For Gardeners

When researching Ireland I found out that National Geographic published a ranking of the world's best gardens. I don't know the criteria but the first four named are: Versailles, Kew, Powerscourt in Ireland, and Butchart's Garden in Victoria!
So of course we had to check it out. The Powerscourt Garden is 47 acres located in the 1000-acre Powerscourt Estate in Wicklow. House and grounds were originally designed in 1730's and the ornamental grounds in 1870's. It took 100 men, 12 years to build the terraces. The garden leads down from the house to terraces with rose gardens, pools and fountains. An amazing backdrop is provided by Sugar Loaf Mountain, an unusual cone-shaped mountain with a plain granite top. Best example of "borrowed scenery" you'll ever see.
In a bad news/good news story, we have no good pictures of the view from the house because it faces south and the sun was shining!! But the garden design is spectacular and the beds still pretty fabulous.