Peter Donegan Garden Design & LandscapingI rumaged through the archives to find some images that may help you a little better along the way in getting some ideas for your garden.
Like one… dislike another… you might just find that little bit that may make your smile a little brighter 🙂
I had seen this somewhere before… anyhow. If you are bored & need a little….
there ye are luv, sure that looks grand now… wha’ ?
….a little perking up, so to speak then this is for you. If the tree is dead, painting it a *wild* colour does 3 things….
Just make sure and use an outdoor paint for wood…. that’s what trees are made of & and if you don’t like it after you paint it you can always chop it down ….. Go on go wild this weekend… you know you want to 😆
ps: i waited ’til her indoors was gone to do the shopping and put the music up quite loud….. great fun…. while it lasted!!
oooh almost forgot….. eh? this….. click it!!![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=66871077-cf50-4871-aaca-e1b4714c966c)
[source: 1001 gardens you must see before you die]
It is very unusual for me, possibly, to go on holidays and then – for a break of sorts – to visit gardens…? It’s not really.
The island of Madiera is quite an intriguing place when one sees what is happening to the land on this small island [i believe we in Ireland had a similar situation some time ago]; Planning aside, horticulturally this entire island is a dream-land for the plant lover, botanist and garden enthusiast.
But, my review is of The Monte Palace Gardens or The ‘Jardim Tropical da Quinta do Monte Palácio’ and aside from the slightly touristy, yet worth it, cable car journey up and the timber sleigh down, they are absolutely stunning, breathtakingly beautiful and so worthwhile visiting.
The gardens themselves date back to the 18th century but the works on turning the ‘land’ into gardens of merit actually only started in 1987. If you do visit, I would suggest going twice as every path splits into two or three different directions and so one doesn’t ‘really’ get to see everything.
For the plants person there are over 100,000 plant species; For the architect, the buildings are simply amazing; For the garden lover it is paradise and if you ever wanted an oriental themed garden – this is were you should look for inspiration. If you’re not an uber-garden lover then it is simply relaxation in it’s finest form. My pictures probably don’t do it justice enough.
I try to visit a garden in every county and country I visit. Not all of them appear here. These gardens however would be up there with the very best of them.
I thought this would be a boring day out. The ones you got ‘dragged’ out on when you were a nipper. I also thought, at first, the €6.50 tour charge was a bit steep, I was [very] pleasantly surprised.
This, had to be, one of the best ‘tours’ I’ve ever been on. Skerries Mills is simply amazing -and it’s a lot more than just a tour. And before you ask, I wasn’t given VIP tickets to visit!
I went with ‘herself’ for a bite to eat in the coffee shop and after some good filling home cooking, we took the tour. Paddy our guide has been involved in literally every stage of the renovation of the mills, going back ten years-ish now, into what it is today and he knows everything. Add to that a good sense of humour and one finds that it is the people that make a place.
From how the 55 acres surrounding the mills came into the councils hands, how spontaneous combustion evolved from static and flour and why the life expectancy for those [lucky enough to get a job there?] was only 40 years of age… is amongst the many facts that make the journey extremely enjoyable. Outside of that ‘The Mills’ are self sufficent, financially. That is, they have to break even. And they do, now.
€6.50! In my day we could have bought the entire mills for that and still had change for a loaf of bread…..
That aside, my other interest was/ is that we ‘are’ going back to the days of water conservation, wind power and home-made; gave me an insight into how ‘not so far away’ we are from those days of old returning.
As I said €6.50 each; todays made home made scones [i asked] and a pot of tea – it is, I thought at first, a bit my Dad’s kind of thing [at least I felt like him for a little…] but it was worth every cent!
Would I return – if only just for the warm scones!
If garden making and the design of was only considered business, I’d never be inspired…. sometimes i think we simply need to stop [a little more…] and take a look around. Isn’t this a wonderfully beautiful country we live in….
This is Enniscorthy in Wexford.