Airfield Gardens Dublin
Opened to the public in 1999 Airfield Gardens in Dundrum came to prominence under the leadership of renowned plantsman Jimi Blake. Like any good garden, the gardens at Airfield are never static and have continued to evolve over the decades. Garden & Landscape designers Arabella Lennox Boyd and Dermot Foley played a key role in the redevelopment of the gardens in 2012.
The colour and life you see in our gardens today are the results of the hard work and imagination of our team who have since put their stamp on the gardens as they continue to evolve.
Walled Garden
Think generous herbaceous borders, a row of Pleached Malus ‘Everest’ trees that give the garden a sense of enclosed elegance, and centring all of this, a decorative pergola that will be adorned with wisteria and roses over the coming years.
Organic Food Garden
Organically certified this two-acre food garden not only produces a bounty of organic produce for Overends Kitchen and our Weekly Farmers market but also educates visitors about the range of crops that can be grown in the Irish climate.
Orchard Border
This garden space was redesigned in 2020 replacing the bee garden and Annual meadow. This mixed herbaceous and shrub border makes the most of the windy dry site by growing plants that tolerant of the harsh conditions. The colour pallet is mixed and provides interest from spring through to winter. A prolonged period of flowering helps attract pollinators to the nearby orchard.
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Potting Shed Border
Nestled between the sunken garden and the walled garden is this sheltered space that was redesigned in 2019. Capitalizing on the unique aspect this border is filled with tender and big leafed plants that would not thrive elsewhere on the estate. The wider south facing border follows a hot coloured planting scheme while the dry north facing border focuses on foliage and texture to achieve year round interest.
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Greenhouse Garden
What better place to be inspired and get ideas for plants and flowers that you can grow at home. The jewel in the crown is the lovingly restored Victorian glasshouse and with the help of our gardener’s know-how, you can revel in what we’re growing or simply take notes and replicate your own.
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Sunken Garden
The Sunken Garden is the entrance point to Airfield and is framed by a waving hornbeam hedge. The garden is themed around the fusion of ornamental and edible plants, ornamental carrots, onions and edible flowers form a decorative tapestry of planting that looks at its best mid spring to early summer.
Grown With Love
The gardens in Airfield are just over six acres in size and composed of diverse spaces ranging from an ornamental walled garden, shade gardens and glasshouse spaces, to an extensive organic certified fruit, vegetable and edible flower garden.
The temperate climate of south Dublin accommodates a large variety of plants to be grown on site which provides year-round interest to any visitor. The gardens are managed organically which helps contribute to a vibrant biodiverse green space.
Fancy a group tour?
We’re happy to organise garden tours for groups of 10 or more of our green-fingered friends. They’re led by our resident horticulturalists who share their best advice, tips and tricks, and talk about how the gardens at Airfield have evolved over the years. If you’ve a specialist garden interest group in mind, then pop us a note and we’ll back in touch as soon as we can.
Join in the daily tour
Garden Events
Upcoming dates for the diary
Jul
Summer at Airfield Estate
This summer, make magical memories with your little ones at Airfield Estate! From Tuesday, 1st July to Thursday, 14th August, we're running a special Summer Programme every Tuesday and Thursday, designed especially for families.
Book Now...Jul
Summer Bouquet Workshop
This workshop led by Vivienne Brophy, Airfield Estate’s collaborating florist, will provide you with the skills required to create your own spiralled Summer Bouquet to take home. All decorative foliage and florals used will be sourced from Airfield Estate’s organically grown gardens.
Book Now...
Latest Garden News
Seasonal Meal Planner
Each month come back for a free download to help you plan your meals using food that is in season.
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Airfield seed savers and pollinator programme
Helping the natural world to thrive in modern farming can have great results. At Airfield, pollinator programmes and seed saving are two methods that bring even greater harmony to food production and increase biodiversity.
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Carbon Footprint
With sustainability at our core, Airfield Estate, has committed to ambitious plans to significantly lower its carbon footprint by 25% by the end of 2021.
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Regenerative Soil Practices
In 2016 the food gardens in Airfield entered organic certification while the rest of the garden areas in the estate have been managed organically and regeneratively since 2018.
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Tomato Seed Sowing and Trial Updates
Tomatoes are a crop we feel quite passionately about and grow in abundance each year. On average we grow approximately 300 plants and over 20 different varieties annually. With over 10,000 varieties to choose from, few crops can rival tomatoes in terms of the diversity of options.
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What to Sow in March
March is when the garden really starts waking up after winter. It’s a month for mulching, pruning, and, of course, sowing seeds! We’ve been combing through our sowing records to find some of the highlights from years gone by. Here are five of our favourites.
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Basic seed sowing guide
Our simple guide to raising plants from seed in a cost-effective and straightforward way to fill your garden with fruit, veg, and flowers.
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No Spuds!
For the first time since the redevelopment of Airfield Estate there will be no potatoes grown on-site this season. This stable food of the Irish diet has been replaced by some interesting higher value tubers.
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Live Sustainably Every Day, Not Just on Earth Day
Looking to live a more sustainable lifestyle in Ireland? Discover how Airfield Estate is investing in the planet every day and not just on Earth Day.
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What To Sow In May
With the risk of frost mostly passed and the weather settling down, many plants can be sown outdoors in the Irish garden. Starting seeds indoors for planting out later in the month is still an option to protect young plants from hungry slugs and snails.
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Bees at Airfield Estate
A third of the world’s food production depends on pollinators like bees. Many important food crops just wouldn’t grow without them. Wild and ornamental plants depend on them too, as do the huge amount of animals that feed on the fruit and seeds of those plants.
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June Seed Sowing Guide
June is a great time for seed sowing. Warm air and soil give young plants a great start, as long as you give them adequate water. Many plants sown now will crop or bloom in only a few weeks!
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What to Sow in July
July is an excellent month for sowing. With the warm weather and long days, many seeds can now be sown directly where they will mature. Starting seeds indoors is still an option if you want to protect young plants from pests.
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What to Sow in August
With the end of summer in sight, August is a time to be strategic with your planting. Fast-growing edibles make the most of the remaining warmth and sunshine and extend your harvest season.
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World Soil Day 2022
Maia Dunphy, her son Tom and Claire MacEvilly, CEO Airfield launching plans for exciting new thematic exhibitions at Airfield Estate, Dundrum set to open in early Spring 2023.
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Teddy Bears Picnic
We're thrilled to announce the newest addition to our lineup of exciting activities here at Airfield Estate - the Teddy Bears Picnic! 🧸✨
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€5 after 5
Introducing a fiver after 5! Enjoy a slice of Airfield Estate for just €5 from 5pm until 7.30pm!🌿🍃 For €5 per person, you can explore the beauty of Airfield Estate every day from 5pm until 7.30pm. Whether it’s a relaxing evening stroll with the family around our farm, a peaceful solo adventure on our …
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Welcome to Our New Artist in Residence
We are thrilled to welcome our new Artist in Residence, Mary Burke! Mary has just moved into her studio here at Airfield Estate.
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Airfield Estate Awarded the Sandford Award
We are very proud to announce that Airfield Estate has been awarded the prestigious Sandford Award.The Sandford Award is the quality mark for heritage learning and validation for heritage sites and services that offer a formal learning programme that supports the relevant curriculum across the home countries.
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Airfield Estate Hosts First Gathering of Growers with a Taste of Michelin ~ Airfield Estate welcomes August Bernstein, renowned international gardener ~
Airfield Estate hosted an event aimed at connecting and empowering the people behind the produce that fills our hotels, restaurants, cafes and markets. Cultivating Storytelling: A Gathering of Growers. This unique event brought together over 40 leading horticulturists and gardeners from heritage houses and hotels around Ireland to collaborate, share knowledge, and discuss the opportunities and challenges facing food and horticultural production.
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Food Systems Through the Eyes of Young People Report Launch
Airfield Estate with their Youth Board, recently launched ‘Food Systems Through the Eyes of Young People’. The report examines what Ireland’s young people want from their food system, how they perceive the agri-food sector, food culture, and their vision for its future.
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