Lectures
Joe Whelan, Head Gardener, Nymans ‘Historic garden management in the 21st century – how Nymans is adapting to the times’
Joe Whelan is from Shankill, Co. Dublin and completed his degree in Horticulture at WIT. He was Head Gardener at Rathmullan House Hotel in Co. Donegal and also spent some time at Glenveagh Castle before making a move to Nymans in 2015, where he has been Head Gardener since 2018. Plants have always been his [...]
Sir Bob Salisbury ‘Field of Dreams’
Sir Robert (Bob) Salisbury is a leading educationalist, who recently chaired the literacy and numeracy task force in Northern Ireland. Previously he was a professor in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham. He is a keen angler, photographer and gardener. Bob and his wife Rosemary have spent the last sixteen years developing [...]
T.J. Maher, Artist & Gardener, Patthana Garden – ‘Creating a garden from a field – the new Torc Garden at Patthana’
Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre, Dublin, Co Dublin, IrelandTJ is an artist and gardener who engages uniquely with plants, wildlife and location to create vivid and colourful gardens. As a painter, he is particularly conscious of how he uses and places colour to best advantage. He trained as a painter at NCAD, Dublin and as a horticulturalist at the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin [...]
Benjamin Pope, Horticulturalist and Lecturer at London Physic Garden – ‘For the love of plants’
Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre, Dublin, Co Dublin, IrelandBenjamin has been working in horticulture for over two decades, studying and training at the Merrist Wood and RHS Wisley, where he was awarded Best Practical and Best Overall Student. His work experience ranges from nursery practices and propagation in Australia through to design and horticultural research in London for the practice of Arabella Lennox-Boyd. [...]
Tom Hart Dyke, Plant Hunter – ‘Plant hunter and gardener with passion’
Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre, Dublin, Co Dublin, IrelandThomas Hart Dyke is an English horticulturist, author and plant hunter from the Hart Dyke family of Lullingstone Castle, Kent, one of England's oldest family estates. Tom is the 20th generation of the Hart Dykes to live at the Castle and is the designer of the World Garden of Plants located on the property. Tom [...]
Linda Murphy, Teagasc – ‘How to approach your garden from a design point of view’
Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre, Dublin, Co Dublin, IrelandLinda Murphy is a garden designer from Dublin. She is a keen gardener with an arts background who, having completed a Masters in Landscape Architecture at UCD in 2000, joined the staff of the Teagasc College of Horticulture in the National Botanic Gardens working as a lecturer specializing in Design and Plant Materials. She is a [...]
Robert O’Byrne – Ireland’s Historic Gardens: A bird’s eye view 1600 to 1900
Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre, Dublin, Co Dublin, IrelandRobert O’Byrne has a passionate interest in Ireland’s architectural and horticultural heritage and has written extensively about both. During 2021/22 he curated two exhibitions examining the history and evolution of Irish country house gardens, including walled gardens, across three centuries. He has also presented a two part television series on the same subject on RTE [...]
Conall O’Caoimh of Ardán Garden
Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre, Dublin, Co Dublin, IrelandArdán garden is situated on half an acre and the planting and design are a direct response to its coastal hillside location close to the summit of Howth in north Dublin. In 2003, this garden was a rugged mountainside garden and today, it has been transformed into a dynamic contemporary and ever-evolving garden which includes [...]
Oliver Schurmann, garden designer and owner of Mount Venus Nursery
Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre, Dublin, Co Dublin, IrelandMount Venus Nursery is a specialist nursery tucked away in the scenic Dublin hills overlooking the city. Over the past 20 years, the nursery has offered one of the widest collections of hardy garden plants in Ireland. Having a varied palette of plants is essential when designing successful and bio-diverse gardens. Most plants are home [...]
June Blake: Making magic in my garden
Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre Foxrock Church Pastoral Centre, Dublin, Co Dublin, IrelandKnown for her beautiful garden in Tinode, West Wicklow, June Blake joins us to share planting and garden design wisdom garnered over twenty years. Stretching over 3 acres, her garden is famous for its layered planting and continuous seasonal interest. In a previous life, June as a jewellery designer and her garden demonstrates her artist’s [...]