Stunning Gardens of Donegal

Donegal has some amazing wilderness, but it also has some of the most beautiful gardens you can imagine.

One such garden, Cluain na dTor, Irish for ‘Meadow of Shrubs’, can be found near the Song House, in the village of Falcarragh. As they put it themselves “Cluain na dTor specialises in plants that thrive in Seaside gardens and coastal regions and offer an outstanding selection of plants suited to both the exposed and more sheltered garden.”

The varied combinaiton of indigenous and exotic of plants on display in Cluain na dTor is truely inspirational. Once you lay eyes on what has been created here you very well may be inspired to start one of your own! It is a unique type of garden nurtured specifically to flourish in coastal conditions.

As Coast Magazine so beautifully wrote: “This garden many simple features such as the curving stone bench with pockets filled with Sedums and a woven willow archway that twists and curves skywards like a pair of upended whale bones,have been elevated to artworks either by ingenuity or by the quality of their craftsmanship.”

Glenveagh National Park contains some of Ireland’s most beautiful gardens. The contrast of exotic trees and ornaments left there since the gardens inception in the 1880s against the rugged Donegal backdrop make Glenveaghs gardens one of a kind. Glenveagh is now well known for it’s vast collection of trees and shrubs, particularly species from the southern hemisphere.

OURganic Gardens is a sustainability focused social enterprise based in Gortahork , Co Donegal. It is the vision of Joanne and Milo Butler who started it in 2008. The land is constantly enhanced to encourage the biodiversity of the landscape. OURganic Gardens is an inspirational community garden, worked on with Permaculture principles.