Emerald Green Ireland

Ireland is an Emerald Isle. I have proof! It is Powerscourt Garden, identified by National Geographic as number three of the Top 10 gardens in the world. Located less than an hour from Dublin, Powerscourt Garden should be on your travel list.

Entering this garden from the grand house you walk onto a pebble terrace defined by ornate gilded railings overlooking a cascading lawn which rolls down to a lake graced by magnificent trees. On the horizon, the Sugar Loaf Mountain peak reaches the sky. Standing there on a misty day was a moment of splendor. There is much more to explore in this 42-acre garden but nothing beyond compares to this view.

A mild temperate climate and plentiful rainfall creates this lush green amphitheater. Generations of the Wingfield family lavished attention on this estate for over 350 years.  The Estate, 40,000 acres and a castle, was gifted to Richard the First Viscount by the English Queen for his military achievements in defeating the Irish. Richard established the grand Italianate house in 1742 and began the gardens, but the sixth and seventh Viscounts are recognized as the builders of the gardens we see today. 

Viscount 6 traveled comfortably and widely as he visited Versailles in France, Schunbrunn in Austria, and other grand estates. He collected ideas for his own garden everywhere he went. While traveling, he shopped, buying statues, urns, and custom-made ornate gates. After his early death, his son, Viscount 7, continued to acquire beautiful elements to include in the garden. It’s nice to realize traveling and shopping have always gone together!

In the 1840’s Daniel Robertson, Architect, was hired to design the garden. Robertson was a colorful character who suffered severely from gout, so he was moved about the property in a wheelbarrow as he gave directions.  He tempered his gout pain by drinking sherry throughout the workday, and when the sherry was gone, the workday for him ended.  But his ideas created this remarkable space.

The ground was shaped by hand. Up to 100 men at a time, using shovels and picks, moved the soil. Hauling it off by horse and cart, they shaped the landscape of the grand view we see today.

The black and white pebble terrace was inspired by Viscount 6’s trip to Sicily. The mosaics are of 8-pointed stars, circles, and rectangles. These are very small pebbles collected by Irish workers as part of a famine relief program. The terrace is edged by ornate gilded railings.

This initial view is the grandest moment to savor.  When I could finally tear myself away, I began to descend the wide granite staircase. On each side are symmetrical Italian gardens with parterres, topiary, and urns. The stairs end at the Triton pool. The kneeling fountain sculpture of Triton, (the son of the sea god Poseidon) once shot water 100 feet in the air; its flow is reduced now to release the pressure on the very old fountain sculpture. 

Walking around the lake you have a marvelous view up the staircase to the commanding presence of the house.  

The garden is a haven of Champion trees, 20 of the best in Britain and Ireland. In the 1800’s it was fashionable to collect exotic trees and North American conifers were especially popular. Powerscourt features the tallest tree in Ireland, a Douglas Fir. The tree stands at 202 ft, (61.5 meters). The 8th Viscount is described as a prodigious planter of trees.

The Japanese Garden was built in 1908 after Japan opened to Western culture, which generated a fever for the exotic infusion of the Japanese style.  Stone lanterns and bridges provide elements of this style,

but the moss rock work, rugged arches, and waterfalls are clearly Irish elements.

Today, the walled garden invites you to stroll through deep perennial and annual flower borders. Poppy blooms larger than my hand, in vibrant colors—foliage in purple, silver, and multiple shades of green on both sides. The ornate gilded gates are works of art. The most beautiful gate is here, the ‘Bamberg Gate‘ which came from the Cathedral at Bamberg in Germany.

Sculpture, water features, and ‘Julia’s Memorial’, a calm reflective pond built in honor of the 7th Viscountess by her son indicate this area was a significant aspect of the garden’s development.

The grandest Irish waterfall is part of Powerscourt Estate, although it is three miles from the formal gardens.

The water cascades 398 ft. (121M) down a granite slope. The Viscounts landscaped this area with trees, grasses, and tables, creating a picnic destination. 

As luck would have it, visiting Powerscourt was garden visit # 1000 in my Traveling Gardener adventures. I believe the best way to explore the world is through gardens. Every garden has a story: who the gardener is, how it came to be located here, and what the architecture of the dwelling the garden surrounds reveals of the times. Gardens teach us so much about the world. Gardens are beautiful places to experience.

Recently I discovered a new Lonely Planet travel guide for gardens, The Joy of Exploring Gardens is a terrific book. In the book’s foreword written by Lyanda Lynn Haupt, (nature writer extraordinaire) she wrote: “For a time we are free to dwell, to rest, to dance in a place beyond the ordinary.” This is the truth for me of exploring gardens.  I hope in my writing for Roots & Shoots I have inspired others to seek out gardens when you travel.  For as Haupt also writes: “A garden without a wanderer is a lonely thing, we find joy together.”

NOTES:
From National Geographic The 10 Best of Everything–The Gardens

1. Château de Versailles, Versailles, France
2. Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England
3. Powerscourt Gardens, Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland
4. Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
5. Villa d’Este, Tivoli, Italy
6. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.
7. Gardens of the Villa Éphrussi de Rothschild, St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France
8. Stourhead, Warminster, England
9. The Master-of-Nets Garden, Suzhou, China
10. Sans Souci, Potsdam, Germany         (I’ve now been to 1-8 on this list!)

A Viscount is the fourth rank of royal peerage, From Debretts Ranks and Privileges of the Peerage
In order they are:
Duke
Marquess
Earl
Viscount
Baron

The Joy of Exploring Gardens
Lonely Planet
©September 2023