Garden Centre

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Dublin - the green green

I went to Dublin this week, one of those two day breaks that are supposed to refresh and inspire, but end up just making you feel rather tired and confused, as if you haven’t had time to digest everything you’ve seen and done.

One abiding impression of Dublin is that the pavements are hard and the water is soft! Other than that, there is definitely something about the quality of the air (often damp and faintly misty) which softens colours and causes green to predominate in the garden palate, as it does across so much of rural Ireland.

It really made me think again about the role of colour in the garden – as this image shows, the subtle interplay of greens, blues and silvers can be just as dramatic as the brighter colours of calla lilies or gladioli, and may also work better with our more moderate climate.

And, of course, Dublin’s parks are superb – they may be a long way apart, which makes you glad to find them when you do – but they are beautifully maintained and imaginatively laid out. London and Brighton both have something to learn from Dublin on that account.

Labels: autumn colour, dublin, garden planning

The All Seasons Gardener at 7:02 AM

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