Gorgeous gardens, fragrant festivals, afternoon tea and botanical stays around Ireland, Amsterdam, Sicily and Sarasota …
At Powerscourt Hotel, Co Wicklow enjoy a new Spring Garden Afternoon Tea inspired by the season’s flavours and blooms in the renowned gardens. The tea features a selection of finger sandwiches including Rosemary ham with mascarpone and basil, as well as buttermilk scones served with clotted cream and homemade preserves. As a finale, pastries include an elderflower, lime and rhubarb parfait, a violet and white chocolate ganache with a blueberry compôte and a dandelion crémeux. The tea selection features “Dew Drops” green tea with hints of pineapple. There’s also a cocktail menu with an elderflower and rhubarb cocktail, mixing Prosecco, sloe gin and honey. @powerscourthotel
For bloom chasers, now’s the time to catch the lilacs and wisteria in the formal garden of Birr Castle, Co Offaly. A tour of the historic castle – home to the Parsons since 1620 – includes a 60-minute guided experience on the pioneering history of the family, particularly in the field of science. The perfect photogenic prelude to a cuppa in The Courtyard Café. @birrcastledemesne
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Another notable garden with a great café is Mount Congreve, Co Waterford where a Rare and Special Plant Fair takes place in May with unusual plants from 40 Irish nurseries and growers. There’s also a talk with renowned horticulturist Elmer Dool whose father Herman helped shape the gardens over four decades. @mountcongreve
The Great Garden Escape Faithlegg’s two-night midweek stay includes a pass to one of Waterford’s must-see garden experiences from Mount Congreve to Lafcadio Hearne Japanese Gardens or Curraghmore House & Gardens, plus a wildflower welcome card to take home and plant in your garden. @faithlegghouse
The Blooming Botanical Break at Lyrath Estate, Co Kilkenny is inspired by the historic gardens and previous owner Lady Charlotte Wheeler-Cuffe – an amateur botanical artist, plant collector and gardener. Afternoon tea is served in her Drawing Room, while guests can also indulge in a fragrant Frangipani Spa Scrub. @lyrathestate
SEE MORE: Checking In – Lyrath Estate Hotel
Check out the bee garden at Clandeboye Estate Garden, Co Down amid a vast selection of Old Irish variety apple trees. Stay on the estate in Helen’s Tower, part of the Irish Landmark Trust, with stunning views over Strangford Lough. @clandeboyelodgehotel
SEE MORE: Garden-Inspired Things To Do In Spring
Relax in one of the Ocean View pods on Glenarm Castle’s estate during the popular Tulip Festival in Co Antrim. Shirley Lanigan’s The Open Gardens of Ireland is an indispensable companion book for such visits. @glenarmcastle
The Land Gardeners, Henrietta Courtauld and Bridget Elworthy, acclaimed for their research into plant and soil health, are leading a four-day tour visiting some of the most remarkable Irish gardens from Glin Castle, Co Limerick to Derreen Gardens, Co Kerry and Ilnacullin on an island in Glengarriff Bay, ending at Ballymaloe House, Co Cork. @thelandgardeners
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Further afield, visit the Keukenhof “garden of Europe” in The Netherlands made up of a variety of 800 different tulips. I recommend staying in the 17th-century Dylan Amsterdam on the picturesque Keizersgracht canal. @hotelthedylan
My first memorable visit to Sicily coincided with the baroque flower festival Infiorata in Noto in May, originally created in Rome to celebrate Corpus Christi. I stayed at Donna Coraly Boutique Hotel near Syracuse, surrounded by orange groves. Book Suite Carmela with Ortigia amenities and fuel up on Pasta alla Norma before exploring the island a short drive away. @donnacoraly
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Finally, the Marie Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota, Florida is home to a special Queen of the Night cactus whose flowers only bloom for one night each summer, (cJune 7). Try to catch this ephemeral horticultural event just once, while the George Harrison: A Gardener’s Life exhibition also runs until the end of June. In Rolling Stone magazine in 1979, the renowned singer-songwriter and fomer Beatles star described himself as “just a gardener” and his 1980 autobiography, I Me Mine, was dedicated “to gardeners everywhere.” @selbygardens