Carlow is blooming beautiful
Hosted across Carlow’s iconic gardens and big houses, Carlow Garden Festival 2025 combines expert talks, foraging walks and kitchen garden workshops. Our very own Irish Country Living gardening expert, Mary Keenan will be delivering an inspiring workshop focused on the art of creating fragrant gardens that awaken the senses and elevate the experience of outdoor spaces in the Delta Sensory Gardens in Co Carlow on Saturday, 2 August. It’s a packed nine-day celebration of everything blooming and beautiful with plenty of free events included. On Sunday, 27 July, you can avail of a guided tour of Duckett’s Grove led by Daniel McDaid. You can also pick up a free audio guide at the reception point within the courtyard to hear the stories and meet some of the characters that lived and worked here for 250 years before the disastrous fire of 1933 destroyed Duckett’s Grove.
See carlowgardentrail.com.
The Delta Sensory Gardens.
The air fryer has become a kitchen staple in Ireland but the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has issued an important announcement for users across the country. Some 60,000 air fryers have a manufacturing defect that may cause the appliance to overheat, potentially leading to fires. Therefore,they are being recalled.
The five affected models are:
• T17023 Tower 2.2Ltr Manual
• T17061BLK Tower 4Ltr Manual
• T17067 Tower 4Ltr Digital
• T17087 Tower 2Ltr Compact Manual
• T17129L Vortx 8L Dual Basket
If you own one of these, you should stop using it immediately, unplug it and contact towerhousewares.co.uk.
Check your Tower air fryer model.
Morning Gardener By Caroline Carey Finn, Kinnegad, Co Meath
She steps outdoors while the house still sleeps.
Breathes in that morning’s smell.
Deciphering the weather forecast.
Coaxing the family’s Jack Russell to join her out there.
Onto the grass for his morning piddle.
Deadheading catches her eye.
Nipping across the dew she finds her secateurs in a bucket-bedraggled greenhouse.
Setting to work she snips off brown rose heads, rotted by recent rainfall.
Noticing a hefty pot, it could do better, show off its blooms by the back door.
With her trolley, “every gal needs one,” her boast.
She hauls across the concrete, careful not to knock it as she repositions it.
Her slippers by now are sopping, her feet squelching within.
Pulling tight the belt of her dressing gown, its hem is damp with dew.
She slips back into the kitchen, observes the garden through the window.
The family begin to stir.
She’ll write a to-do list after breakfast.
Carlow is blooming beautiful
Hosted across Carlow’s iconic gardens and big houses, Carlow Garden Festival 2025 combines expert talks, foraging walks and kitchen garden workshops. Our very own Irish Country Living gardening expert, Mary Keenan will be delivering an inspiring workshop focused on the art of creating fragrant gardens that awaken the senses and elevate the experience of outdoor spaces in the Delta Sensory Gardens in Co Carlow on Saturday, 2 August. It’s a packed nine-day celebration of everything blooming and beautiful with plenty of free events included. On Sunday, 27 July, you can avail of a guided tour of Duckett’s Grove led by Daniel McDaid. You can also pick up a free audio guide at the reception point within the courtyard to hear the stories and meet some of the characters that lived and worked here for 250 years before the disastrous fire of 1933 destroyed Duckett’s Grove.
See carlowgardentrail.com.
The Delta Sensory Gardens.
The air fryer has become a kitchen staple in Ireland but the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has issued an important announcement for users across the country. Some 60,000 air fryers have a manufacturing defect that may cause the appliance to overheat, potentially leading to fires. Therefore,they are being recalled.
The five affected models are:
• T17023 Tower 2.2Ltr Manual
• T17061BLK Tower 4Ltr Manual
• T17067 Tower 4Ltr Digital
• T17087 Tower 2Ltr Compact Manual
• T17129L Vortx 8L Dual Basket
If you own one of these, you should stop using it immediately, unplug it and contact towerhousewares.co.uk.
Check your Tower air fryer model.
Morning Gardener By Caroline Carey Finn, Kinnegad, Co Meath
She steps outdoors while the house still sleeps.
Breathes in that morning’s smell.
Deciphering the weather forecast.
Coaxing the family’s Jack Russell to join her out there.
Onto the grass for his morning piddle.
Deadheading catches her eye.
Nipping across the dew she finds her secateurs in a bucket-bedraggled greenhouse.
Setting to work she snips off brown rose heads, rotted by recent rainfall.
Noticing a hefty pot, it could do better, show off its blooms by the back door.
With her trolley, “every gal needs one,” her boast.
She hauls across the concrete, careful not to knock it as she repositions it.
Her slippers by now are sopping, her feet squelching within.
Pulling tight the belt of her dressing gown, its hem is damp with dew.
She slips back into the kitchen, observes the garden through the window.
The family begin to stir.
She’ll write a to-do list after breakfast.
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