Clonohill Gardens

Clonohill Gardens are set at the foothills of the Slieve Bloom Mountains. The gardens have been designed and developed to enhance the existing landscape, with many mature trees providing a shady home for woodland treasures. Located at Laois Angling Centre, Coolrain, Co. Laois the gardens are close to the Dublin/Limerick motorway.

The looped trail begins at the woodland area where collections of trilliums, helleborus and galanthus thrive. From there the path leads on to Jacobs Walk which provides a colourful surprise for the visitor with its meandering gravel pathway framed by sandstone stables constructed by Enda's grandfather, the late Jacob Thompson.

Varieties of polemonium (Jacobs Ladder) flourish in this area together with groups of Achillea King Alfred and the small ligularia 'cafe noir'. Residing comfortably along the gravel pathway are many miniature hostas. Heuchera varieties provide foliage colour and strong contrast with sedums, veronicas and candleabra primulas. Occasional evergreen planting of ilex crenata and diplarrhena moraea are notable plants during the winter months.

An archway frames the entrance to the North Garden where one is greeted by an attractive cytisus battandieri. In this area mature trees provide a decorative home for a vast collection of interesting ferns and leads on to an extensive open lawn area with its curving paths and many colourful herbaceous borders. A secret area and popular with children is the 'red squirrels den' with its majestic sitka spruce trees. The sheltered walled garden overlooking the lake is a plant collectors paradise where ramonda myconi, roscoea and celmissia's thrive alongside star performers Paeonia mlokosewitschii, mecanopsis grandis and cardiocrinum giganteum.