Gardens in Kerry

Kerry is home to some beaufiul tropical gardens.

Mid Kerry & Ring of Kerry - Dhu Varren Garden & Kells Bay Garden
Last Sunday morning I was sitting in the sunshine surrounded by tropical plants, there were the most beautiful tropical butterflies flying over my head and it was hot and humid - yet I was only a mile from Milltown.

This was my first visit to Dhu Varren Gardens and I must say I was blown away by it. Mark and Laura Collins have taken 2.5 acres on the Killarney/Milltown road and transformed it into something amazing. By the way, the name of the garden is taken from Dhu Varren House in Portrush where Mark hails from.

There’s a marvelous variety of plants from around the world;
- a corner known as Red Rock Canyon has beautiful palms and cacti
- Yucca Avenue has plants from the deserts of the U.S. and Mexico
- There’s a Japanese tea-house over-looking a pond with the biggest Carp,
(ornamental fish) I’d ever seen - as big as any salmon in the Killarney Lakes.
- the Cacti Glass House has amazing cacti, some with the most beautiful flowers. Mark was saying that he doesn’t have to water them from September to March - the type of plant that would be ideal in many houses
- for me the highlight was the Tropical House. You are surrounded by luxurious growth. The big colourful butterflies really gave the whole thing a real tropical experience.

Opening Times: Dhu Varren Garden is open to the public every weekend from May to September, weekdays by appointment only.
Contact: Tel. 066 976 7770 • 087 610 4492 • www.dhuvarrengarden.com
Admission charges: Adult: 6 euros / children: 4 euros

How to get there:
GPS COORDINATES 52° 1’ 20”N 10° 5’ 55”W
From Killarney: Take N72 Killorglin -Ring of Kerry Road. Turn right at Golden Nugget Pub (R563) and continue for approx 7.1 miles. The garden in on the left-hand side.
From Tralee: Take the N70 to Milltown. From village follow R563 to Killarney, it’s 1.1 miles on right-hand side.
From Killorglin: Take N70 to Milltown, follow as above.
From Dingle: Take R561 to Castlemaine, N70 to Milltown, follow as above.

Note: The garden is not suitable for children under 10 years and animals. It is not entirely wheelchair accessible.

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Kells Bay Garden
If you are interested in gardens, then you must go and see Kells Bay Garden on the Ring of Kerry. This is a brilliant time to go there because the whole place looks really tropical.
Kells Bay Gardens is opened to visitors since the autumn of 2006 and is one of Ireland’s foremost Victorian gardens. The gardens contain one of the best collections of Southern Hemisphere plants in Europe, imported from Australia originally but more recently from New Zealand and South America.

The Kells estate was purchased by Tralee man Rowland Blennerhasset in 1837. The current owner is Billy Alexander. Billy’s obsession has caused him to spend considerable sums of money collecting plants from Chile, the forests of South Africa and Japan, among other places.

The first time I visited the Garden, I remember driving in through these big old gates and seeing all these tree ferns and a huge waterfall – it immediately reminded me of Jurassic Park. I wouldn’t have been surprised if a dinosaur crossed the road in front of me.

The Gardens consist of 40 acres.

Things to look out for:
- Ireland’s largest palm tree, imported from Chile, stands at 7.5m
- 3 km of walks and trails, including Primeval Forest, Bamboo Glade, Ladies
Walled Garden
- Garden Centre if you’d like to buy some plants
- Tea Rooms overlooking Dingle Bay

One thing I would say about Dhu Varren and Kells Bay Gardens is that they are labours of love, their owners have invested a huge amount of time, energy and money into them. They are worthy of our full support.

Opening Times: 10am - 5pm, 7 days - April to first weekend in October.
Admission: Adults 6 euros / Children 4 euros / Family 20 euros.
Contact: info@kellsgardens.ie or call +353 (0) 87 777 6666 for enquiries.,
www.kellsgardens.ie

How to get there: From Killarney - Drive towards Killorglin, following the brown tourism signs for the ‘Ring of Kerry’. Continue through Killorglin on the N70 heading in the direction of Glenbeigh and Caherciveen. Approximately 13km after Glenbeigh is a right turn, sign posted Kells Bay House & Gardens. Take this turn. Follow this road for 2 km till you reach a junction, take the right turn also signposted Kells Bay House & Gardens. 1 km down this road on the right hand side are the entrance gates for Kells Bay Gardens.

From Caherciveen: Head towards Glenbeigh and Killorglin, approximately 9 km from Caherciveen is a left turn signed Kells, take this road. Approximately 4 km down this road is a left turn, signposted Kells Bay House & Gardens, take this road. 1 km down this road on the right hand side are the entrance gates for Kells Bay Gardens.

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