Mount Congreve Gardens I

Mount Congreve

There are the days when you feel no light at all; when you feel no joy in anything you do; when your hopes are challenged. On such days, you have to unplug from anything that drains you, and focus on anything that feels good. What a better place than a beautiful garden to forget your worries and bring you into balance. Especially if it is a garden where something is always flowering, most of the year.

Situated just minutes drive from Waterford city border, Mount Congreve gardens are one of my favorite places to visit in early spring when Azaleas and Rhododendrons are in bloom. They say that there are more than two thousand Rhododendrons in this collection, and also six hundred Camellias, six hundred conifers, three hundred Japanese cherry and Acer cultivars, and more than a thousand herbaceous plants, including rare fuchsias, begonias, orchids, and almost extinct varieties of cyclamen. Some of these plants are so rare that they have been an object of theft as the thieves take cuttings to grow and sell. The staff presented Ambrose Congreve on his hundredth birthday with a Wollemia, a rare tree that was only known through fossil records, and was discovered in 1994.

Ambrose Congreve died in 2011 at the age of 104. He was inspired to plant a garden when visiting the Rothschild Garden at Exbury in Hampshire, England in 1918. Mount Congreve Gardens won numerous awards, including 13 gold medals at Chelsea Flower Show. Ambrose Congreve died of a heart attack while attending this annual show.

The Congreves had their gardens open to public every Thursday, free of charge. Children under age 12 were not admitted. Currently the Gardens are open from Thursday to Sunday.

Acer

This video that I found in Youtube was filmed  in 2010.

 

 

Skilled and devoted horticultural staff maintain the gardens in perfect form, and also run a wholesale nursery – you can buy a potted plant here. They say that in Mr. Congreve time, music was played in the grounds to entertain the gardeners.

Mount Congreve

Victorian greenhouse produced tropical fruit for the table.

Mount Congreve

Mount Congreve

Mount Congreve

The 18th century Georgian Mansion was designed by the architect John Roberts who also designed both Cathedrals in Waterford and Moore Hall in Co. Mayo. The house is empty and closed to the public as its content, including the Mount Congreve Library collection assembled in the 18th century, were sold by public auctions  –  Christie’s in London and Mealy’s in Waterford in 2012. Ambrose Congreve left the estate in trust to the Irish State, and the ownership of the house will transfer to the State in 2059.

Mount Congreve

Mount Congreve

The gardens will come under State ownership in 2032.

I attached my car key to show the scale. This is Rhododendron falconeri.

Rhododendron sinogrande

Just cannot stop pressing the shutter 🙂

You can see these Magnolias from the Greenway tracks. I already used these two photographs in my previous posts.

magnolias

magnolias

Chinese Tea House.

Mount Congreve

Wisteria. There are at least fifty of them.

Mount Congreve

In my next blog post I will share more photographs of this early spring walk.

Thank you for bearing with me ❤

www.inesemjphotography.com Have a great week!

79 comments

  2. Stunning beauty, beautifully captured. These photographs are luminous and deeply engaging. Thank you! Keep up the great work.

    1. Thank you Anabel! The house is completely empty : everything was sold out in 2012. The house is supposed to be transferred to the State in the 2050’s.

  8. Absolutely lifts the heart and makes the spirit soar!! Thanks for sharing that beautiful walk! I hope that the gardens will still be as beautiful once the state looks after them!!

    1. Thank you! If I am not mistaken, there are 12 gardeners employed to look after the estate. There is a nursery, they are selling potted plants. They are making a bit of money, and also they have some funding. I do hope it is enough, but so far the gardens look wonderful.

  9. Wonderful photographs thanks Inese. I’d have to visit Bodnant Gardens to get the feeling of light you do at Mount Congreve Gardens.
    xxx Massive Hugs xxx

  11. Congreve Garden is over 7000 kilometers as the crow flies from where I sit listlessly on my sagging couch. Thanks for bringing home the joy.

  12. I couldn’t agree more. Whenever I feel glum, I head to the park and take refuge under the green trees and bright flowers. I enjoyed each trail you take me on. The flowers look gorgeous and I’m sure would have made my day too! 🙂

  13. The Azaleas are so beautiful. I have not seen so many in one place like this. I also have not seen soft white/pink Rhododendrons. They are so lovely. Indeed, this is a great way to get away from worries and come to see such beautiful garden.

    1. Thank you for your comment! Yes, it is an amazing collection of Rhododendrons and Azaleas. This spring I went to the gardens just in time to see the most of the collection in bloom.

  20. You are right; sometimes nature’s beauty is the best thing for a low mood. Your photos are so beautiful, and the gardens are magnificent. Thanks for sharing this and allowing me to experience this treasure vicariously.

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