Gardens by Peter Donegan, Landscaping Dublin, Ireland

Donegan Landscaping: Garden Project, Howth Dublin

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I never really liked showing the before photos or works in progress. That maybe is something that has come from my time in show and television garden building, in that there was always something left to the imagination irrespective of the hard work that went in behind the scenes.

The Chelsea’s of this world can be particularly good for that and it’s not until one gets talking to the gardens makers that you really appreciate that what might appear as the simplest of builds was one of that really required careful planning in order to make it for all including the client, seamless.

This phase 2 of this garden project was very much one of them.
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Landscaping Dublin: Front of House

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Pre 1980’s domestic gardening in Ireland had with hindsight quite a unique style, if I may even call it that.

Plants planted were sometimes in straight lined beds, but also individually within the lawn; hedges, though they do seem to be making somewhat of a comeback, were a thing of spirit levelling pride and the lawn at times a measure of how well you may be spoke about in society.

This I should add was all at a time just before the log roll epidemic and an almost decade of “dwarf” conifers and heathers taking over minute areas of Irelands gardens. In the music analogy department, think Cliff Richard and Englebert Humperdink and about as exciting as watching Peig Sayers frown at Mark Bolan and T-Rex. Of note, the last time I planted conifers and heathers collectively was 25 years, just before I started horticultural college.  Read more

Dublin Landscaping: Quartz Raised Planters and Raised Planters

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As additions to gardens go or in fact as doing anything goes, I’ve always lived by the do it once and do it very right rule.

This may well be considered a (raised) garden wall, but there a few things of note before taking everything into consideration:  Read more

Garden Project: Tigers Childcare Ashbourne, Co. Meath

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tigers-childcare-ashbourne

I had built a garden for Tigers Childcare, Swords in 2015 – a creche and montessori – more than worth a peer over at the very least for the very fact of what it was before and then became. This garden in Ashbourne, Co. Meath as a space was something completely different.

More than aware my qualifications are of horticulture and not childcare, personally (and as a kid who used to grow plants under his bed aged 5 and a half) I was delighted just to remove everything that of now once existed here. And being honest, I think even the finest adult mind could figure out on an etch-a-sketch that no child like imagination could ever have ran wild within such timbered confines.  Read more

Donegan Landscaping: Portmarnock, Co Dublin

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peter donegan, landscaping dublin (1)

I rarely if ever show works in progress photographs of gardens. I’ve no real specific reason for that; apart from the fact that I feel it shouldn’t influence whether you like that end result or not.

In a funny sort of a way, I will admit it does add to the story when you see what it was beforehand and here I’m going to make the exception.  Read more