Antrim Garden Trail

A beautiful part of Ballyrobert Gardens for some 'woodland bathing'. The garden is open each day except on Sunday.

In 2 or 3 days our Azaleas at Ballyrobert Gardens should be like this, with this pic taken this time last year; many are in full flower at present. Lots of flower buds this year and the recent cool and moist weather is the perfect precursor to a good display. Note Ballyrobert Gardens is an RHSI and RHS Partner garden. Open each day except Sunday.

Trillium Snowbunting and Trillium grandiflorum have been excellent at Ballyrobert Gardens this spring. Not particularly difficult to grow but they needs lots and lots of patience before they reach this stage, but well worth it.

Fabulous year for wood anemones. At Ballyrobert Gardens these two varieties, Wilkie's White and Vestal, are amongst the best in their gardens. Wonderful in semi-shade.

Epimediums, sometimes called fairy wings are outstanding plants especially this variety, 'Sulphureum'. It is often recommended to trim the foliage back to expose the flowers but with this variety it is much better to leave it. The richness of the foliage with the lemon flowers creates a stunning combination. This is one of many varieties of fairy wings that are growing at Ballyrobert Gardens, a member of the Antrim Garden Trail. These photographs taken this morning.

A famous landmark in County Antrim is Slemish Mountain primarily because this was the area that Patrick was said to have been a young shepherd. As you can imagine many visit the area on St Patrick's day. Is a rather beautiful area and still has the sheep. After Brexit it is anyones guess if they will still be there!! In any case Ballyrobert Gardens, which are part of the Antrim Garden Trail are only 10 miles away.

There are superb hellebores at Ballyrobert gardens but this double oriental hybrid is probably the best. The flowers are densely produced but just look at the foliage! Perfection. This selection is like this every year and will be in flower for at least the next month.

Only 3 weeks ago we had snowdrops in full flower at Ballyrobert Gardens but then we lost the 'drops'. Snow for a day is good but glad it disappeared quickly but not before we got the camera out.

There are some beautiful flowers at Ballyrobert Gardens at the moment and these two, Salix melanostachys and Salix Mount Aso are amongst the best. The soil in this garden is very heavy and fortunately both these plants are very happy with it. The first is quite a large shrub and the latter much smaller. Perfect for flower arranging and certainly very different. Quite exquisite do you think?

How good is this plant? Cornus alba Sibirica is one of the owners favourite plants at Ballyrobert Gardens. Bright red stems all winter, the new emerging shots in spring are gold, as in the pics, and the autumn leaf colour is also outstanding. It is also the perfect partner for lots of plants; better stop now!! In any case it is superb but come and see it growing because the garden is open every day from 1st March.

There is a lot of colour in the garden at Ballyrobert Gardens at the moment. Many visitors like this area of colour consisting of various species and varieties of bulbs. The good thing about this area is that there is very little maintenance and is more or less truly sustainable. There are 2 OPEN DAYS ON 16TH AND 23RD FEBRUARY and it will be in full colour then. Hope you like it.

It has been a wonderful winter at Ballyrobert Gardens for hellebores. Very mild and virtually no leaf disease or frost damage. These are two of their numerous variations of the Oriental hybrids. It has been difficult convincing some that the star flowered types are hellebores!! These and dozens more can be viewed when Ballyrobert Gardens OPEN EACH DAY, EXCEPT SUNDAYS, FROM THE 1ST MARCH. Enjoy these pics in the meantime.

Beautiful pics of the bridge, and house in background, at Benvardin Gardens.

SNOWDROP OPEN DAYS 2019
Saturday 16th February and Saturday 23rd February. All 2.00 to 4.30 pm.
Ballyrobert Gardens has in excess of 200 different varieties of Snowdrops from large whites to charming yellows. See and learn about these wonderful plants growing in a wide range of different locations in the Gardens. At this time of year lots of hellebores, cyclamen and snow flakes add to the display.
... We will have two tours one at 2-00pm and 3-15pm - arrive whenever suits you best!
The charge is £7.50 and includes afternoon refreshments.
We advise booking and this can be achieved via telephone at 02893440101 or email bookings@ballyrobertgardens.com
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The Glens of Antrim and the Antrim Coast Road have many landmarks. The really good thing is that they are spectacular at any time of year and under any weather conditions. These 2 pics are of the Tiveragh Fairy Hill at Cushendall on a bright winter's day and the other on a dull misty morning. Which do you prefer?