It was a really rainy day when I went to the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland at Glasnevin, Dublin. In Ireland you need to always plan around the weather and if you don’t have enough time to do so you need to live with what you get. When I exited the bus near the botanic garden I recognized that I made a big mistake – I left my umbrella on the bus. It wasn’t very good at this windy time of the year but at least it gave some protection.
They must have a large collection of umbrellas in the bus depot. Fortunately, next to the bus stop there was a pharmacy and already through their windows I could see that they had one important product on sale: umbrellas. And not those middle-European standard umbrellas you can get for small money in a drug store. No, it were umbrellas shape like a cupola which prevented the wind from folding it. A blessing in disguise.
The National Botanic Gardens of Ireland have been founded in 1795 and cover nearly 20 hectares of ground. 20000 different plants can be found here. The stars of the garden are the giant greenhouses in Victorian style. Even rain can contribute to the experience when you’re standing in one of them, enjoy the atmosphere and the giant plants while the water drops on the glass.
You can discover five greenhouses like the Great Palm House from 1884, the Victoria House built for the giant water-lilies or the long-stretched Curvilinear Range. Throughout the garden and the greenhouses, you will every now and then see some smaller or bigger artworks. If you need to warm up a bit or get dry again the botanic garden also contains a small coffee bar close to the entrance area. Even in times of bad weather, this large botanic garden can be a beautiful place.
National Botanic Gardens of Ireland
Garraithe Náisiúnta na Lus
Glasnevin
Dublin / Baile Átha Cliath
Ireland / Éire
http://botanicgardens.ie
Loading map...
