This month I have been out and about and was delighted to be invited to the launch of Erica Devine’s Botanical Plaster Art Exhibition at the wonderful Knockrose House and Garden in South County Dublin. Erica is a member of the Glendarragh Artists’ Studios in county Wicklow and using inspiration from the natural world, immortalises plants both ornamental and native using Plaster of Paris. In order to preserve the plant specimens, each are painstakingly arranged on the soft sub

This year, strong emphasis was placed on sustainability and the environment alongside inclusion and mental health. Soft planting schemes were filled with ornamental grasses, wildflowers and seasonal perennials gave pops of colour but were quite modest in their use providing subtle hints here and there through the use of irises, aquilega, geum and the ever-present foxgloves although not as many as in previous years. Keep reading for a breakdown of my favourite gardens and wha