Weekend Programming: Great Days for the Irish
Posted in Programs and Events on August 29 2008, by Plant Talk
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Written by Kate Murphy, a junior at Fordham University, with additional reporting by Genna Federico, a senior at St. John’s University. Both interned in the Communications Department this summer. |
Taking a walk through the Global Gardens is like taking an international journey—minus the need for a passport and visit to Customs). NYBG visitors can drift from China to the Caribbean to Italy—in garden form, that is. And as summer (sadly) comes to a close so, too, does the celebration of the Global Gardens that has been going on all this month at the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden. This, the final weekend of the celebration, will be dedicated to the Irish Garden, planted and maintained by Ann Creaney.
Ann became familiar with Irish gardening from first-hand experience, and her story is an interesting one, to say the least. In the early 1940s young Ann and her family visited her grandmother in Ireland. But when they were to return to America, the waters they would have to traverse by boat had been set with mines because of the war. As a result, Ann ended up living the next seven years in Ireland, time spent with no electricity and no running water but lots of gardening experience.
Read more about Ann’s journey and check out the Shepherd’s Pie recipe after the jump.
Check out Saturday’s Programming.
Check out Sunday’s Programming.
When Ann finally returned to the United States, she attended Lehman College and later worked at the Botanical Garden’s GreenSchool. She has worked elsewhere throughout the Garden as well—as a docent, in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, and in the Howell Family Garden, home of the Global Gardens.
Ann was asked to start an Irish Garden and she happily obliged. She had farming experience from her time growing up in Ireland, so she knew just what to grow. The Irish Garden contains everything from flax (used for the linen industry in Ireland) to shamrocks, peas, carrots, and tomatoes. (Sounds like a traditional Irish Shepherd’s Pie waiting to happen. Being of Irish heritage myself, Shepherd’s Pie was regular fare growing up. My mom’s recipe is below.)
And of course, there are potatoes. A large sign in the garden commemorates the Irish Potato Famine, which began in 1845. But the potatoes in the Irish Garden here at NYBG are bountiful. Red Pontiac, Purple Viking, Irish Fingerlings, and Blue potatoes can all be found in the Irish Garden.
If you’ll be spending your Labor Day Weekend at the Garden, be sure to stop by the Family Garden’s Irish Garden celebration and meet Ann!
My Mom’s Shepherd’s Pie
Serves 6
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 packet onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 box frozen peas and carrots
1 cup beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes with basil and oregano, drained
Mashed potatoes, about four potatoes
1 cup cheddar or Colby jack cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown meat and onion; drain. Add the onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, peas and carrots, and beef broth. Mix well. Transfer to casserole dish. Spread mashed potatoes over the top. Cook for 30 minutes.
Spread cheese over top and bake an additional 5–8 minutes, or until the cheese melts
Serve with salad and crusty bread.
I’m visiting from Blotanical and thought I would say ‘hello’.
Although I have visited Ireland several times, it has never previously struck me to think of ‘Irish Gardening’. But it is an interesting idea. I suppose if we are used to a particular style, or a particular climate . . . one doesn’t notice anything special about it; it’s just there; it’s just ‘gardening’!
I think this will change the way I look at ‘gardening’, even how I define the term.
It’s moments like this that when one realises how slow one can be about the ‘obvious’!
Lucy Corrander
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