Inniskeen House

Project: Family Garden

Size: 810m2

This rural garden on the outskirts of Killarney town has a beautiful, but restricted view of the surrounding mountains. Apart from a few sentimental plants, it was a blank slate.

The brief from my clients included an outdoor seating area, maximizing the view and a play area for their two boys using the rear of the garden (which was quite overgrown).

I embraced the site’s modest nature and used railway-sleeper raised beds containing a range of aromatic plants like Lavender, Rosemary, Helichrysum, and Verbena rigida mixed with Pony Tail Grass.

One of the challenges was screening the outlets of the wastewater treatment unit positioned in the centre of the garden. We converted the unit to a fake

raised bed: essentially a box made from the railway-sleepers and planted with tall Calamagrostis x acutifolia ‘Karl Foerster’ Grasses and Verbena bonariensis.

A gravel pathway leads to the rear which was cleared out and planted with shrubs and grasses. The play area on the left offers enough space to keep their two energetic boys entertained.

The right upper corner serves as an extra relaxation area offering the best views of the MacGillycuddy Reeks.