It has been a pleasure to work with The Lyrath Hotel & Spa in Kilkenny on their outdoor space, they are in the envious position of having the most stunning parklands around the hotel so we were tasked with adding to that around the hotel and improving the fluidity of the landscaping between the old and the new of the hotel buildings. The hotel is magnificent and sits in the Kilkenny countryside beautifully, it is situated on 170 acres of mature parkland, Lyrath has a fascinating history going right back to the infamous Oliver Cromwell who evicted its owners and took control of the estate back in the seventeenth century. Lyrath Estate today comprises a beautifully restored Georgian mansion sitting elegantly alongside the contemporary hotel building, making it the quintessential country resort hotel. www.lyrath.com

The garden redesign reflects this mix of old and new. Traditional urns blend with modern fibreglass planters, grape vines grow beside large traditional pyramid-shaped trees. The graceful curves of Yew pyramids that lead to the ivy clad exterior of the original entrance, drawing the eye at all times the stunning facade.   Contemporary bonsai formed trees in stunning white fibreglass planters lead you to the new building that houses the new hotel entrance, guiding you along.  At the restaurant, overlooking the parklands we have planted a very structured row of Catalpa Biganoides trees with their formal globe shaped heads and along the terrace beautiful planters hold vines that add a rustic but unusual touch to the current planting. The result is a haven for hotel guests, a space to reflect and be connected to nature.

The next stage of planting is already ready to progress at this stage and is testament to our desire to forge long term relationships with our clients, creating a real understanding of them and their business and designing their gardens accordingly.