Garden trail offering 15 gardens in its 25th year

IT’S time to celebrate 25 years of some of the country’s best gardens and gardeners, as the West Cork Garden Trail (WCGT) has kicked off once more.

‘We now have 25 gardens to showcase and 25 years of the Trail,’ WCGT chairperson Jean Perry of Glebe Gardens said at the stunning Drishane House, where the 2019 launch took place.

Garden owners and enthusiasts gathered in a magnificent room lined with portraits of the Somervilles, including author Edith, as the programme for the 2019 season got underway. 

The trail now includes two community gardens, stretching from picturesque Kinsale and Crosshaven, to the rugged Beara peninsula, all looking forward to welcoming guests, including at Bantry House, Garinish Island and the nearby Ewe Experience.

‘The Trail is one of the longest continuously-running community organisations of its kind in Ireland,’ Jean said.

From large stately homes to smaller, private gardens with, for example Bronze Age burial sites, to a medicinal herb garden, or from a bamboo park to a garden with hobbit homes, the trail has something to interest everybody, green-fingered or not.

Over 40,000 tourists and locals enjoyed the Trail last year, and the 32-page brochure, which was free in a recent Southern Star, is currently being distributed to tourist offices, hotels and B&Bs from West Cork to Wexford.

‘If there are any other gardeners out there in West Cork who would like to be part of the Trail, we would love to hear from you,’ said Jean.

You can contact Jean at [email protected].