Dear Member, Due to the current health situation with Covid-19, it is with regret that we have had to cancel all Society events for the time being. This unfortunately includes the postponement of the AGM to a future date. After all the hard work that has been put into organising events, especially by the Leinster committee for the […]
Author: Paddy
Coronavirus Covid-19 Disrupts Programme
Unfortunately our programme of winter lectures has been interrupted by the restrictions of gatherings while the Coronavirus is with us. There may be further cancellations and we will announce these as soon as possible. For the moment, the following are cancelled: March 26th: Collecting Plants for a Better Garden – Carl Wright at The Old […]
AGM Update.
AGM Sold Out! All tickets for the AGM Gardens have now been sold. A Waiting List is in operation. If you would like to attend and have not booked yet, please add your name to this list. You can do this by following the link below to the Eventbrite site: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/agm-westport-16-17-may-2020-tickets-87794103527
Special Plants with Derry Watkins
Many thanks to Derry Watkins, owner of Special Plants Nursery near Bath, for two wonderful talks: Derelict Hill Farm to Garden, where she showed us the creation of her beautiful garden and Botanizing in Kyrgyzstan, the ‘Switzerland of Asia’, taking us on her recent exploration in the high mountains of central Asia. Derry grows and […]
AGM 2020 – You need to book quickly!
AGM 2020 Spaces for our AGM are filling up fast. If you intend coming to Westport please do not delay in booking: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/agm-westport-16-17-may-2020-tickets-87794103527 A very attractive rate has been negotiated with the Castlecourt Hotel. To book please phone the hotel directly +353 98 55088 and quote the special code 1045174. All details are on our website. […]
The Pollinator Victory Garden – A Review
The Pollinator Victory Garden…A Review. Paddy Tobin Book Review February 10, 2020 Small changes in our gardening can make an enormous difference to our world – The “Act locally, think globally” concept could never be applied so effectively! We can each, in our individual gardens, make small changes which will be beneficial to our environment, to the pollinators […]
Modern Plant Hunters – A Review
Modern Plant Hunters – A Review. Paddy Tobin Book Review January 31, 2020 Modern Plant Hunters – Dr. Sandy Primrose. Plant hunters have given our gardens the most wonderful range of plants; we are greatly indebted to these brave, courageous and daring people and Dr. Sandy Primrose’s account of our modern plant hunters is gripping and informative reading […]
Annual General Meeting 2020: Details Announced
AGM Weekend Westport, Co Mayo. 16 &17 May 2020 Booking: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/agm-westport-16-17-may-2020-tickets-87794103527 The AGM weekend is, for many of our members, the highlight of the year. This year IGPS Leinster has organised something very special….. For the first time ever, the IGPs is heading to Westport https://www.destinationwestport.com/on Clew Bay in Co Mayo. Six […]
Newsletter, January 2020
The January 2020 issue of the Society’s newsletter has been sent to members. It is an excellent issue with a strong emphasis on Irish plants and gardens – interesting plant portraits and news of Irish gardens. Well done to the editing committee for producing such a top-class newsletter! Contents: Welcome A Note from the […]
The Scentual Garden – A Review.
Fragrance lost its importance in our gardens. We drifted away from an appreciation of scent; became more visual in our judgement and selection and nowadays rarely include scent in a description of a plant. We have fallen out of the practice of appreciating one of the central and important aspects of our gardens, the fragrance […]
Bringing the Mediterranean into your Garden – Olivier Filippi
Olivier Filippi – Bringing the Mediterranean into your Garden. Paddy Tobin Book Review December 10, 2019 This is a remarkable book, a book of extraordinary depth and of marvellous inspiration. Olivier and Clara Filippi have run a nursery, specialising in Mediterranean plants, in the south of France for over thirty years. They have travelled the world to […]
T. J. Maher at Malone House – How to get the most from the Smaller Garden.
On Wednesday evening, around 100 members and guests attended Malone House, Belfast, and enjoyed an inspiring lecture ‘How to get the most from the Smaller Garden’ by artist T.J. Maher from Patthana Garden, Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow. T.J.’s photos of his 1/3 acre garden were wonderful, with his fabulous plant selections and colour combinations. There was […]
Great Talk in Cork!
Many thanks to Colm O’Driscoll headgardener at Airfield Estate for a wonderful lecture to IGPS Munster last night. An excellent talk, very interesting and greatly enjoyed by all in attendance. Photograph thanks to Margaret McAuliffe.
Reading Suggestions for Christmas!
Have a look at the Society’s Blog page for a list of books to read this Christmas – with Jimi Blake’s “A Beautiful Obsession” topping the list.
Reading Shortlist 2019
The Shortlist 2019 Paddy Tobin General Interest November 30, 2019 The Shortlist 2019 It is the end of the year, Christmas is approaching, and it is a time for gardeners to treat themselves and to be treated and few treats are better than a good book. Here is my selection from books published this past year, a […]
Scent Magic – A Review
Scent Magic! Paddy Tobin Book Review November 3, 2019 Isabel Bannerman describes scent wonderfully: Witch hazel has a clean sanatorium smell of pure alcohol and Elastoplast. The crushed gourd-shaped seed pods of Wintersweet, if crushed, smell of dusty cloves, spiced wines and the depths of unused drawers. The rose, ‘Rosarie de l’Hay’ smells of cucumber, tea and laundered […]
“Adventures on the Road” with Shirley Lanigan
In the Northern region we were delighted to welcome Honorary Member, Brian Duncan, 60 other members and about 20 visitors, to our lecture on Thursday, 24th October, at Antrim Old Courthouse when we all thoroughly enjoyed Shirley Lanigan’s account of her “Adventures on the Road” over the past 20 years as she criss-crossed the island […]
A Radical Shift in Perspective
A Radical Shift in Perspective Paddy Tobin Book Review October 3, 2019 Instead of engaging in a constant battle to adapt our gardens to suit plants would it not be better to search for plants that suit our gardens? This would require a radical shift in perspective which has much to recommend it and Olivier Filippi’s book, The […]
Growing Native Orchids
How to Grow Native Orchids Paddy Tobin Book Review October 5, 2019 How to Grow Native Orchids in Gardens Large and Small Enthusiasts of our native orchids might well fear that a book on growing these precious and nowadays scarce plants in the garden is simply another threat to numbers in the wild but the very first […]
A Wonderful Start to the Winter Lecture Programme in Cork
Christopher Moore delivered an outstanding lecture to IGPS members in Cork this evening, a wonderful start to the winter programme: “Arcadia: Can we achieve it? Realistic inspiration – a critical look at some iconic gardens and how they have influenced our horticultural inspirations.