Text and image courtesy of Struan Bickerton
Nested in the beautiful rural location of Castletown, Co. Laois is a gem of a garden named Gash Gardens. During the mid-80s local dairy farmer Noel Keenan embarked on an extraordinary venture to turn 4 acres of grazing farmland, close to the River Nore, into an inspirational garden filled with a beautiful variety of inspiring plants.
Almost 40 years on, daughter Mary Keenan along with her husband Ross Doyle have continued to develop and nurture a most wonderful garden with a beautiful array of trees, shrubs, plants and flowers. Both qualified horticulturists provides the garden with the perfect caretakers and developers, continually improving, landscaping and developing the gardens, so that visitors and future generations will continue to find great pleasure as they meander through the various spaces. Always on hand to offer expert help and advice owners Mary & Ross are only too delighted to share their knowledge and passion for all that grows.
Not only will you get to experience beautiful design and landscaping but also the cleverly placed plants and shrubs that surround the family home provide clever architectural planting from which you can glean great inspiration for your own home and garden.
A nice feature of Gash Gardens is the onsite nursery, which contains a large collection of quality plants, most of which you will see in the garden. So if you see a plant that you like, it will be available to purchase directly from the nursery at the end of your visit.
Gash Gardens is certainly a garden that should be on your list of places to visit. We were very warmly welcomed and made to feel relaxed which really made the visit not only enjoyable but extremely educational.
