Bring the Luck of the Irish to Your Garden

Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle — with a temperate and rainy climate and just enough sunshine to bestow a never-ending panorama of green. And, it is not surprising that the Irish know a thing or two about gardening. We’ve borrowed a few of their secrets to inspire your own Irish garden…

• Incorporate a gray, bluish, or slate-colored stone walkway and you are off to a good start! Combine your path with a stone bench, birdbath, or rockery for added charm.
• If you have room, build raised beds with large stones or stack big stones as a backdrop to your flowerbeds to invoke the look of the Irish countryside.
• If you have plenty of shade, be sure to tuck moss in between everything, and if you don’t mind watering a lot, try to include a little of the rugged, emerald green Irish moss (Sagina subulata).
• Plant green flowers. That’s right, green flowers. Here are just a few: green roses, Hydrangea chrysanthemums, and Echinacea, and ‘Lime Sorbet’ Columbine. Of course, there is such a thing as too much green, so combine them with Easter lilies and Spring Scilla. If you need some filler plants, check out grayish Artemisia.
• Other great options include traditional Irish perennial flowers like Bells of Ireland or Foxglove. Woodbine (honeysuckle) is ideal for climbing walls and have a lovely, fragrant scent. Poppies, Primrose, Bluebells, Snowdrops, Blue Borage, Lupin, and Lavender also add a splash of color.
• Certainly, window boxes are a nice touch, but you can get creative with the containers. Find some old kettles or teapots that have cracks in the bottom and use them as charming substitutes.
• Grow vegetables. Start the season with onions, leeks, greens, and lettuces. Don’t forget the potatoes!