Powerscourt Garden – One of the Best Gardens in the World

I can’t get enough of Ireland’s luscious green, whether it’s manicured gardens or neverending green pastures all over the country. One of the best gardens in the world is in county Wicklow, just south of Dublin city: Powerscourt Garden.

National Geographic ranked it in the top 3, together with the Versailles and the Royal Gardens in Richmond, UK.

Powerscourt House and Garden History

Powerscourt House has an 800-years history. Today’s grand house replaced the medieval castle on site in the 18th century, commissioned by the first Viscount of Powerscourt. It stayed in the family until 1961 when the Slazenger family bought it. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed much of the house, and though restored, it never achieved its former glory. However, the garden at Powerscourt is among the most beautiful in the world.

Today, it’s still in the Slazenger family, and it is open to visitors every day except for Christmas.

Visiting Powerscourt Gardens

The brochure you get at the entrance shows an itinerary that takes roughly an hour, surrounding the gardens. It’s the bare minimum to see (almost) everything. However, it’s an ample park, not a shopping mall, and I suggest planning two to three hours to visit Powerscourt Garden at your leisure. There is always another photo to take around the corner. You might even want to sit barefoot on the grass for a while to relax and reconnect.

Powerscourt Gardens

There are a few different gardens at Powerscourt, and the itinerary will take you through each of them.

The Italian Garden at Powerscourt

The most striking of the Powerscourt Gardens is the Italian Terraced Garden. As you walk behind the grand house, the terrace opens above the gardens. It’s a gorgeous view, with the perfectly-designed gardens below, going down to Triton Lake. In the background, the Sugar Loaf Mountain completes the view, the way no gardener’s work could ever do.

The Viscounts of Powerscourt bought or commissioned the statues in this part of the garden over decades from Europe, inspired by other great estates of the time.

The Walled Garden

This used to be the estate’s vegetable garden, providing fresh food to the family. Today, it’s home to colorful flowers and shrubs. I suspect it looks different every season, and I’d love to see it in spring or autumn too. In the summer months, roses,…