Bunny Guinness returns to the Carlow Garden Festival with a practical talk, Designing with Plants, at the historical Huntington Castle. One of the most respected voices in gardening today, Bunny is celebrated for her imaginative planting style, great knowledge and engaging approach to gardening. A leading garden designer, writer and broadcaster, she combines creativity with real hands-on experience, making her talks both entertaining and hugely informative for gardeners of all levels.
Drawing on decades of experience designing gardens throughout Britain and Ireland, Bunny will share expert insights into combining plants successfully for colour, texture and seasonal interest, while creating gardens that feel balanced, natural and full of character. Gardeners attending can look forward to a wealth of practical advice, clever ideas and achievable planting solutions for gardens of every size.
Packed with practical tips, tricks and professional know-how, this inspiring talk will encourage visitors to see planting in a fresh and creative way while enjoying a relaxed and enjoyable festival experience in one of Carlow’s most picturesque settings.
Designing with Plants invites visitors to sit down, slow down and discover the beauty that thoughtful planting can bring to garden spaces.
About Bunny Guinness
Bunny has been designing gardens and outdoor spaces for over 50 years. She gained an honours degree in horticulture from Reading University and then went on to qualify as a Landscape Architect at the City of Birmingham University where she was awarded a doctorate.
Her main stream work has always been designing, she has won six gold medals from Chelsea Flower Show and worked on a huge range of schemes to parks and gardens in northern Japan, Thyme Hotel at Southrop, A Horatio’s Garden at Oswestry and many private gardens of a huge range of sizes.
Bunny has written for The Telegraph for over 25 years and been a regular panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time for over 26 years. She has written several books including the best seller ‘Family Gardens’ and co-authored with King Charles ‘Highgrove – A Garden Celebrated’. Bunny has her own YouTube channel where she visits gardens she has designed, gives tips on gardening and shows the gardens of many of her podcast guests. Her video on ‘Baseless Pots’ has had almost a million views. Her podcast ‘Bunny in the Garden with…’ is a fusion between Desert Island Discs and Gardeners’ Question Time where she visits guests, that are known for something else other than gardening but are also keen gardeners. Guests include well known rock stars, football players, cooks and authors.
Admission: €22 includes admission to Huntington Castle Gardens. Tea room serves delicious cakes, and speciality teas and coffees while the gift shop has a lovely range of carefully curated books and gifts.
Directions: Y21 K237. From Dublin/Waterford exit the M9 at junction 5 for N80 Rosslare. Continue along the N80 through the village of Ballon. Approx. 4 km from Ballon take a left turn (clearly signposted) to reach the village of Clonegal. The entrance gates to Huntington Castle are at the lower end of the village, adjacent to the Sha-Roe Restaurant.
Type of event: This talk takes place indoors in the Barn Theatre. Afterwards there is an opportunity to view the gardens in Huntington Castle.
Tour of the Castle’s Historic Interior
A guided tour of Huntington Castle provides a window into both its fascinating past, and the lives of the family who call the castle home today. Hear stories of the castle’s historical occupants, while wandering through passages to the living quarters, formal rooms and even the dungeon. Beautiful Aubusson French tapestries, ornate carpets and fabulous portraits of ancestors from years gone by can all be enjoyed on the tour. The conservatory features the historic grape vine which is a cutting from the famous Hampton Court Palace “Great Vine’’, while the Temple of Goddess can be exclusively accessed in the dungeon.
House tours available 2 – 5 p.m. with last tour at 5 p.m. Cost €13.95 per adult, child < 12 €6.50, concessions €12.95, infant free, family €30 (2 adults and 3 children < 12), additional child < 12 €3. To book a house tour in advance visit https://huntingtoncastle.digitickets.co.uk/tickets or book at the tea room upon arrival.
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