One of Ireland’s finest historic gardens is to exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for the first time.
Billy Alexander, owner of Kells Bay Gardens in Co. Kerry, says it is a ‘huge honour’ to stage a display at the London show, the most prestigious flower show in the world. About 157,000 people will see the exhibit during the five-day show in late May, with many more watching coverage on television.
The 17 hectare garden at Kells Bay is famous for its Primeval Forest of magnificent tree ferns, many planted in the mid-19th century after being brought to Ireland from Australia. Billy’s display will showcase these extraordinary dinosaur-age plants to recreate Pangaea, the original prehistoric world before the continents drifted apart.
Specimens of tree ferns from South America and South Africa to Australia and the Pacific Islands will rise up to 3m tall, with exotic and native ground ferns at their feet.
‘I hope my display will encourage people to consider the origin and evolution of these primitive masterpieces,’ he said.
Stately tree ferns make for spectacular tropical-looking features in your garden, creating a jungly feel with their huge, graceful fronds rising from the top of a handsome, tree-like trunk. The oldest tree ferns can reach up to 6m in mild areas, though they are more usually about 2m tall.
Give your ferns a shady spot in damp, rich soil, making sure there’s plenty of room so those spectacular fronds can spread out fully. Keep moist, spraying the trunk with water during hot weather, and protect against frost in winter. Well cared for tree ferns can last for many hundreds of years.
