Spend some special time at Fota

WOULD you like to give your best friend an unusual gift? A rare or unusual plant perhaps, rather than a gift voucher for lunch? I have always believed that the gift of a plant is like no other.

You cannot eat it, use it up entirely, or store it away for a rainy day. It may, like an early summer peony disappear underground for much of the winter, but, like a good friend it picks up again in spring and acts as if winter has never been. Gardeners constantly give gifts. !! If therefore you want to purchase something really special for your friend reserve Sunday Apr 21 for the 2013 Fota House Plant and Garden Fair. This fair, which takes place in the world-renowned Arboretum and Gardens of Fota House, Carrigtwohill, Co Cork is now, I believe, the biggest such event in the country and 70 to 80 specialist nurseries are expected to attend this year.

Visitors will be able to purchase rare trees, shrubs, alpines, herbaceous and water plants at reasonable rates. Retailers providing garden furniture, pots, sculptures, ornaments and tools will also be in attendance.

So visit and enjoy the Fota Fair and all the buzz and banter it brings. It opens at 11am and continues to 4pm. Catering facilities will be available at Fota House and on site throughout the day. Other attractions include the holding of a competition for most attractive stand (which was won in 2011 by Hillside Nurseries, and in 2012 by Deelish Garden Centre Skibbereen) and an opportunity for those attending to walk around the beautiful gardens and arboretum or visit the newly renovated Fota House to see the collection of pictures, which represents the third most significant public collection of Irish art in the State. The entry fee of €8 includes parking and as in previous years, volunteers from Fota House and from the Friends of Marymount Hospice will assist with stewarding and the running of the Fair. A substantial donation will be given to this very worthy charity. With the beautiful backdrop of the Arboretum to the rear, and the open countryside in front of Fota House, the setting promises to offer a truly special day out for all gardeners and garden lovers.