ABOUT US

The Way Things were

The cottage and a number of the surrounding buildings date from the early 1800’s and was home to successive generations of small farmers. Over the years the property, which was essentially a small holding, became run down and by the early 1990’s was in a poor state of repair.

A New Era

The property consisting of 16 acres was purchased by Maurice and Joy in 1993 and the initial task was to make an assessment of the positive features. Fortunately many traditional elements that one would expect to find at a property such as this remained and these provided the keystones for the design that was to emerge. The cottage, traditional barn, hayshed and byre have been restored to help give the garden its special appeal and is widely acknowledged to be one of the best privately owned gardens in Northern Ireland.

What Makes Our Garden Special And Unique

Whilst the oldest part of our garden was developed in 1993, many parts are of recent origin and others are in the course of development. The overriding garden design requirement at the outset was that the garden should enshrine many of the principles of the Irish born garden designer William Robinson.

The garden has been designed to respect the traditional Ulster landscape and merges entirely naturally with the surrounding countryside making it one of the best gardens in Ireland of this type. The renovation of the various buildings including the cottage has followed a similar theme and we believe we have established an Ulster Cottage Garden.

A Home For Plants

The garden is stocked with a vast array of plants which have a traditional feel. Absent are leylands and brightly coloured hybrid tea roses but present is an exquisite display of cottage garden plants. The garden is sub divided into themes or individual garden areas and includes:

a) the lakeside garden;
b) the front cottage garden;
c) the formal cottage border;
d) the sheltered garden; and
e) woodland and wildlife haven.

Despite our heavy clay soil, and being located in a frost pocket, a wide range of plants flourish and includes phlox, hosta, rudbeckia, rodgersia, hellebore and ornamental grasses.

Providing For Wildlife

The sixteen acre holding is strictly managed for the benefit of wildlife. As a result the bird range is extensive from sedge warblers to snipe. The four acres of woodland planted in 1995 is maturing quickly and is increasingly adding to the richness of the site. Recent plantings of bluebells and snowdrops have added greatly to the overall effect.
Regular sightings of bats, foxes, badgers and hares add to our quality of life, with the additional excitement of having had a nest of long eared owls in 2004.

Growing to Sell

Under Joy's guidance a plant centre and nursery specialising in cottage garden plants was established in 2001. Many of the plants growing in the garden are propagated here and sold to the public in the plant centre. Specialist advice is usually on hand.

Gardening and Horticultural Consultancy

With a wealth of horticultural knowledge and experience Maurice established a gardening and horticultural consultancy in 2007.