History
The Plants That Grow in Billy's Garden
Seamus O’Brien, Master of the stunning planting at the National Botanic Gardens in Kilmacurragh Co Wicklow, is a loyal and long-term friend. Often, he has been my muse and expert guide on our myriad trips to the tree fern fields of Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia on which I have served as his willing wingman.
There is little Seamus does not know about the sometimes-strange world of plants in which we frequently find ourselves.
Some time ago, I boldly invited Seamus to conduct an audit of the plants in our growing collection in Kells Bay. Typical of Seamus, he readily agreed and, in keeping with his generous spirit and total enthusiasm, he not only catalogued the plants but provided an appraisal of their setting and context within the gardens.
So, what follows becomes more than a mere record of growth, it is an open invitation to increase your knowledge and improve your enjoyment of a visit to Kells Bay Gardens.
Thank you, Seamus, for these and for all your words of kindly wisdom. Read and enjoy.
The gardens at Kells Bay
A description of the garden, its history and plant collection
The gardens at Kells Bay possess an important collection of rare and tender trees and shrubs originating mainly from the Southern Hemisphere, particularly the warm-temperate and temperate regions of the Antipodes (Australia and New Zealand), South Africa, Argentina, Chile and the Andean areas of Peru.
The early botanical collections at Kells
It was Rowland Blennerhassett (1780-1854), a member of the prominent Kerry family of merchants and businessmen, who bought the lands at Kells in 1837, thus beginning the history of today’s estate.
A Tour of the trees and shrubs. The Ladies Walled Garden
The Primeval Forest
The rather aptly-named primeval forest lies adjacent to the walled garden, from where, many years ago, the original plant of Dicksonia antarctica self-spored to create a rainforest-like scene.
The Kells Bay Viewpoint
As you wander on, stop for a moment to admire the sweeping views from the gardens across Dingle Bay with Mount Brandon in the distance.
The Broad Walk
Our trail continues along the Broad Walk to the rear of the house past fine plants of the Chinese Rhododendron williamsianum. Discovered by the British plant hunter E. H. Wilson (1876-1930) on Wa-shan in western Sichuan in 1908, it is extremely rare in the wild, but has become a firm favourite in gardens and is perfectly lime tolerant.
The Bamboo Glade
This open glade is a damp, sheltered strip of land containing a fine collection of bamboo species planted in recent times by the current owner Billy Alexander. Many have been selected for the colour of their culms, like the Himalayan Dendrocalamus hookeri (blue), Phyllostachys bambusoides ‘Castilloni’ (orange-yellow) or the jet-black Phyllostachys nigra ‘Othello’, for example.
Fossil Valley
This area of the garden is so-named because of the grove of Metasequoia glyptostroboides – the dawn redwood or fossil tree – planted in the 1980s, when the famous English plantsman, Roy Lancaster OBE VMH, advised on replanting the gardens at Kells.
The Gunnera Pool
The River Ramble
Several ferns grow alongside this walk including the shuttlecock-like Blechnum magellanicum and the unaccountably rare Blechnum cycadifolium from Robinson Crusoe Island (part of the Juan Fernández Islands).
The Cliff Walk
Waterfall Way
Moving on, we arrive at the waterfall, an enormous cascade of water over one of Kells Bay many cliff faces. Plants here are afforded protection from the ever-present winds by a wood of oak, holly, larch, Scot’s pine and giant firs.
The Bog Walk
From the waterfall, visitors continue their way onto the Big Walk where they meet a young King Billy pine, Athrotaxis selaginoides, a Tasmanian endemic named for William Lanne (also known as King Billy or William Laney), who was the last full-blooded Tasmanian aboriginal man.
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