OPENING the shutters at Glin Castle in Co Limerick of a morning, generations of Catherine FitzGerald’s ancestors would have looked out at the same ring of sessile oaks as her family and guests do today. Descendants of the Killarney forest that once stretched down to the shores of the Shannon river in front of the castle, the gnarly, moss- and fern-covered branches of the oaks protect the 10 acres of landscaped garden from the westerly winds that whip up the estuary. ‘You can see their arms are outstretched and they circle the place to create an embrace,’ says Miss FitzGerald. ‘They are its presiding spirit.’
The family has owned the Glin demesne since the 13th century and this genius loci is of great importance to Miss FitzGerald.
It is something she always seeks out in her work as a landscape designer on large projects, such as Hillsborough Castle near Bel- fast (‘Building for peace’, October 2, 2019), and Glenarm Castle, Co Antrim (2023 Historic Houses Garden of the Year), as well as in private gardens in both Ireland and Britain. She studied horticulture at RHS Wisley in Surrey, after Trinity College, Dublin, then worked for Arabella Lennox-Boyd before setting up her own practice, formally joining forces last year with her long-term collaborator Mark Lutyens, a landscape architect, to become Lutyens & FitzGerald.
Miss FitzGerald is the eldest of the three daughters of the 29th and last Knight of Glin and, together with her husband, the actor Dominic West, she has taken on Glin, which, today, is more of a castellated grand Georgian house than anything that could withstand an attack. Even when her parents, Desmond and Olda, were in charge and running the place as a smart boutique hotel, she was given pretty much a free rein in the garden. It was a generous gift to the nascent designer and one that she has been working on for 25 years.
Esta historia es de la edición August 07, 2024 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición August 07, 2024 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery