What’s Growin’ On

I've saved the best for last.  I am hoping that you will share my enthusiasm for what pictures can only begin to describe as the most amazing garden in Ireland.  I speak - with hand ceremoniously held over heart - of Kylemore Abbey. Kylemore is a castle tucked into a wooded hillside on the edge of a lake.  That alone has a pretty high drool factor.  What you can't see from the entrance of the estate, however, are the sweeping gardens that are a shuttle drive away down a windy road nestled in the forest. 

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It's hard to think that anything bad can come from having too many tomatoes around.  They sit so beautifully on my kitchen counter in an Italian ceramic bowl, their colors ranging from bright striped green to bright yellow to golden orange to brilliant red.  Yet one thing tarnishes their image.  Fruit flies.  They seem to come from nowhere, and appear to have nowhere else to go and no other target than my tomatoes.  Naturally, I'd much rather be out in the garden than standing around in my kitchen with a fly swatter, so with a little research and ...

Near the end of our tour of Ireland, we made a stop at Strokestown House and Gardens.  This was quite possibly the most influential part of the tour, historically speaking.  Strokestown House is where you will find the Famine Museum.  Now, most everyone knows that there was a potato famine that swept Ireland in the 1840's, but what I didn't know was the horrific treatment of farmers that came with it.  Here's a short summary:

Irish farmers had their land taken away from them by British rulers. British landlords who were put in place would then rent the...

There is much to be said for opulence.  Whether you admire wealth or despise it, you've got to hand it to the creators of the Powerscourt Estate for a job well done.  I won't go into a history lesson, but I will tell you that this site is one of Ireland's most important and most famous pieces of property.  You might recognize it from the film of recent years, The Count of Monte Cristo, in which the big-bash, "I'm richer than all of you" party scene was filmed.  My jaw dropped open upon walking through the double doors overlooking ...