Garden professionals go in search of homegrown heroes

What's it like to feel like a 'plant geek'? We find out from a trio of horticultural designers joining forces on a new TV show

Sat, 17 Jul, 2021 - 17:58

Eve Kelliher

You'd have had to be living on Mars to dodge the love bombs (deservedly) detonated in our rooms outside over the past year.

And the imagination and dedication put into their gardens by men and women across Ireland will be the focus of Ireland’s Garden Heroes starting on Thursday, July 22, at 8.30pm.

This new series for RTÉ One sought out the best amateur gardeners to celebrate the joy of transforming your own space.

Garden designer Niall Maxwell, landscape designer Ingrid Swan and horticulturalist Jimi Blake.

Each week three contestants will open their gates to a trio of experts who will take the tour, examining every leaf and burying their noses in every flower, to evaluate the gardens.

How the garden is laid out, how the planting has been done, and what features have been added, are all investigated.

The three experts giving their opinion on the 18 gardens featured (3 per programme) will be horticulturalist Jimi Blake, owner of Hunting Brook Gardens, Blessington, Co Wicklow, garden designer Niall Maxwell, Dublin, and Cork-based landscape designer Ingrid Swan.

But what they also want to know is what the garden means to the owner. Maybe it’s a place of adventure for kids, perhaps it’s a special space for relaxation, or maybe it’s a fully functional extension of your home, for entertaining and dining. How the garden fits into and enhances the owner’s life is an important factor too.

The gardens will be split into different categories in each episode, and the experts will assess the plants, the design, the functionality, and the feel of the garden before ultimately choosing a winner. Each episode will have an individual winner, and they will become one of Ireland’s Garden Heroes.

JIMI BLAKE, HORTICULTURALIST

The show’s decision-making sequences are all filmed around the “mossy table” in Hunting Brook, says Jimi Blake.

“It is very atmospheric,” he adds.

Jimi proclaims himself to “the plant geek” of the trio of judges.

Speaking from the five acres of amazing botanical herbaceous gardens and fifteen acres of wonderful woodland gardens and valley that is Hunting Brook, he adds: “I found it so interesting during the series to see how others have designed their gardens.”

Jimi trained in the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin as a horticulturist and was subsequently appointed Head Gardener at Airfield House in Dundrum, Dublin.

He resuscitated a large Victorian garden to its former glory enabling the public to rediscover and enjoy a lost gem.

After 12 years at Airfield, Jimi secured twenty acres of the family estate and established “Hunting Brook Gardens.” He envisaged using his garden as a classroom and a showcase to demonstrate the diverse range of designs he could develop.

Since then it’s become a popular educational space for students, volunteers, allotment holders and Jimi has earned a reputation as a consultant and designer as well as an international lecturer.

INGRID SWAN, LANDSCAPE DESIGNER

Ballincollig-based Ingrid Swan joins the three as a landscape designer who developed a passion for gardens growing up in Carlow.

“I am a farmer’s daughter and we were terribly geeky children. We were always interested in wildlife,” she says.

And it was homegrown garden heroes who sparked Ingrid’s interest in horticulture.

Niall Maxwell, Jimi Blake and Ingrid Swan.

“My nana Molly Swan was great to take us to get plants for our little beds and a lovely lady in the nursery down the road from where we lived would tell us all the Latin names of the plants we bought. I got so many plants for my £10, she probably gave me plants for £1 each! I only ever knew her as Mrs Hockney,” she says.

Ingrid moved to Cork to work for BHL Design to undertake more public landscape work including the upgrade of the grounds and courtyards Ingrid is passionate about creating outdoor spaces, both public and private, which enhance our experience of our homes and locality.

NIALL MAXWELL, GARDEN DESIGNER

Both Ingrid and the third judge, Dublin garden designer Niall Maxwell, are graduates of Writtle College, Essex.

Multi-award winning Niall says he would know from looking at someone’s garden what sort of person they were.

Niall worked in the world-renowned Butterstream Gardens before setting out on his path as a freelance garden designer. Among his awards are Bloom Gold Medals.

“The level of enthusiasm, the blood, sweat and tears, especially after the last lockdown, is evident in the gardens we see; gardening is something these people have been applying themselves to for a long long time,” he says.