Best garden inspiration direct from Ireland–a sense of humour!

The “Wild Atlantic Way” at this week’s Canada Blooms garden festival brought a bit of green and lovely Ireland to frozen Toronto. Like the country itself, the bright pop-up garden sprouted a variety of hefty stones representing the monumental, the practical and the hysterical. A mini dolmen or portal tomb (a low arch created by two large upright stones supporting a third stone used as the capstone) stood in for Ireland’s spectacular megalithic monuments. A stone fence lent an Irish sense of poetic practicality. But the flock of rock sheep stole the show in my opinion. If today’s festivities are inspiring you to add a touch of Ireland to your spring garden, sidestep the predictable pots of moss or Trifolium repens ‘Atropurpureum’. Add some big rocks with equally large helpings of fun. Hats off to Landscapes by Lucin for their imaginative interpretation of Ireland and some terrific gardening ideas. Check out their blog for more inspiring photos taken during their research trip to the Emerald Isle in preparation for designing this display.

And you don’t have to feed them.