In the garden: Explore this dreamland haven in Cork

A garden is always a good place to be if you want to escape reality for a short while, be it a space dreamed and made by others, or, if you’re lucky, your own little heaven.

In any case, a garden has near magical powers, making it easy for us to calm down, to relax, to unwind, to get inspired, or just to take a nap under your favourite tree.

I recently got the chance to visit a place that has its focus very much on fairytales and dreams, combined with an immense knowledge of plants and design.

Glenview Gardens in West Cork lies a bit south of the River Bandon, close to Enniskeane. Its owners, Mary and David Tanner, started putting dreams into reality 15 years ago, and after acquiring some land over the years, now have a garden of four acres.

They had some help in the beginning with big installations, like their Hobbit house - understandable, if you aspire to bring the magic of the shire into your garden.

The first two areas you encounter when you enter, are a sunken white garden and a wishing well. The sunken garden is completely enclosed by a yew hedge and has four beds with consistently white-flowering plants. I spotted Lupins, Echinacea, Pelargoniums, Hostas, Agapanthus and white Rose-campion.

Take note if you want to create a colour-themed garden in your own space, as most garden plants come in more than one colour these days. We are probably all familiar with the pink Rose-campion, but the white flower suits it just as nice.

The wishing well is surrounded by a birch plantation and under-planted mostly with Geranium ‘Rozanne’. A pump ensures there’s always water running through the bucket and the minimalistic colour choice of white birch and blue Geranium gives a feeling of tranquillity.

These two garden rooms are well-placed, first impressions of the overall theme. Fairy and formal, or in another word, classic, work alongside each other.

Through an abundance of plants and places, we find ourselves amidst the herbaceous borders. There’s more than one, all flowering in full summer splendour.

The pond with koi carps is surrounded by ferns, a statue of a grey heron placed within. Above graces a Japanese maple and in between the ferns the elegant stalks of Dierama show their dark purple flowers.

An impressive Trachycarpus palm leads without compromise into Phlox and Helenium, and all goes satisfyingly well together.

Pink Lilium martagon, Primula vialii and dark-purple Astilbes shine even more placed next to each other. Yellow Lupins, Kniphofia and Rudbeckia frame pink phlox, towered by a white Veronicastrum.

Everywhere in between the planting, little figures greet the observer, be it buddhas, monks, animals, dwarfs or little folk. There’s a Dahlia, Japanese maple and Buddleja collection, Japanese garden with gravel spaces and a moon gate, shady borders, mature trees and - not to be forgotten - an aviary with uncommon hens and birds. The two pygmy goats delight children and adults alike.

When you make it to the hobbit house, you are presented with the core piece of this garden, although it is hard to tell when there’s so much to choose from. Covered in deep-blue flowering hydrangeas and surrounded by birches, it needs to be investigated, having little rooms, little chairs and a real (protected) fire. You can also walk above it; there’s a path over the roof.

Between all the hustle and bustle and figurines and garden dwarfs and packed summer borders awaits a perfect empty lawn circle, enclosed by a copper beech hedge. It comes as a surprise, walking through a narrow entrance, and is so round and big you want to run from one side to the other, or all along the enclosing hedge.

Picnics are welcome here, granted you take your litter with you after, and this empty lawn looks an inviting place to do so.

If you want to skip dreamland (but who would do that?) there’s a path framed by copper beach and beach from the north end of the garden all the way to the wildflower meadow and lake. There’s also a specimen tree collection. I spotted greater knapweed, next to an abundance of Queen Anne’s Lace.

The former is a beautiful addition to any meadow or dryer herbaceous border, attracting a multitude of butterflies, not as frequent across Ireland as the Common knapweed.

Back into the garden itself, we find a garden space with more exotic plants like Tree ferns, Eucalyptus, Trachycarpus and a Wollemi pine. Magnolias and Bamboo are also to be admired here.

There’s a fascinating number of benches throughout the garden, making the visitor feel welcome. You can rest wherever you feel like, take in the picture and enjoy the plants. Or nap and have a little dream surrounded by dreamland.

Plant of the Week

As mentioned above, greater knapweed is a fantastic native plant for bees and butterflies alike.

Its botanical name is Centaurea Scabiosa and it belongs to the Asteraceae family, same as sunflowers. It is easily distinguished from common knapweed, Centaurea Nigra, by its bigger flowerheads and taller appearance.

The flowers have a deep purple colour and sit on slender stems above the dissected leaves.

Greater knapweed is a perennial and grows up to 90cm high. It thrives in dryer meadows, borders or along cliffs. This thistle-like plant looks particularly well in cottage or wildlife gardens but is not prickly at all. Give it a nice sunny spot and watch goldfinches pick off the seeds later in the year.