Borris House Gardens and Woodlands

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Borris House & Gardens
Borris, Co. Carlow R95 K237 Get Directions
+353 (0)59 977 1884
www.borrishouse.com

Borris House, the ancestral home of the MacMorrough Kavanaghs, Kings of Leinster, is one of the most beautiful and historic Irish country houses located in the spectacular scenery of Carlow’s Barrow valley. Borris became the Kavanagh’s primary residence in 1570 and over that time the present-day demesne landscape slowly evolved from a formal Baroque landscape of axial approach avenues and formal gardens to a demesne parkland landscape, with serpentine avenues designed to capture views and prospects, lawns, tree plantations and a circular road around the perimeter.

Explore the grounds of the estate taking in Mount Leinster, the Blackstairs Mountains and the Barrow Valley; views that have been preserved by the family for centuries. Stroll along the woodland paths, enjoy some of the beautiful specimen trees, view the original Stew Pond and on your way take in the original Victorian laundry, the recently restored granary and the 18th century Ice House.

The new lace garden which is set within the walls of the original laundry green illustrates the fascinating story of the Borris Lace through its predominantly white colour palette, lace inspired flowers, sculptures and stylised planting. This garden is a work in progress, so please visit again and see how this story develops. Visitors can also avail of a tour of Borris House and the private Chapel of St. Moling and learn more about this fascinating estate and the people who lived and worked there.

Click to enlarge

Covid 19

Please check for further updates on Covid 19 restrictions at www.borrishouse.com or email info@borrishouse.com and check www.carlowgardentrail.com and the check the Carlow Tourism website.

Please continue to check the HSE website https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/news/newsfeatures/covid19-updates/ for further updates and continue to monitor our social media pages

 

Events at this venue
Today

Carlow Garden Festival’s Robin Lane Fox “Beauty & Biodiversity” at Borris House & Gardens

Borris House Gardens and Woodlands Borris House & Gardens, Borris, Co. Carlow

Should gardening change and somehow; ‘return to nature’? At London’s big Chelsea Show there has been a new emphasis on sustainable  gardening and the use of eco-friendly native ’plants’ and yet the award for the Best in Show went to a large exhibit which is unsustainable in British gardens and are  the very opposite of no-mow  gardening. Robin Lane Fox explores the contradictions here and the way in which people, an invasive species, react to them, whether visitors to his garden or professors and students in the big Oxford college gardens he runs.

Rare and Special Plant Fair 2023 in Borris House Gardens & Woodlands

Borris House Gardens and Woodlands Borris House & Gardens, Borris, Co. Carlow

Borris House, Borris, Co. Carlow, is hosting this special event on Sunday 14th May 2023, The Rare & Special Plant Fair. Up to 40 Specialist Nurseries from all over Ireland will be on site to offer and showcase beautiful, unusual and hard to find varieties of plants for sale, as well as giving expert advice on care and growing.

Search and Rescue – Bringing Gardens Back to Life

Borris House Gardens and Woodlands Borris House & Gardens, Borris, Co. Carlow

Search and Rescue - Bringing Gardens Back to Life In this special 20th anniversary programme, garden historian expert Belinda Jupp makes her first visit to the […]

$10

Remarkable Trees with Thomas Pakenham

Borris House Gardens and Woodlands Borris House & Gardens, Borris, Co. Carlow

Experience the magnificent Borris House with Thomas Pakenham, exploring its many rare and unusual great trees including a number of beautiful specimen trees.

$8.00

Rory Newell at Borris House

Borris House Gardens and Woodlands Borris House & Gardens, Borris, Co. Carlow

Between 2015 and 2017 Blarney Castle and Gardens under the collection banner of Botanic Network Ireland set out on a series of plant collecting trips to Northern Vietnam. Rory Newell, who by his own admission is “plants mad” delivers an informative and entertaining talk on the trips, covering a broad range of topics including conservation/exsitu conservation, growing, propagating and developing a living catalogue of the plants in the gardens of Blarney Castle.

$8

Seamus O’Brien at Borris House

Borris House Gardens and Woodlands Borris House & Gardens, Borris, Co. Carlow

Borris demesne is a fine example of how a formal Baroque landscape has evolved over centuries into the impressive parkland setting visable today. Seamus O’Brien, manager of National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh in Co. Wicklow, will offer his unique insight into this mature estate with its many specimen trees, original Stew Pond and 18th century Ice House.

$5

Bare in the Woods

Borris House Gardens and Woodlands Borris House & Gardens, Borris, Co. Carlow

Bare 2018 takes place in the magical Borris House Estate with the Blackstairs Mountains as a backdrop and the River Barrow flowing beside it’s beautiful woodland and gardens.

Borris House Festival of Writing and Ideas

Borris House Gardens and Woodlands Borris House & Gardens, Borris, Co. Carlow

The Festival of Writing and Ideas will mark its seventh year in 2018, bringing you a weekend of stimulating dialogue and discourse, gathering together intriguing international minds – historians, […]

Borris House Festival of Writing and Ideas

Borris House Gardens and Woodlands Borris House & Gardens, Borris, Co. Carlow

The Festival of Writing and Ideas will mark its seventh year in 2018, bringing you a weekend of stimulating dialogue and discourse, gathering together intriguing international minds – historians, novelists, journalists, film-makers, poets, theatre directors, war correspondents, biographers, artists and political commentators – and inviting them to Borris Village for a few days.