A few weeks ago, when I was traveling around the west of Ireland with a bunch of other travel bloggers, we stayed at this wonderful old country house hotel. The Cashel House Hotel is like stepping back in time – the decor, the furnishings, the pace. They’re even an abundant (and might I add, progressive) traditional ingredient in their kitchen and garden – seaweed!
And I think I’m going to have to employ some of their seaweed gardening tricks in my own garden because the Cashel House Gardens are absolutely luscious. Kay and Dermot McEvilly bought the Cashel House in the 1960’s. It was originally built by Kay’s grandparents, but they sold it when her grandfather ran into financial trouble. When Kay and her husband took the house back over, the gardens had become overgrown and they had a lot of work both restoring the house and the gardens in order to return it to its former glory.
Kay now runs the house and restaurant, but it seemed that her real love was the garden. She said she finds great release in working in the gardens. “Life can get stressful, but go out and dig a hole and it all goes away.” I’m not sure I quite agree yet, my garden and I are almost friends, but it was so wonderful and peaceful to walk through the gardens of Cashel House.
Kay’s sister, Mary, died in a car accident years ago, so she created a garden dedicated to her.
Kay travels around the world going to flower shows and collecting plants from the garden. And they’re all fertilized with a combination of seaweed and a few natural but secret ingredients. The best part? The seaweed leaves enough seaweed in the soil to keep the slugs and snails away. Maybe that’s how I can win the battle next year! Although I might need a few more visits to figure out the rest of the secret ingredients!
I should also mention that the food was delicious (I ordered venison!), the rooms were grand, and it was the best and quietest night’s sleep I’ve had in years. I went for a run early the next morning, with cows and sheep to my right and the sea to my left. It was beyond peaceful.
Cashel House Hotel, Cashel, Connemara, Co. Galway
2 Comments
Really nice pictures, particularly liked the ones with the drops of water!
Thank you, Ellinor!