December-plants
Unusual weather patterns are confusing plants. Daffodils have broken through ground, strawberry plants are fruiting and roses are blooming. Visitors to the west of Ireland's top visitor attraction, Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden, are perplexed. Is this December?
Head gardener at Kylemore Abbey’s Victorian Walled Garden, Anja Gohlke said: “A gardener's life is never short of surprises. A few plants have decided to flower about four months ahead of schedule this year. A few roses are also in bloom, some pear trees are flowering and our wild strawberry plants are still fruiting. Perhaps, the word ‘season’ should be redefined in the dictionary this year, in the Connemara region at least!”
Experts attribute the plant behaviour to the unusual weather patterns Ireland has experience this year.
“We had summer in April, a monsoon in August and now the plants thinks it’s spring” said Anja Gohlke. “Daffodils have broken through the ground and are lining the avenue to the gothic church. We saw strawberry plants flowering a number of weeks ago and now they have fruited. The strawberry fruit are almost all white as there isn’t enough sun and warmth to turn them red”.
Following these strange plant behaviours, gardeners and regular visitors to Kylemore Abbey are looking forward to seeing what happens to the plants next year. Every year, the gardeners at Kylemore plant thousands of spring bulbs which create wonderful colourful displays in the walled garden and along the wild garden woodland walks. When plants flower early they will generally flower again later in the year. No one can predict when they will flower again as this will depend on what the weather brings over the next couple of months. We may see tulips in July!
Caption for photograph Pic 4 Kylemore Abbey in December: Kylemore Abbey in Connemara, experiencing unusual plant behaviour.
Caption for photograph Pic1 December Flowering Primula bulleyana & Pic2 December Climbing Rose: Spring flowers blooming in Kylemore Abbey's December garden. Photo Anja Gohlke
Caption for photograph Pic3 December Strawberry: Strawberries producing white fruit months ahead of schedule in Kylemore Abbey's December garden. Photo Anja Gohlke
Caption for photograph Pic5 December Daffodils: Daffodils breaking through ground at Kylemore Abbey 4 months ahead of schedule. Photo Dolores Hogan
ENDS
Further information & high res. images to accompany press release contact:
Bríd Connell, Sales & Marketing Manager, Kylemore Tourism Ltd.
087 2113804 or email brid@kylemoretourism.ie