121 Prospect Street
Bellingham
WA
We are exceptionally excited to welcome you to this engaging lecture by Seamus O’Brien, one of Ireland’s best-known horticulturists and Head Gardener of the National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh, County Wicklow. This garden estate is famous for its conifer and extensive rhododendron collections, and under Seamus’s direction, is being restored.
The recent rejuvenation of the dramatic Kilmacurragh native wildflower meadows is one of the highlights of this talk. Seamus will describe the process and unique plants employed to create the colorful tapestry of ever-changing seasonal wildflowers, including snowdrops, crocuses, narcissi, and native orchids.
We will also enjoy a glimpse into the evolution of Kilmacurragh with its rich and fascinating history dating back to monastic origins in the 1600s. In the 19th century, it became a wild-style ‘Robinson’ garden when the latest discoveries of plants and exotic trees from world expeditions were added. Recently, the gardens have undergone a major replanting program using material raised at multiple botanical gardens from collaborative expeditions worldwide.
Seamus has travelled extensively to many areas of the world to study plants in their native habitats. From these expeditions he has published two award winning books; In the Footsteps of Augustine Henry and his Chinese Collectors (2011), and In the Footsteps of Joseph Dalton Hooker: A Sikkim Adventure (2018). He regularly contributes to Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, The Irish Garden, The Irish Garden Plant Society Newsletter and the International Dendrology Society Year Book.
For additional information and a look at the wildflower meadow garden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlbbtqEl67E
