The Poppy Garden

The Poppy Garden Gorgeous garden in Oldcastle, Meath, Ireland, A82AP58. Open May to September, by app. at other times. Plus garden chats on the Oliver Callan Show!
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Quirky cottage-style garden, full of perennials, shrubs, trees, and salvaged items, dogs, pups and cats! Photos from my garden throughout the year.

We had a lovely day really, it threatened rain all morning but never got going and then blew off! In the afternoon I had...
05/06/2026

We had a lovely day really, it threatened rain all morning but never got going and then blew off! In the afternoon I had the lovely gang from the Kilternan Garden Club who were on a big day out, and had been with Rosie The Insomniac Gardener earlier. They then came on to Oldcastle and the recommended The Happy Cup Cafe for lunch, which of course they loved!

Out to tour the Poppy Garden then, and they all headed back up the road for Dublin in early evening, happy after a great day!

Earlier in the day I was delighted to welcome the lovely group who introduced themselves as the Padraig Bradys from Lurgan! Sure when I saw Ollie I knew them, as he and nephew Donal are regular visitors (and I need to get over to Virginia and see their lovely gardens soon!). With Ollie were his sisters Maire and Kathy, brothers in law Brendan and Larry and niece Helen.

The Bradys and Farrellys of this generation grew up together beside other, with ten in each family. Kathy and Maire used to cycle over to school in Oldcastle (from Virginia) with my aunts Rita and Bridie, and were all great friends! Kathy remembers being at the All-Ireland quiz final in the 1960s in Strokestown, which Virginia won! My uncle George was a member of the team, and left for a new life in Philly the following day, and it was Francie Brady (RIP) who dropped him to the airport.

There’s a story there, I have a recording of it up a while back with Daddy telling it, but didn’t George forget something in the house, went back in to get it, hopped back in Francie’s car and up to Dublin and off he flew…Granny and Daddy went back home to Cranadillon but George had the front door key in his pocket in America!

This and loads of other lovely stories were remembered today, and in the evening time when I dropped down to Daddy he was delighted to hear that the Brady gang were here – and he remembers one time back in the day when he was over in Philly visiting all his lot, that Marie and Larry called by and brought them on a great outing!

It’s a small world, but even more so if you’re Irish, and more so again if from Cavan! It actually looks like we might get a nice dry here tomorrow…fingers crossed!

05/06/2026

Trainee Tigers annoying Mammycat!

I am so tired. Up early this morn and out to Moylagh to pick up my fixed laptop, home, and took into a mad frenzy of hou...
04/06/2026

I am so tired. Up early this morn and out to Moylagh to pick up my fixed laptop, home, and took into a mad frenzy of housework. The garden was open at 11, but with the rotten squalls blowing over there was no-one out there so I kept cleaning – necessary as on Saturday there is a big bus-tour coming, and with the forecast they will have to come inside for their tea/coffee. You all know my thoughts on housework, and I have just been so busy these past months that inside is just a mess!

Kept at that til 2pm when the lovely Kay and Lorraine arrived from Kildare, and the one good thing about a rotten day is that you can spend lots of time with the visitors who do come! Lovely lassies, and we had a great tour around! 4pm flew in, the lassies headed off, as did I, with Jim Connell in his red van to pick up a couple of pairs of gorgeous old gates that we acquired! They now reside here, and they may be for sale, but you know what, they are so lovely that I have a feeling they may never leave!

Back out the door then to another planting job, or rather finishing off the big tree-planting job from Monday night. That hot spell last week was horrific for watering, so I’m getting plants in the ground! We finished that by 8pm, again battling driving rain and horrible wind, atrocious for June.

Home again, and dried off by taking into the housework again! The amount of stuff gone out to the bins is unreal. And I made the big mistake of washing the inside of windows…gonna have to do the outside tomorrow! I need 50 seats in the house for Saturday morning…but I have a plan, should all work out!

Up early again tomorrow, have to be in the wholesalers in Kildare by 8am, get a loads of lovely perennials, home, collect cakes, open at 11am, a wee group here in the afternoon and they will be inside also for the tea as the forecast is more showers scudding over. Then after closing at 4pm tomorrow I will organise the whole house for Saturday morning!

Oh yeah, also I have nothing to wear to the wedding in Philadelphia next week, so I ordered a dress today at 12 o’clock. Will it be here tomorrow? Why didn't I do this months ago!

And it’s SHOWTIME again! Mother of Jesus, where is the time going! The Poppy Garden is open again this weekend, Thursday...
04/06/2026

And it’s SHOWTIME again! Mother of Jesus, where is the time going! The Poppy Garden is open again this weekend, Thursday to Saturday.

Thursday and Friday 11am to 4pm.

Please note, on Saturday there is a large private tour in the morning, so open to the public 2pm to 4pm only!

It’s a bit dull out there at the minute, but the wild and windy shenanigans of yesterday seem to have blown over! The roses are just starting to explode into colour, so if you fancy a wee outing just make sure to bring your wetgear and waterproof footwear! Near Oldcastle, Eircode A82AP58, or look out for the sign on the Oldcastle to Castlepollard Road!
(It’s actually on the Castlepollard to Oldcastle Road too! 😂😂😂)

It's a blustery wet morning in Oldcastle, but the colours are popping! Just home from the Leaving Cert school run...best...
03/06/2026

It's a blustery wet morning in Oldcastle, but the colours are popping!
Just home from the Leaving Cert school run...best of luck to all the girls and boys in Irelamd turning over English Paper 1 at 9.30am!

Reminder - on this Saturday June 6th the garden is hosting a private tour in the morning, so is open to the public 2pm t...
03/06/2026

Reminder - on this Saturday June 6th the garden is hosting a private tour in the morning, so is open to the public 2pm to 4pm only.

01/06/2026

Retail opportunities! 😂😂😂

A good drop of rain fell here last night and it is very welcome! You can nearly feel the garden just relax and drink it ...
01/06/2026

A good drop of rain fell here last night and it is very welcome! You can nearly feel the garden just relax and drink it up! Of course it also means the weeds got a boost too, but sure them lads never rest! A wee wander round, and the roses are just about to explode into flower! New plants are flowering every day now, it's hard to keep up with what is going on!

The gorgeous flower in the fifth photo is of a Bulbine frutescens, a gorgeous perennial! The lovely Vick in had sent me some free seeds with an order over the winter, and I had literally only sown them the other day and got mad excited after googling him, when didn’t I spot him on the stand at Bloom, so I couldn’t wait and brought him home too! Hopefully all the seedlings will also come up and I will have a big area of him in the future!

The Oriental Poppies are just opening too, each flower only lasts a couple of days, but keep deadheading the stalks out then and hopefully more will pop up…when you are sure you have exhausted all flowering possibilities then cut the whole plant to the ground, feed, and in six or seven weeks after that hopefully you’ll have a whole new lot of foliage and flowers!

I am under pressure (as usual) as myself and Daddy are off to the States next week for a wedding, and I have loads of plants here waiting to get planted in other people’s gardens! That heat last week led to serious pressure with watering, so I headed off on a planting job for a friend this afternoon, which saw a big load of trees get planted! It absolutely lashed as we were at it, but job done thanks be to Jesus, a good watering now and they are much better off in the ground! A few more jobs to do during the week, plus I'm up with Oliver Callan on Wednesday, then open again Thursday to Saturday, so the week will fly! Jesus Christ it’s June already! Where is the year going?

I will be here myself all this weekend, but as I am away the following weekend it will be Pa**ie and Philip in charge of mowing and edging, and Vera opening the garden for me! Then back to normal the weekend after that, I will be here!

After the mentalness of Bloom and a bottle of wine last night, it was a nice quiet day chilling on the couch with Betsy ...
01/06/2026

After the mentalness of Bloom and a bottle of wine last night, it was a nice quiet day chilling on the couch with Betsy and tabby kitten plus Tess and tabby 2...it got sunny late afternoon so I went out and planted two amazing new Acers..an Acer shirasawanum Moonrise, plus Acer pseudosieboldianum North Wind! It's always so exciting planting them as they take a few years to settle in and really put on autumn colours, but these lads are my job bonuses to myself, and I love them!

OK, my last bit about Bloom! Some days in your life are just so unreal that you will never forget them! I am still amaze...
30/05/2026

OK, my last bit about Bloom! Some days in your life are just so unreal that you will never forget them! I am still amazed and delighted and awestruck to be asked to speak at Bloom!

A huge thank you to Lee Doyle who saved me yesterday: my laptop died but he was able to save my slideshow over to a spare one!

So off up the road meself and Daddy went this morning, and although I knew he was delighted to be heading to Bloom, it meant him missing the High Nelly Cycle. This brilliant local fundraiser, started by Kevin Doherty in memory of his wife Attracta over 25 years ago now, has always pulled up with Daddy and Mammy in the house at Castlerahan for a pitstop, and Daddy would cycle in it also. Mammy loved this day, and would have been out for the past week powerwashing, cleaning down the yard and getting the house all ready for the cyclists. So Daddy had to make the hard decision to come to Bloom with me and not go on the High Nelly, but thankfully my brother Paul said he would cycle in his place.

Got to Bloom and Daddy was delighted to meet from the RTE weather! Next we met Rosie aka , and they had a great chat about folk they knew in common. We somehow we found ourselves in the beer tent and met up with the sisters Elaine and Antoinette, and my lovely neighbour Paddy Mangan, who set up and who was also going to be on the garden stage just after me, in a chat panel on Native Trees! His friend Daniel was there, and sure it only turns out that Daddy is friends with his auld fella from Delvin Mart on a Thursday!

Anyway, next thing it was 3.30 and I was on the garden stage, all miked up for sound and with my slide-show on the big screen! I managed to talk sh*te for half an hour nonstop, and fair play to everyone who listened to it for half an hour nonstop, and even laughed and clapped along! Ah what a buzz, well worth the six months of nerves!
It was some craic after six months of thinking about it, to just let it all out in the thirty minutes, and lovely to see so many familiar faces in the crowd! Thanks to everyone who came along, so appreciated!

As Daddy and myself left the carpark and turned on the radio, it was 0-06 Cavan – 0-12 Westmeath at halftime, and we comforted ourselves at not being in Mullingar by saying, ah sure we knew we’d get hammered! But as I flew down the M3, km by km and bit by bit, Cavan reeled them in, and mother of jesus, as we were coming by the mountain with a minute to go, we were only one behind, and bejaysus, didn’t we get a free and level the game! Instead of turning for home I turned the car in the Millbrook Road; and next thing we were in Bar for the extra time! And as we walked in the door, who was there but only the whole High Nelly Cycle crew still there, some Meath, mostly Cavan, but including my lovely Westmeath friend Sharon Hetherton.

So twenty minutes of extra time to play in the match, plus Daddy got to catch up with the whole cycle crew, unreal! Play began, and in the first ten minutes Cavan went six points up! Sharon was thinking that was it for Westmeath, and the craic at the bar with all the Cavan heads was mighty, but f**k me if the second ten minutes didn't start and the referee decided he didn’t like us now and gave everything to Westmeath! Ah look, we threw it away, but what a bonus bit of craic we had, and great to see everyone, and sure Sharon is happy and Westmeath roll on and truth be told I’m still delighted for them cause they bet Meath earlier and what the f*** am I typing now! So meself and Daddy left and headed out the road, I’m sure we would have stayed on but Daddy had to come back to mine and get his car and head to Castlerahan to be there in time to read at 8pm Mass!

Ah what a day! As Daddy said coming out the road, he saw everyone he could have hoped to see at everything if nothing clashed, Cavan gave us a bit of excitement, and we fitted three days into one! I hope his reading went well and there weren’t too many mad undecipherable words (after that beer tent) and I hope you all had a brilliant Saturday too!

Address

Milltown, Oldcastle
Co. Meath
A82AP58

Opening Hours

Thursday 11am - 4pm
Friday 11am - 4pm
Saturday 11am - 4pm

Telephone

+353879656076

Website

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