The Irish Garden

This is such a beautiful book! I haven't been to Ireland for over 40 years, but I fondly remember some of these beautiful places. This book is so soothing that it could be used as a therapeutic device for stress reduction. That's how I use it at home!

An excellent book, both in the writing and the wonderful pictures of some of Ireland's most beautiful gardens. I would highly recommend it to all gardeners!..

Absolutely beautiful photos.

Definitive guide to the beauty of the Irish garden. Spectacular photos and sumptuous writing. Makes me want to visit them all.

“The Irish Garden” by Jane Powers is much more than a simple coffee-table book of beautiful garden photographs. The book is coffee-table sized to be sure; at nearly four hundred glossy 10”x12” pages and weighing more than six pounds it is not a book to read at the beach or while lazing in bed. And the photographs by Jonathan Hession are undeniably magnificent and depict the loveliest moments in the greatest gardens of an island filled with great gardens. However, “The Irish Garden” is more than just a collection of pretty pictures of flower gardens.First, the writing is superb, as might be expected from Jane Strong, herself a gardener as well as a garden writer of twenty years’ experience and the garden correspondent for the Irish Sunday Times. The introduction contains a well-written short overview of the history and current state of gardening in Ireland, which I found quite interesting.Most crucially, the author manages to cover the important facts about each garden in a relatively short amount of written material (there are 50 gardens covered in the book and the photographs occupy about two-thirds of the page space). Included is information about the history of the gardens and the periods in which they were created, a bit about the garden owners and gardeners, the location of each garden and how that has influenced its development, the basic layout of the gardens with respect to the cardinal directions, how the local climate conditions have benefited or challenged the garden makers, mention of significant plants or plant collections, descriptions of the major areas of each garden, and the relationship of the garden areas to the house. In my view, all of this information is necessary to understand a garden (insomuch as a garden can be understood by “armchair” visitors) and Strong has done a masterful job in providing it, in contrast to numerous “books about gardens” that leave serious gardener- readers feeling unsatisfied and full of questions.And Strong has followed the lead of the “new” British garden writers: in the vein of serious artistic criticism, she mentions any weaknesses of a garden as she also draws attention to the strengths. I think this movement toward greater critical appraisal will indeed have the result of improving gardens as well as garden writing, and will help gardening gain respect as the true artistic endeavor that it is.The book’s photographs are beautiful, well-composed and well printed, and do not suffer from murkiness despite the often-overcast and misty Irish skies. The photos, while mostly taken in May and June (and whose garden doesn’t look best then, really?), do include some shots of snowdrops and brilliant autumn foliage too.Gratifyingly, the photos and writing are well-coordinated, unlike in some garden books in which a garden feature or group of plants is prominently mentioned but no photograph is included, which is maddening to the reader. Perhaps the fact that Jane Strong and Jonathan Hession are married has something to do with this superior communication between writer and photographer – although a sharp-eyed editor knowledgeable about gardens is indispensible in this regard as well.One thing that would have been helpful is small maps of the layouts of each garden. I understand that they would take up space that could be used for photos or descriptions, but often the descriptions contain efforts to describe the layout in words, and a map would be a more efficient way to do this (a picture is worth a thousand words, after all). As I was reading this at my desk anyway due to its size and heft, I simply used Google Earth to orient myself to each garden, but simply drawn maps would have been nice.Reading “The Irish Garden” has greatly increased my desire and intent to visit the land of my ancestors, and it gives me great satisfaction to know that after centuries of hardship, Ireland is finally doing well enough economically to support such great gardens (despite their recent recession). I highly recommend this book to readers interested in garden writing or photography, British gardens or great gardens located anywhere.(Note: Frances Lincoln provided me with a copy of this book for review.)

Matthew Jebb is the director at Ireland’s National Botanic Gardens. I had the pleasure of being at the launch where he explained why this is entitled to be referred to as “The” Irish Garden. Divided into themes, there are essays on several styles of gardening which cover over fifty of the most beautiful gardens in Ireland ( both the Republic and Northern Ireland). In addition, there is a critical appraisal of each individual garden. From the grand old dramatic gems from Ireland’s past like Bantry House, Powerscourt and Mount Stewart demesnes of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy to the personal triumphs of hidden private gems like Corke Lodge. From analysis world-renowned plantswomen like Jane Dillon and June Blake’s Wicklow wonderland. Jane Power has created a beautifully written manifesto for Irish Gardens. Jonathan Hession has complemented her extensive research with achingly beautiful portraits of these gardens. This is not (just) a glossy promotional book for Ireland. The author complement, challenge and cajole each garden in turn and criticise when it also needed. That’s a difficult thing to do in a small country but she has earned this right. The book is the fruit of more than 20 years of painstaking scholarly research by Jane Powers and literally hundreds of hours investment to get the photograph of each entry at pivotal times of the day and year to show the garden’s true uniqueness. Mathew Jebb also noted that the use of the landscape in Ireland in Irish Gardens. The climate makes plant combinations work in Ireland that exist nowhere else. For me- this has pride of place on the living room table. You’ll be lost for hours reading this book and looking at the evocative photos. You’ll sneak back for another dip into it gain and gain. Finally- just buy this for yourself or any friend who loves gardens and/or Ireland!

This is a book to keep close at hand for dreaming and for garden inspiration, or for planning a visit to Ireland and her homes and gardens. The author and photographer know and love Irish gardens. The chapters are wide-ranging and a favorite of mine is “Paradises Reinvented” where sadly neglected gardens are brought back to life. “Grand Big Gardens” shows us what is behind the gates of the Anglo-Irish gentry. I do love garden follies and “A Few Follies and Fancies” captures the whimsy and the magic of follies. Follies are curious structures of romantic appearance, often in the form of fake ruins or ancient appearing arches and bridges. In "Fields of Dreams" you will see private gardens that are open to visitors including Anne Condell's home in County Wicklow which has an exuberant mix of flowers, vegetables and herbs. You may want to treat yourself to this book and give a copy as a gift to a dear gardening friend.

Stunning photography, marvellous gardens that call to be visited.

A stunning publication featuring some of Ireland's most beautiful and unusual gardens. Jane Powers style of writing is both informative and personal which makes a pleasant change for this type of book. The photography is stunning although to be honest the print quality does not do them full justice. This is very much a 'coffee table' book, which is lovely to 'dip into' when the mood takes you. Anyone with a love of gardens will really enjoy this masterpiece.

This is a beautiful book covering many of the outstanding gardens of Ireland, but it is very heavy so it is not practical to carry it with you. I was fortunate to be on a tour that visited most of the gardens (and only one is not here), and I got it in time to read the book beforehand and now it recalls a wonderful trip. The gardens are introduced in a variety of ways, so this is a very readable book, not simply a guide book, and the photographs are outstanding.

Wonderful book and wonderful atmospheric photographs. It makes you appreciate what a unique Island ireland is. One to treasure.

wonderful book! very heavy but worth it. causing great excitement in ireland.

This is an absolutely beautiful book,of great quality.The photography is excellent,and the narrative is very informative.A must have!