Roy Lancaster, Paul Smith and Joe Swift, Altamont Plant Sales, 28th July 2017

Friday 28^th July 2017

Roy Lancaster, Paul Smyth and Joe Swift at Altamont Plant Sales

50 Years of gardening – my top performing plants

Expect an unforgettable morning with Roy Lancaster a much loved author, broadcaster and expert plant explorer.

Roy Lancaster

Roy Lancaster

Plant hunting from Carlow to the mountains of Northern Vietnam

Paul Smyth, an up-and-coming young gardener from Carlow based in the world famous Crûg Farm Plants in Wales, recounts his various adventures with plant hunting and plants in the wild. Paul will bring the audience on a tour of wild plants; starting a few miles away, where he grew up and taking in the various encounters, trips and good fortunes that ended up with him being one of the team of four Irish horticulturists that headed up a plant hunting trip to Vietnam in 2016. The talk will focus on the breath-taking array of plants he encountered, along with the various tales, perils and characters he came across as he left civilisation behind for two weeks, camping, hiking and collecting seed in the true spirit of plant hunters of old.

Paul Smyth

Paul Smyth is a Waterford Institute of Technology trained horticulturalist and a native of Nurney, County Carlow. Paul has worked for the past two years in Britain in two of the top specialist nurseries there. He is currently the Gardener at Crug Farm Plants, a mecca for new, unusual and rare plants. His biggest passion is for bulbs and spring flowering plants, but through his work he has become increasingly interested in wild collected and species plants, particularly woody plants. In November 2016 he put what he has learned to the ultimate test by joining a plant hunting expedition to the North of Vietnam.

Designing with plants

Joe Swift is a very popular TV presenter, author and garden designer. Joe gives an overview of different garden areas (sun, shade, fences etc.) and explores ways of creating impact by choosing the right plants for the right place. Joe also shows how to combine plants together including trees, shrubs, perennials and some container plants to help plan a great garden for all seasons.

Joe Swift

Joe is a familiar gardening face having been a regular presenter on Gardeners World since 1998. He also anchors coverage of The Chelsea Flower show as well as other RHS shows. Joe is a fully qualified garden designer and over the years he has designed many gardens for both private clients and TV. In 2012 he won a Gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. He has recently completed an award winning pocket park with Dame Zandra Rhodes in Bermondsey and is currently working on a Horatios garden (a registered charity) for The Spinal unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Joe writes for The Times weekend magazine, Gardeners World magazine and Radio Times Magazine and has also written three books.

 

The Walled Garden at Altamont

An unmissable highlight of a visit to Altamont Gardens situated within the grounds of the estate and run privately by the gardener and nurseryman Robert Miller. The area consists of the Corona North Commemorative Border, Altamont Plant Sales and Nursery, the Corona North Gardening Room, the Garden Design Studio and the Walled Garden Cafe.

The Corona North Commemorative Border was planted to honour the late Corona. Each border has its own individual theme and colour from striking reds to cool whites and blues, romantic pinks and warm yellow glows. Altamont Plant Sales has earned a reputation as a place to acquire seriously good garden plants. Always renowned for its extensive range of herbaceous perennials, Altamont Plant Sales can also boast of having one of the largest collections of old shrub roses available for sale to the gardening public year round. Rare oaks, maples, cherry blossoms, dogwoods, magnolias, beech and smaller flowering trees and shrubs suitable for every sized garden are also available throughout the year.

The Corona North Gardening Room is the home to the courses and events held regularly throughout the year by visiting tutors and speakers including Snowdrop Week in February, specialist talks by noted gardening experts, the Carlow Garden Festival and much more.

The Garden Design Studio provides consultancy work for new and mature gardens with the in-house garden designer and Robert Miller providing design and planting services.

The Walled Garden Cafe is run by ‘The Old Yard Cafe’ and serving tea, coffee and baked goods, 7 days per week from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. from mid-May to October.

FACILITIES: Toilets, outdoor picnic tables, large car and coach park, restricted wheelchair access.

HOW TO FIND US: From Dublin / Waterford exit the M9 at junction 5 for N80 Rosslare.Continue along the N80 through the village of Ballon and N80/N81 junction. Continue for 2km, cross road turn left at crossroad junction signed Altamont Gardens.From Carlow Town follow the N80 Rosslare Road and continue as above.

GPS: 52.735129, -6.720966 OPENING TIMES: February – October 10.30 a.m. – 5.30 p.m. / November – January 10.30 a.m. – 4.30 p.m.

 

This event has been supported by Bord Bia.