Meet the Asters, Castlewellans autumn gold and a trip to Kiltumper

Published: Nov. 1, 2021, 3:29 p.m.

As autumn takes hold, David visits the National Arboretum, Annesley Garden at Castlewellan Forest Park where he takes in the seasonal hues with Alwyn Sinnamon and learns about an unusual 19th-century recipe for compost that included rabbit intestines and rats! A walkabout with Maurice Parkinson in his Ballyrobert cottage gardens reveals a collection of asters perfect for late season colour. Ann Fitzsimons joins David on a visit to a listener\u2019s garden who has over 100 named varieties of hydrangea and the authors of \u2018In Kiltumper: A year in an Irish garden\u2019 chat about their intimate relationship with life outside their County Clare window over the last three and half decades.