This week, Kevin visits the Colclough walled kitchen gardens in county Wexford, a beautiful piece of Georgian horticulture tucked behind Tintern Abbey. The Walled Garden fell into a state of severe neglect but after analysis of the original garden layout, the same flowers, trees, plants and seasonal vegetables have been replanted in their original positions. They sit alongside the historic yew trees that have stood for centuries.
Built between 1812 and 1814, this iconic walled garden was originally grown for the Colclough family who owned land across county Wexford. Families like the Colclough’s have owned land in Ireland since the reign of Henry VIII, but the more modern gardens embraced native Irish vegetation as their centerpiece. The garden has been restored to its former glory with the help of the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland and is truly a hidden gem in the South East of Ireland.
The Garden consists of two and half acres of land split into an ornamental garden, and a kitchen garden that would have been used to provide fresh herbs and vegetables to the manor house. Over two metres tall, the surrounding wall curves around the garden, protecting it from the elements and allowing for climbing plants to grow almost year round.
The garden is also split by a river, with a total of five bridges connecting the two sides, so visitors can traverse the garden at their leisure, picking the fruit and vegetables for their own use - and paying at the honesty box.
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