more visitor information visit Farmleigh’s website
Oh my goodness! those topiaries are to die for! what a tremendous team of nurserymen it must take to maintain such an exquisite space!
I must ask my daughter if she visited there (her fiance is a Dubliner and they’re back there to visit family a few times each year, If she hasn’t seen it, I’m sure she will make it a priority after I show her this post!
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