Garden centre. Check. Farmers’ market. Check. Café with cracking food. Check. Dog-friendly, craft fairs, vintage shops. Need I go on? Tucked away in Portarlington, Co Laois, Solas Eco Garden Centre is far more than your average plant stop. From historical memorabilia to Moo Cow’s creamy milk in glass bottles, Solas hosts various events each year – think yoga in the gardens, French-themed festivals, plant swaps, clothes swaps, gardening masterclasses, and more. Four-legged friends are welcome, and the vintage shops are packed with character, tempting browsers to hunt for that one-of-a-kind find. Solas is an eco-conscious escape that celebrates nature and creativity.
See solaseco.ie.
The Eco Garden Shop is created from disused shipping containers and recycled materials.
With midsummer over us and September rolling around, is anyone else searching for something to look forward to? Well, booking is now open for the autumn season of sewing retreats hosted by Irish designer, Heidi Higgins. A weekend of sewing not only sounds like a perfect fit for the cooler weather, but it’s also something a bit different, creative and fun. Located in Ballingarry in Co Tipperary, the weekend workshops are for sewing enthusiasts of all abilities. You could be a beginner who wants to learn a new skill or you could be an experienced seamstress with your heart set on creating a piece in time for Christmas. All sewing machines, equipment and fabric are supplied and workshops cost €250, including lunch. See heidihiggins.com.
Heidi Higgins is trading the catwalk for the Tipperary countryside.
Irish wellbeing brand GROUND has introduced a new product into the market, a scar recovery treatment oil to support the healing of scars. The oil was developed in collaboration with Professor Siún Murphy, a leading plastic and reconstructive surgeon in the Blackrock Clinic, and only launched this month. Costing €54 for a 30ml bottle, the product combines rosehip seed oil, turmeric and frankincense. The oil promotes skin recovery and regeneration in scar pathways.
See groundwellbeing.com
There’s a new exhibition at Cavan County Museum capturing the essence of country life. Sound like more of the same? Don’t be fooled: this exhibition tells the story of rural Ireland entirely through wool! Illustrations by artist Sandra Coote not only honour her farming heritage, combining her handicraft with poems by Charles J. Coote’s (her husband’s great-grandfather) but crucially, all the pieces are made from wool from the sheep that graze the very land that Charles walked. The exhibition, ‘Spoken in Fibre’ by artist Sandra Coote is open until 23 August. See info@cavanmuseum.ie.
‘Spoken in Fibre’ is a new exhibition of wool art by Sandra Coote.
Tipp farmer, John Wallace (pictured below), is walking over 500km and crossing seven counties to raise funds for mental health. In 2015, John and his family lost their father, William Wallace, to suicide, and with October marking the 10th anniversary of William’s passing, John is taking on this walk in his memory. Now close to the halfway mark, John is well on track, having covered over 200km in the first six days. You can support the walk by providing accommodation or meals or donate to the fundraiser. John has already raised over €12,000 at the time of going to press, with all contributions to be divided between three Irish mental health charities: Aware, Jigsaw, and Pieta House. idonate.ie/fundraiser/milesforminds2025.
John Wallace.
God Bless The Work By Karl Johnson
Soothing sweet silence of an honest day’s work,
Whispering hedgerows like waves washed ashore,
Sighing in sweeping seasonal cycles,
Lead-laden hearts are lightened once more.
This land is my own, but belongs to no-one,
A God-given grace that transcends time itself,
Harmonious Heaven laid bare on Earth,
Fruit of the vine and work of Human hands.
It rattles with the bones of my ancestors,
Their sweat beading on every blade of grass,
Scything through the generational fog,
Binding us to our children’s children.
Garden centre. Check. Farmers’ market. Check. Café with cracking food. Check. Dog-friendly, craft fairs, vintage shops. Need I go on? Tucked away in Portarlington, Co Laois, Solas Eco Garden Centre is far more than your average plant stop. From historical memorabilia to Moo Cow’s creamy milk in glass bottles, Solas hosts various events each year – think yoga in the gardens, French-themed festivals, plant swaps, clothes swaps, gardening masterclasses, and more. Four-legged friends are welcome, and the vintage shops are packed with character, tempting browsers to hunt for that one-of-a-kind find. Solas is an eco-conscious escape that celebrates nature and creativity.
See solaseco.ie.
The Eco Garden Shop is created from disused shipping containers and recycled materials.
With midsummer over us and September rolling around, is anyone else searching for something to look forward to? Well, booking is now open for the autumn season of sewing retreats hosted by Irish designer, Heidi Higgins. A weekend of sewing not only sounds like a perfect fit for the cooler weather, but it’s also something a bit different, creative and fun. Located in Ballingarry in Co Tipperary, the weekend workshops are for sewing enthusiasts of all abilities. You could be a beginner who wants to learn a new skill or you could be an experienced seamstress with your heart set on creating a piece in time for Christmas. All sewing machines, equipment and fabric are supplied and workshops cost €250, including lunch. See heidihiggins.com.
Heidi Higgins is trading the catwalk for the Tipperary countryside.
Irish wellbeing brand GROUND has introduced a new product into the market, a scar recovery treatment oil to support the healing of scars. The oil was developed in collaboration with Professor Siún Murphy, a leading plastic and reconstructive surgeon in the Blackrock Clinic, and only launched this month. Costing €54 for a 30ml bottle, the product combines rosehip seed oil, turmeric and frankincense. The oil promotes skin recovery and regeneration in scar pathways.
See groundwellbeing.com
There’s a new exhibition at Cavan County Museum capturing the essence of country life. Sound like more of the same? Don’t be fooled: this exhibition tells the story of rural Ireland entirely through wool! Illustrations by artist Sandra Coote not only honour her farming heritage, combining her handicraft with poems by Charles J. Coote’s (her husband’s great-grandfather) but crucially, all the pieces are made from wool from the sheep that graze the very land that Charles walked. The exhibition, ‘Spoken in Fibre’ by artist Sandra Coote is open until 23 August. See info@cavanmuseum.ie.
‘Spoken in Fibre’ is a new exhibition of wool art by Sandra Coote.
Tipp farmer, John Wallace (pictured below), is walking over 500km and crossing seven counties to raise funds for mental health. In 2015, John and his family lost their father, William Wallace, to suicide, and with October marking the 10th anniversary of William’s passing, John is taking on this walk in his memory. Now close to the halfway mark, John is well on track, having covered over 200km in the first six days. You can support the walk by providing accommodation or meals or donate to the fundraiser. John has already raised over €12,000 at the time of going to press, with all contributions to be divided between three Irish mental health charities: Aware, Jigsaw, and Pieta House. idonate.ie/fundraiser/milesforminds2025.
John Wallace.
God Bless The Work By Karl Johnson
Soothing sweet silence of an honest day’s work,
Whispering hedgerows like waves washed ashore,
Sighing in sweeping seasonal cycles,
Lead-laden hearts are lightened once more.
This land is my own, but belongs to no-one,
A God-given grace that transcends time itself,
Harmonious Heaven laid bare on Earth,
Fruit of the vine and work of Human hands.
It rattles with the bones of my ancestors,
Their sweat beading on every blade of grass,
Scything through the generational fog,
Binding us to our children’s children.
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