Country Decor Blog

Ah, the Ireland jet-lag (not to mention hangover!) is finally over. Now that I’ve recovered and have finished production on our upcoming fall issue of Canadian Gardening, it’s time for me to muse about all things, well, Irish! It’s amazing how ten days in a country as spectacular as Ireland can really monopolize your mind! In particular, of been thinking about the incredibly dairy products that I consumed regularly on my Irish sojourn. There’s something rich and decadent about Irish cheese, butter and milk. As much as I love cheese, I tend to avoid it (as well as butter) due to its high fat content. But when you’re faced with something as decadent as Irish dairy, it’s hard to say no!

Our first day in Ireland was spent at a farmer’s market. There, we discovered the homemade cheeses by the quirky and talented cheesemaker Silke Croppe. With her flaming red hair and coordinating red and white tent, there was no escaping finding her  at the tiny Dublin market. Little did we know that it would not be our first taste of Silke’s fine cheeses - throughout our journey, her name would reappear as a supplier on menus of such fab restaurants as the Winding Stair in Dublin! Her cheeses, made from raw goat’s milk and cow’s milk, is simply divine.

Silke's homemade cheeses

We purchased a “tasting” box of cheese for our outdoor picnic at the Farmleigh estate in Dublin (of course it poured rain so the picnic was done under cover!) and we all, including Tourism Ireland contest winner Peggy, her sister Jackie as well as photographer Stacey Haines. If you like homemade cheese, as I do (I think it’s even worth the calories!!!), a couple of terrific shops in Canada worth checking out are The Cheese Boutique in Toronto (my boyfriend’s kids are obsessed with it - in particular the ridiculously creamy brie allegedly favoured by Napoleon) as well as David Wood Cheese on Salt Spring Island (you can buy Salt Spring goat cheese all over Canada now - yum!). If you have any other fantastic suggestions of homemade cheeses that you would recommend, please let me know!

As an interesting aside, I am completely obsessed with attending farmer’s markets this summer. More next time on my new favourite: The Stop at the Wychwood Barns in Toronto!

I’m combining my last two days due to a lack of internet access - again! Although Ireland isn’t a particularly large country, it does take a while to get from point A to point B. A combination of winding roads and frequent stops to take photographs can add hours to a drive! Such has been my experience in the past two days… 

Wednesday: A walk through the pretty town of Enniskillen revealed a number of fabulous small restaurants, including Taste (which is run by Belle Isle cookery school’s Liz Moore), and Scott’s. My ever-expanding waistline (don’t come to Ireland if you want to diet!) felt quite comfortable among the comfort food selections at Scott’s. Where I may have gone slightly astray was when I ordered a side-dish of champ (it arrived in a large serving bowl)!! A side of baby boiled potatoes actually contained a quantity of 18 potatoes (I counted), and the side dish of chips (also known as fries), was an equally large amount. I have never eaten so many potatoes in my life! Fortunately, I had my colleagues to share my meal with… I’ve found that a lot of the potatoes that we consume here is a variety called “Rooster.” For more about growing Irish potatoes, there’s a great website for Irish Potato Marketing: www.ipm.ie

We also had a fascinating visit to the Marble Arch caves geopark in Fermanagh county. This is truly an incredible experience. I’ve taken a paragraph from their visitors guide to describe it: 

The Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark is host to one of Europe’s finest showcaves allowing visitors to explore a fascinating, natural underworld of rivers, waterfalls, winding passages and lofty chambers. Lively and informative guides conduct tours past a bewildering variety of cave formations – stalactites glisten above stream ways and chambers while fragile mineral veils and cascades of creamy calcite coat walls and spread as shimmering terraces across rock strewn floors. Spectacular walkways allow easy access while powerful lighting reveals the stunning beauty and grandeur of the caves. Electrically powered boats glide through huge caverns carrying visitors along a subterranean river.

As much as I loved the caves and their history, nothing prepared me for the shocking beauty of the Donegal hills. I truly don’t think you can experience Ireland until you visit the Northwest. Stacey Haines and I spent the day travelling with our guide, Tim Conway, who drove us through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. (Kudos to Tim and his patience with our constant clamour of “Stop the car!!!! We have to take a photograph!!”) I have yet to download my photos - which I will do upon my return to Canada this Sunday - but here are some stunning shots supplied by the Irish Tourism Board to give you a sense of what we saw. From peat bogs to cliffs to hedgerows of fuchsia to views of the sea… It is truly heavenly…Such scenes are common in the Northwest of Ireland. The light is beautiful here, as Stacey will attest to. 

the pile at the left is "peat"

I simply love Ireland! We were also thrilled to discover a craft village in Donegal which is host to numerous artisans. In particular, I fell for the creative charms of weaver Clare O’Presco. Interestingly enough, her father is French Canadian! At any rate, she weaves with 100% wool Donegal tweed. Her work is intensely pretty and focuses on innovative use of colour. We also visited Triona Design in Ardara (30 winding minutes further up the road from Donegal), and were able to witness a weaver creating traditional Irish tweed. It felt like we’d stepped back in time…

For more information about traveling to Ireland, log on to www.discoverireland.com

Apologies for my lack of blogging - the internet connections (and possibly my laptop) have been causing me a significant amount of grief… But here I am, writing away at the Westville Hotel in Enniskillen, and I can’t wait to talk about my day at Mount Stewart, a national trust property in Northern Ireland. I promise to catch up on yesterday’s events a little later today! (hint: it includes barbecue sauce!!)

When I imagine life in Ireland, I usually think nostalgia. I’m not sure why, after all Ireland is a modern, bustling economic force, but I still can’t help but think of visions of  the 1920s… Maybe it’s my penchant for Merchant Ivory films, but whenever I’ve come across a National Trust property, I’m smitten. Mount Stewart is simply one of the best properties that I’ve ever been to. Perhaps it is because a family member is still present there. (Lady Mairi Bury is in her late eighties and resides in the magnificent house). Or maybe it’s because of the fabulous George Stubbs painting that hangs in the hall. Or the multitudes of family portraits that hang throughout the rooms, given you a glimpse into a kinder, gentler life. But in reality, I think it is because of the gardens. They are truly sublime. 

Designed in the 1920s by Lady Mairi’s mother, Lady Londonberry, the gardens are elegant testaments to her original vision. Lovingly cared for by the head gardener Owen (who I was lucky enough to meet) the gardens exude style, energy and grace. We got there at midday (not exactly the best time to shoot a garden), but we were lucky to have beautiful light, thanks to those endless Irish clouds. 

I’m thankful we had an opportunity to visit Mount Stewart, and I implore anyone who dreams of visiting Ireland to make sure that a visit - preferably a whole day there - is on their schedule. There is even a lovely spot to have lunch or tea (and they make a yummy carrot cake too!)

I haven’t been able to download my personal shots of Mount Stewart, but here is a glimpse courtesy of the Irish Tourist board.

Imagine being able to live here?

Following our dreamy time there, we were picked up and taken to the Culloden Hotel and Spa, an exceptionally grand property on the outskirts of Belfast. It was the quintessentially beautiful old-style hotel. We checked in and had a (freshly baked) scone and tea. Yum! The beds were cozy. We were sad to only be able to spend one night there….

* Other than the Mount Stewart property, Lady Londonderry is perhaps best known for her role as ’society’s queen’ - a hostess to the rich and famous. Her close circle of friends included Winston Churchill, Lady Astor, Neville Chamberlain and Harold Macmillan who congregated in her salon, known as ‘The Ark’. Each of the members of ‘The Ark’ had nicknames, and Winston Churchill was known as ‘Winston the warlock’

**if you are interested in visiting Ireland, check out www.discoverireland.com

It’s official. I’m a Guiness drinker. But only in Ireland. I’m not sure whether it is because of the bracing winds, the intermittent downpours or the attractive Irish barhands, but Guiness seems to be the drink of choice on my tour of Ireland. 

Today started at the Powerscourt Estate in Co. Wicklow. A fabulous property that overlooks the ridiculously perfect “Sugar Loaf” mountain, Powerscourt encompasses the best of international gardening styles in one property. From formal Italian gardens (think clipped boxwood and tight circular beds planted with red roses) to a jewel of a Japanese garden, Powerscourt sparked my gardening imagination. One particularly quirky feature, however, was the family pet cemetary (the Slazenger family, of the eponymous tennis racket manufacturing company, vacated the house in the last decade or so). Some may find it morbid, but I found the stone markers of everyone from “Mrs. Mare, a brilliant hunter & companion” who passed away in 1940 at 19 years of age to “Sailor, a curly retriever, a faithful companion for 5 years.”

The animal kingdom theme continued at the Irish National Stud, which is the only Irish stud farm opened to the public, was our next stop. Of course, I was thrilled to see some incredible thoroughbreds first-hand. Better still was our second Japanese garden of the day, which depicted rather romantically the stages of life. The garden, which I will detail later this week, was simply spectacular. It will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next year.

But back to the most important part of my day: the delicious pint of Guiness that I consumed at the quintessentially Irish pub “Johnny Fox’s.” Where Irish music and dancing was the order of the day. I enjoyed my meal of colcannon soup, grilled salmon and whisky cake - perhaps a little too much! (I rarely eat dessert!). Until tomorrow’s adventures!

*of course I want a pint of Guiness!

**if you are interested in visiting Ireland, check out www.discoverireland.com

Imagine my surprise when I came into the Home & Country offices today (also our offices for Canadian Gardening magazine where I am also the Editor) to find that the only person to dress in green today in honour of St. Patrick’s day was Karina Leimanis, our assistant editor. I’m sure you’ll recognize that the name Karina is not particularly celtic (she’s Latvian in fact) but her green eyes and terrific green dot Banana Republic fact made her an honourary Irishwoman for the day. After a fantastic media cocktail party hosted by Tourism Ireland at the Four Seasons, Toronto (note my GREEN tote bag full of press kits), I am heading off to the opening night for Canada Blooms, where all things green will be present. After a dark winter, nothing will be more appealing than the scent of fresh flowers. Incidentally, the Gala is sponsored by Tourism Ireland as well, so I’m looking forward to a rollicking evening of music (and hopefully green beer!)  As a side note, for all of you naysayers out there who don’t believe one should dress up for St. Patrick’s Day, I say “get some Irish into your life.”

So here I am, wearing green with Karina outside my office!

Ever since I was a child, dressing up in green on St. Patrick’s day was one of my favourite activities. My late mother would even dye our glass of milk green, and cut our sandwiches into a shamrock shape. Maybe it’s my love for my late paternal grandfather, who was born outside of Belfast. Something about wearing green makes me feel more connected to him (although ironically it was his least favourite colour), or maybe it’s just because I love green in March! If green is inspiring you as well, you can enter a contest to join me in Ireland this July. Click on this link to enter: www.canadiangardening.com/ireland.php