Planting an Irish Hills Garden
The emerald isles of Ireland are beautiful to behold, with the rolling green hills overlooking the North Atlantic. While some people have had the privilege of traveling to Ireland, others have seen only photos which do not do justice to the beautiful landscape. For those who would love to re-create hills like these on a smaller scale in their yard, it can be done to make a very unique garden.
The first thing to do is to plan your Irish hills garden on paper. You might want to have the small hills or mounds placed diagonally in a row, or apart, creating a valley where flowers can be planted. Keep in mind the hills themselves won’t be fully covered in flowers. Once the plan is to your liking, you can start building the hills. In this case, the hills will not be quite as big as those in Ireland but will emulate them on a much smaller scale.
To make the hills, you will need: 3 bags of 1 cubic foot garden soil per hill, compost, grass seed, bricks, and some rocks. If you live on rocky land, use those which have been dug up during yard landscaping. Otherwise, look in nearby woods for rocks, or at a nursery. You will only need 3 or 4 rocks averaging in 8″ x 3″ in size for each hill. Place the rocks together as if building a pyramid. Mix the bagged soil with some of the soil in your yard. Compost will be added near the top layer to ensure healthy growth of grass and flowers. If needed, lay a row of bricks in a circle at the base of the hill formation to keep the soil from washing away. Start pouring soil over the the rock base, patting it down, creating firm slopes. While each hill can vary in size – and should – aim for an average between 20″ to 24″ diameter and 12″ to 18″ in height. This will allow for variation in size. If you are creative, you can even make a split-level mound to give it a natural appearance.
Once the mounds are made, they are ready for the grass seed. If your regular grass spreader is too big to do the job, never fear; a homemade spreader can do the job much easier. If you plan on planting a few flowers on the mounds, leave a large enough area free of grass seed so you can dig a hole for each plant. Place a thin layer of straw over the mounds after the grass seed has been spread, and water. Check the growth of the grass every day. Most grasses require watering every day, as the soil and seed need constant moisture in order to germinate. If weather conditions are dry where you live, the grass seed may need to be watered twice a day.
Now that your mounds are full of green grass, it is time to start planting the flowers. Start with the flowers on the mounds. There are many flowers which grow native in Ireland, which include: shamrocks, lilies, roses, sunflowers, daffodils, and geraniums. Shamrocks (Oxalis) are the national flower of Ireland and are grown from bulbs. If you have any other particular favorite flowers, then plant those too.
Don’t worry if you happen to see a leprechaun visiting your garden at some point. It simply means he is pleased with it and how well it is cared for.
Image Credit: Scenery camera, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
