Early Summer Highlights

Early summer heralds Apple Blossom time in Armagh. County Armagh is known as Orchard County, and every year Ireland's oldest city celebrates its apples with festivals and apple tours. For a visual delight simply take a drive along the Highways and Byways at a time when the hills are alive with the pink of blossom.  If you get thirsty for a garden visit then the gardens of The Argory and Ardress House are nearby.  Ardress has an attractive garden with scenic woodland and riverside walks. The Argory is a neo-classical ‘Irish Gentry’ house virtually unchanged since 1900, with gardens, woodland and riverside walks with wonderful sweeping views over the County Armagh countryside. At you leisure you can enjoy refreshments in the properties award-winning Lady Ada's Tea-room. 

Each year in May time there is an annual almost pilgrimage to Rowallane to gaze upon the magnificent spreading branches of the handkerchief tree, Davidia involucrate. Visitors will also find the original Chaenomeles x superba 'Rowallane' and the famous Hypericum 'Rowallane' hybrid which began as a seedling self-sown in the Rock Garden.

If it’s early May why not call into Glenarm Castle Gardens for the annual Tulip Festival. The gardeners have planted over 8,500 tulip bulbs throughout the Walled Garden, which are sure to provide a vibrant display throughout the month of May.

For those interested in natural flora & wildlife (and even the exceptional diverse Geology of Northern Ireland) spring is a good time to visit the Sand Dunes on the coasts of counties Antrim & Down. Intriguingly the dunes systems are only found in the six northern coastal counties of Ireland! Apart from the Wild Pansy Viola tricolour, & the Common Dog-Violet Viola riviniana you will be thrilled by the charming sheltered colonies of the quietly protected Primrose Primula vulgaris.

Ballywalter Park has been in the ownership of the Mulholland family for over 150 years and the House & Gardens are a hidden treasure tucked away on the east coast of the Ards Peninsula. The estate is steeped in history so we must restrict ourselves (for the moment) to those of horticultural interests. In the winter of 1846/7 no less than 93,500 trees & shrubs were planted. This was shortly followed by further plantings of shelter belts to provide protection from the easterly winds.

In the 1900’s, the then incumbent Lord Dunleath, Charles Mulholland contributed significantly to the garden's heritage. He established a notable collection of rhododendrons, shrubs and conifers which remain and give pleasure to this day. He did much experimentation in the crossing of rhododendrons and perhaps his most successful hybrid was Rhododendron Lady Dunleath, a winter hardy cross between Arboreum var. Kermesinum and Elliottii which carries striking deep red flowers from late February through to the end of May and beyond.

Ballywalter Park is positioned a short drive to the south of Mount Stewart and not far from the fascinating and spectacular Strangford ferry crossing from Portaferry to Strangford town.  Nearby to Strangford is Castle Ward, this estate property is a must for those interested in researching Garden History; it will also captivate those interested in Architecture as it has been built with one Classical and one Gothic facade.