Sean Heffernan, the head gardener at Mount Usher welcomed a group of Club Members on Thursday on our October visit to see the wonderful Autumn Colour.  The morning dawned bright and sunny.  There are numerous “Champion Trees” to be seen here, from all corners of the world.  Sean brought his “garden bible” with him as we walked through the garden, it holds the names of 2,800 trees and shrubs, and the colours on the trees and shrubs are wonderful.  Sean has been Head Gardener here for 13 years, coming from time in Airfield with Jimi Blake and Grainne Devaney.

Trees from diverse climates round the world grow well here in the welcoming climate of County Wicklow; two oaks, Quercus glauca and Quercus alnifolia growing  on either side of a path, illustrate this.  One comes from a very damp climate so the leaves are adapted to cope with heavy rain and the second one has an altogether different leaf shape to cope with a very dry climate.

The two hours passed very quickly and we adjourned for a welcome lunch in the Avoca café.  For anyone who did not make the date I would encourage you to visit before all the leaves fall; we can still look forward to a good winter display including the hellebores, and winter flowering shrubs.

Thanks Lucille for organizing the visit and Sean for a great welcome.

Denise Gill