The Barrow County has been leading the country horticulturally for many years. Between the Carlow Garden Trail, a veritable feast of great gardens to visit, now entering its fourth decade, and the Carlow Garden Festival, which began 24 years ago, it could challenge Wicklow for the title Garden of Ireland. County rivalries apart, Carlow is rightly well loved by garden lovers everywhere.

For nine days, from the 25 July to 2 August, the Carlow Garden Festival will see the county take centre stage in the Irish garden world, with gardeners old, young, expert, beginner and the keenest horticultural students, coming together for a spree of talks and displays, walks, debates and demonstrations from the most renowned and talented garden writers and authors, designer and growers. They will take over castles and great houses, village greens and parks, public gardens and private estates, community garden and garden centres.

Like many festivals around the country, this great annual feast of gardening grew out of a kitchen table chat a quarter of a century ago: “Eileen O’Rourke, Robert Miller and I came together and we just decided, we’d start a festival…”

So says Rachel Doyle, the woman behind the Arboretum garden emporiums, as she remembers how the festival began. No one who knows Rachel would be surprised to know that she was there, right at the start. She shook her head as she recalled how simple it was to get such a grand ball rolling. The list of great gardeners that have joined in, from this country, the UK and further afield, is to say the least, impressive. Loyal, long-time festival goers of course have had their favourites over the years. For many, it will be Monty Don, the current king of English gardens. His several visits sit among Rachel’s fondest memories: “He has such a way about him – but you know, I don’t think that there’s one speaker that I was disappointed with.”

I went back to school to study horticulture and found my tribe. I couldn’t get enough of gardening and still today I feel lucky to be in an industry like this. It’s not like work

For Rachel, the world of gardening is a world of good things. “It has been for me since I was 22. I went back to school to study horticulture and found my tribe. I couldn’t get enough of gardening and still today I feel lucky to be in an industry like this. It’s not like work.”

To be able to say such a thing when times are tough is remarkable, but Rachel constantly comes back to the point that there is such a sense of coming together between everyone involved in the Carlow Garden Festival, that it is not like work. “At this point, we’re good friends. We have a rapport and the whole thing is so collaborative. Everyone just pulls together.”

International speakers

And so it works. The chaos of gathering a world-class array of speakers together to speak, to give demonstrations and lead walks, might be hard work, but it is also satisfying for the people who put in all that effort, all year round. Rachel enthuses about her fellow committee members, as well as the large troop of workers and volunteers that make this gardening jamboree possible. They are all working together for the good of the county, for the good of the gardens involved, for each other, and to provide visitors with something very special. That is the magic of running festivals – they support the local economy in a way that is fun, satisfying and builds community.

This year we look forward to again seeing Arit Anderson and the great Joe Swift, of the BBC Gardeners’ World. Joe has the honour of opening the festival with his entertaining co-host, James Alexander Sinclair, in the Arboretum, Leighlinbridge, with Keeping It Country – The James and Joe Garden Show. Then, for eight more days there will be afternoons and evenings with renowned designers Bunny Guinness and Daphne Shackleton, Jimi Blake, Mary Keenan, Oliver Schurmann, Colm O’Driscoll, Chris Beardshaw and a host of others.

“It’s hard not to try to see everything. Some people manage it, and some even to attend every year, like one couple I know from Donegal. They never miss a year. For myself, I try to block out those nine days, and get to see at least one event each day.”

One outing Rachel will not miss is Tom Coward of Gravetye Manor in England, talking at the historic Huntington Castle on Monday the 27th.

“Huntington Castle is a special place. As children, we were brought there on Sundays afternoons. We would hear stories about the good white witch in the castle – and then one day I met her. I got to know her, Olivia. She was lovely.” Today that white witch’s grand son Alexander Durdin Robertson gardens one of the country’s finest historic gardens, and puts it to the service of the garden festival and trail.

He is not alone. There is a dedicated horde of helpers. “We have the ones who put out chairs for each event, and the teams who tidy away after it all. They are great.” The Carlow Garden Trail, like every festival run by dedicated enthusiasts around the country, works because it is a team effort. It is in festivals like this that we see communities bind together and benefit.“And really”, said Rachel, “with Eileen at the head of it all, it works. She puts her heart and soul into it, so the rest of us just follow her and row in – it’s that simple!”

See carlowgardentrail.com