Building the walls

Walls are in the news at the moment. Walls to keep people out or to keep people in. In the Fota Frameyard and Throughout the gardens, our benign stone walls give shelter and support to many of the beautiful and sometimes delicate plants and shrubs growing there.

The Frameyard itself is surrounded by walls, old walls in red brick and grey limestone. Recently one of our volunteers, Anna, went to a workshop on the conservation of historic masonry walls, run by Cork County Council. She learned some interesting things there. 

The art of the garden

This delicate watercolour of the geranium Henry Joignot was painted by one of our Frameyard volunteers, Vivienne Johansson. Vivienne is a talented botanical artist and a Friend of the Society of Botanical Artists, London. She is also a keen gardener and her art work has allowed her to combine both passions with beautiful results. She “looks at flowers with a view to painting them”.