Our notable plants.
Guincho’s plant collection has long been recognised as one of Ireland’s best. The garden has appeared in numerous publications as early as 1964 and in 1979 The Heritage Gardens Committee of An Taisce (The National Trust for Ireland) undertook a major project to produce a comprehensive inventory of all the woody plants in private and public gardens with significant plant collections. ‘Trees and Shrubs Cultivated in Ireland’ was compiled by Mary Forrest and was published in 1985. Guincho along with 28 other gardens in Ireland were chosen. In 1982 the garden was added to the Northern Ireland register of gardens of outstanding historical importance.
Three plants are named after the garden, the most famous being Sambucus nigra ‘Guincho Purple’ and the Irish champion for height grows in Mrs Mackie’s Round Garden - Pseudopanax crassifolius (right). Sadly the other Irish champion grown in the garden, Banksia marginata died from a fungal disease a number of years ago.
Below is a list of some of our notable plants within the collection both herbaceous and woody.
Maytenus boaria, Chile
Pseudopanax arboreus, New Zealand
Ilex kingiana, E Himalaya/Yunnan
Calistemon salignus, SE Australia - from Lord Talbot of Malahide
Rubus deliciosus , Colorado- from Lady O’ Neill
Ageratina hidalgensis, Mexico- from Lord Talbot of Malahide
Sambucus nigra ‘Guincho Purple” - This plant was found by Mrs Mackie in the wild near Abertay in Perthshire, Scotland. It was given the RHS Award of Merit in 1977.
Lomatia ferruginea, Chile/Argentina
Euonymous lucidus, Himalaya
Pseudopanax crassifolius, New Zealand - planted 1954
Ternstroemia gymnanthera ‘Variegata’, E and SE Asia
Picea breweriana, NW California and SW Oregon
Picea smithiana, Himalaya
Lagarostrobos franklinii, Tasmania
Juniperus recurva var. coxii, Burma
Viburnum henryi, C China
Ilex crenata ‘ Mariesii’
Ligustrum japonicum ‘Rotundifolium’, Japan
Buddleja colvilei, E Himalaya
Buxus balearica, Balearic Islands and SW Spain
Magnolia obovata, Japan
Magnolia sargentiana var. robusta, W Sichuan,China
Gevuina avellana, S Chile/Argentina