PARKS AND GARDENS

A MUCH FASTER SITE AS IT IS HEADLESS

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I LIKE THIS OLD SHELTER

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PHOENIX PARK – PEOPLE’S FLOWER GARDENS SECTION

PEOPLES FLOWER GARDENS AT PHOENIX PARK
2008 PHOTO BLOG
VISITING PHOENIX PARK
THE SAME SHELTER AS IT WAS IN JUNE 2022

PHOTOGRAPHED MAY 2008 PUBLISHED 5 JANUARY 2023

You will find the People’s Flower Gardens between the Parkgate Street entrance and the North Circular Road entrance to the Phoenix Park.

The garden was laid out and opened in the mid-nineteenth century as the Promenade Grounds. It provides an opportunity to enjoy the horticulture of that era at its best. A large ornamental lake with various fowl, a children’s playground, picnic areas and Victorian bedding schemes are just some of the attractions you will come across here.

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WHY FIT IN WHEN YOU CAN STANDOUT BY FIONNULA HALPIN

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A MURAL AT MOUNTJOY SQUARE PARK

A few years ago I was advised by the police (Garda Síochána) that it was not safe for me to photograph in the area as they had been made aware that my camera was attracting attention. Of course I took their advice and left area but I could never decide if what they said was a general comment or related to a specific incident or current activity.

Fionnula is an artist working across the mediums of paint sculpture and installations, as project manager in collaboration with other artists for murals and public art and also as artistic designer for events. The artist works closely with businesses, schools, community groups and city councils to bring a high quality of work to the streets of Ireland as she believes in the power of art to transform communities.

Mountjoy Square is located in the middle of a square of Georgian buildings on the Northside of the city centre. This historic park has a playground, three tennis courts and 7-a-side all weather football pitch.

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THE DUBLIN UNESCO CITY OF LITERATURE SHOW GARDEN

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PHIBSBORO PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Dublin UNESCO City of Literature Show Garden, located at the library, won two awards at the Bloom Garden Festival in 2011. The garden won best in its category (small gardens) and a Bloom silver medal for small gardens. ‘River Run’ was designed by Dublin City Council Parks and Landscape Services to honour Dublin’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature.

Back in 2014 when I first photographed this garden I commented as follows: ‘I must admit that I was somewhat unimpressed if not totally disappointed by this garden now located in the grounds of Phibsboro Public Library. In my opinion the setting is not at all suitable and elements [the pool to name but one] appear to be missing from the prize winning garden. I suspect that little of this will remain in two or three years due to lack of maintenance and appropriate attention. Note: The water pump may need a service as it appears to be rather noisy.’

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BOTANIC GARDENS IN AUTUMN

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SATURDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2022

The National Botanic Gardens of Ireland are an oasis of calm and beauty, and entry is free. A premier scientific institution, the Gardens contain important collections of plant species and cultivars from all over the world. The National Botanic Gardens in Dublin are located in Glasnevin, just three kilometres from Dublin City Centre, and are famous for the exquisitely restored historic glasshouses. The National Botanic Gardens in Wicklow are located in Kilmacurragh, where the milder climate, higher rainfall, and deeper, acidic soils of this historic Wicklow garden, provide a counterpoint to the collections at Glasnevin. The two gardens have been closely associated since 1854. The National Botanic Gardens of Ireland are operated and managed by the Office of Public Works.

Please note that the usual rules apply: no dogs (except guide dogs), no ball games, picnics, sports, bicycles, tricycles, scooters, skateboards, roller skates, micro-scooters, balance bikes and other vehicles (except wheelchairs).

DICKSONIA ANTARCTICA BY PATRICK BARRY IN THE BOTANIC GARDENS

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SATURDAY 5 NOVEMBER VISIT – USED A SONY FX30 WITH A SIGMA 14MM LENS

This fern sculpture commission was purchased by the OPW and installed at the Botanic Gardens in Dublin.

My understanding is that Patrick Barry relocated to New Zealand in 2014.

Dicksonia antarctica, the soft tree fern or man fern, is a species of evergreen tree fern native to eastern Australia, ranging from south-east Queensland, coastal New South Wales and Victoria to Tasmania.

These ferns can grow to 15 m (49 ft) in height, but more typically grow to about 4.5–5 m (15–16 ft), and consist of an erect rhizome forming a trunk. They are very hairy at the base of the stipe (adjoining the trunk) and on the crown. The large, dark green, roughly-textured fronds spread in a canopy of 2–6 m (6 ft 7 in – 19 ft 8 in) in diameter. The shapes of the stems vary as some grow curved and there are multi-headed ones. The fronds are borne in flushes, with fertile and sterile fronds often in alternating layers.

The “trunk” of this fern is merely the decaying remains of earlier growth of the plant and forms a medium through which the roots grow. The trunk is usually solitary, without runners, but may produce offsets. They can be cut down and, if they are kept moist, the top portions can be replanted and will form new roots. The stump, however, will not regenerate since it is dead organic matter. In nature, the fibrous trunks are hosts for a range of epiphytic plants including other ferns and mosses.

The fern grows at 3.5 to 5 cm per year and produces spores at the age of about 20 years.

Reproduction by this species is primarily from spores, but it can also be grown from plantlets occurring around the base of the rhizome.

In cultivation, it can also be grown as a “cutting”, a method not to be encouraged unless the tree-fern is doomed to die in its present position. This involves sawing the trunk through, usually at ground level, and removing the fronds; the top part will form roots and regrow, but the base will die.