So at this point, I will be going over Nursery Trade found within Ireland. Hopefully I'll be able to get a better idea of what went on years ago, and how it's conducted now. I'll be sure to get the names of some key nurseries found in the country, and plants that are commonly used.

Hi everyone, I know it's been a while since my last post, but if you go through my blog, you'll notice that I've moved some things around and added some images. There will be more renovations and posts taking place. Stay tuned!

So after going over some of the gardens and garden styles that are prevalent throughout Ireland, I’m going to discuss some of the garden practices that can be found there today. First off, certain garden practices are associated with various garden styles. I’m going to focus on four predominant styles: Japanese, formal French, English, and Italian Renaissance.

            

 So many of you probably have some idea of what a Japanese garden entails. It tends to be very natural. There’s a good reason for this in the fact that the Japanese had a great sense of respect for nature, and they believed that it should be embraced and reproduced, on both large and small scales. Water was a very common feature, but it usually came in the form of a river, flowing through the landscape. The Japanese even go so far to dictate the various ways and directions that water can flow. Rock and gravel beds were also a very predominant feature, and were raked in various patterns. This was considered a sacred activity and could only be done by people with religious authority. In terms of plant material, there was nothing very formal. The plant material was laid out in a way that produced balance, but still kept everything natural. Bonsai was started by the Japanese, and is used to create miniature trees and shrubs. Often these plants are used indoors, but can definitely be found outside in gardens as well. The way this is done is by taking the individual shrub or tree, and not only pruning the trunk and branches, but also pruning the roots. By doing this over a number of years, a mature miniature tree or shrub is produced.   

            

Scene of a Japanese garden with a Japanese maple tree.

The root pruning of a bonsai tree.

Often when people hear formal gardens, they think the French, and there’s a good reason for that. The French had a very controlled outlook on nature, and this could not be exemplified better than through the creation of Versailles. Some of the characteristics of these gardens include the use of axes, pruning of the shrubbery into geometric shapes called topiaries, lots of symmetry, formal water features, and all of this being on a very grand scale. In order to achieve this style of gardening, a great deal of labor and maintenance is needed. It’s interesting in the fact that in man’s attempt to control nature, nature ends up having a very strong control on man. A perfect example of this is a practice referred to as pleaching. In the practice of pleaching, a tree is consistently pruned in a specific shape, and by doing this, a “shell” is created. The inside of the tree is bare and almost nothing but twigs. But once again, in order to do this, a great deal of labor and maintenance is involved. Another common feature of French garden design is the incorporation of statues and groves. The statues often were sculpted from bronze and marble. The bottom line is that this type of garden design is meant to represent power. 

This is a view of the Orangery at Versailles.

             

The next type of garden style I will be going over will be the English garden. This style of garden is interesting in the fact that it was often criticized in the time period that fell shortly after the formal garden era that enveloped most of Europe. It was criticized in the sense that a garden wasn’t being created, and it was just a pure replication of nature. Capability Brown was one of the garden designers responsible for this movement, and it eventually became very popular. People began to step away from the idea that gardens need to have topiaries, symmetry, and formality. The new style of English gardens included native plant material that was well kept, but had a very organic shape. Balance was definitely incorporated, but once again symmetry and axes weren’t part of this. Lastly, wildlife could be found quite easily in English gardens and could include cattle and horses. One of the ways this was done was through something called a “ha-ha”. This was a sunken fence that separated one area of a garden from another, but at the same time, could not be seen from where the viewer was standing. By this being the case, it felt like the cattle were wild, but in fact were contained. 

Picturesque English garden style.

This is a ha-ha, used to keep cows in a designated area of a garden.

Lastly, I will discuss the Italian Renaissance garden. It’s interesting in the fact that the style and practices aren’t quite as evident or well-known as the previous three. The Renaissance garden came into existence after the dark ages of the medieval times. The gardens that existed during this era were walled in, and this feature often carried over into Renaissance Gardens. Although these walls did exist, grand views of the country side were incorporated. However, not all of the country side could be viewed from one angle. Multiple views were needed to make it interesting and keep the element of surprise. Another predominant aspect of the Renaissance garden was a renewal of Roman influence or the classics. In a great deal of Renaissance gardens, it’s easy to find statues of the Roman gods and goddesses. A second aspect that could be found in these gardens is the use of slopes. Once again, slopes made the design interesting. In terms of plant material and layout, structure and symmetry were definitely evident. Topiaries were found quite frequently, and some design can be comparable to that of the French. The reason for this is that the Italian garden design served as the predecessor for formal garden design that eventually manifested and made its way into the French culture. Lastly, Renaissance gardens became the other half of villas, or country houses for the wealthy at the time. Some famous villas include the Villa Medici, Villa D’Este, and the Villa Lante.

Typical Renaissance garden design, utilizing a slope.

Sources and Cites

Thacker, Christopher. The History of Gardens. 1979. Reprint. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of Califronia Press, 1997. Print.

                

So now that we’ve established the historical influences on Irish gardens and the country’s landscape, we can now look into some specific gardens that I and the rest of my class will be visiting. Two gardens that I find of particular interest are the Powerscourt gardens and the Japanese Gardens at the National Stud. That being the case, let’s look into both of these for a better understanding of what they are, what they represent, and why they are there today.

            

The Powerscourt gardens are part of the Powerscourt Estates which is located at Enniskerry Bray Co Wicklow Ireland, just twenty miles south of Dublin. The Estate originates back to the thirteenth century, where there was a medieval castle owned by the Le Power family. This is how Powerscourt received its name. Prominent families throughout Ireland fought for this castle but it was ultimately awarded to Sir Richard Wingfield for his military achievements by Queen Elizabeth. His family and descendents inherited the castle and property for over three hundred years. In 1730, an architect by the name of Richard Castle designed the Powerscourt house which was a 68 room mansion, built around the castle. It had a Palladian style of architecture, and was simply extravagant.

                

Unfortunately, a fire broke out in 1974  and basically destroyed the entire interior of the mansion. It has been restored, and today it houses a museum, multiple high-end stores such as the Global Village, and the Terrace Café.

              

In terms of the gardens, there were two main periods where establishment took place. The first was just after the Powerscourt house was constructed, and it consisted of two major areas. To the north were formal tree plantations, and to the south side were a variety of features ranging from grottos to wall gardens and terraces. An architect by the name of Daniel Robertson came in at a later point in history to establish Renaissance style gardens, and did so while consuming a more than adequate amount of sherry throughout his career. As history progresses, more and more features and areas of gardens were established to become what is there today. The Powerscourt gardens consist of an Italian garden, walled garden, Dolphin pond, Pet’s cemetery, Japanese Garden, and Tower Valley. The Powerscourt gardens also is home to Ireland’s tallest waterfall.

Back view of the Powerscourt house and gardens.

In terms of the Japanese Gardens at the National Stud, I first wanted to know what the National Stud was all about. After going to their website, I quickly became educated in the fact that the National Stud was actually a thoroughbred horse breeding farm. The history goes all the way back to 1900, and was more or less founded by Colonel William Hall Walker. In 1917 the farm and all of the horses produced were gifted to the Irish government, and then became known as the National Stud. It has had great success, especially in the sense that the farm has produced winners of all five Classics, which are various types of horse races.

                 

There are actually two gardens at the National Stud. The first is the Japanese gardens which were established from 1906 to 1910. William Hall Walker brought in a master Japanese horticulturist, by the name of Tassa Eida, and his son. Their plan was to design a garden to symbolize the “Life of Man”. It incorporates a large number of streams, lots of greenery, and a great deal of color. It has been very successful in its 100 years of existence, and has attracted over 150,000 visitors every year. 

One of the scenes that can be found in the Japanese gardens.

The second garden that can be found is the garden of St. Fiachra. St. Fiachra is the patron saint of gardeners, and is commemorated through the work of landscape architect, Martin Hallinan, by his creation of this garden in 1999. It was meant to complement the Japanese Gardens, and has definitely served its purpose in replicating the natural Irish landscape. Rock and water are predominant features in this garden and are incorporated well with the plant material such as ferns and orchids. The Stud and both gardens are found in County Kildare which is 45 minutes southwest of Dublin. 

Scene that can be found in the garden of St. Fiachra, where you can see his statue near the left of the photo.

Sources

"Powerscourt House and Gardens." Welcome. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.powerscourt.ie/gardens>.

"Welcome - Irish National Stud." Welcome - Irish National Stud. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. <http://irishnationalstud.ie/>.