Member’s shorter day outing to Hardymount Garden & Delta Sensory Gardens on Saturday 18th July 2009

Delta Sensory Gardens are an ambitious project, consisting of a series of interconnecting gardens of a multi-sensory nature covering 2.5 acres. The first of their kind in Ireland they combine the attraction of a tourist facility with a therapeutic focus and benefit, for people of all abilities. A combination of both formal and informal landscapes allow visitors to meander round at will, watch splashing fountains and waterfalls, enjoy herbs and perfumed plants, many in raised beds (suitable for access by wheelchair), watch fish, reflect on sculptures, or simply sit around and enjoy flowers and foliage. The gardens include a water and woodland garden, a sculpture garden, a musical garden and a formal rose garden amongst others.

Hardymount Garden: "Welcome to my garden," says the notice hanging on the gate, and indeed it is a welcoming place. The sight of Hardymount - a 1730s former road house with Regency bow ends added a century later - is enough to raise expectations. Set amid lawns, a sweeping drive and mature trees, the romantic house is veiled in old roses and the walled garden hides behind it like a child behind a mother's skirts. Vistas down grass paths, espaliered apples trees, a wisteria pergola and a lily pond, its corners marked by topiary box, give the garden its formal structure. In between these features big rectangular beds barely contain the exuberant display of herbaceous perennials. In high summer Hemerocallis and Lobelia tupa and Ligularia provide gold and fire while roses with Tradescantia make unusual bed fellows. Each turn in the grid of paths reveals something new, a little parterre of box with a sundial in the centre or a greenhouse sheltering ripe grapes. A pair of venerable Hoheria make a focal point at the end of the garden and the grassy paths lead to vistas of statues - and the discovery of a rustic gazebo, and a productive vegetable patch hidden away behind trellis.

If you would like to attend this outing please click here, print out the form and return it to Niall Coulter at the address on the form