Jane Powers finds hidden treasures on her deep southgarden trail
'Malcolm has gone mad," says Phemie Rose. It seems that her husband has a bad case of pteridomania - an excessive fondness for ferns. And not just any old ferns: only the very elegant hard ferns (Blechnum species) and tree ferns will do. Of the latter, he has at least eight kinds: among them three Dicksonia, including the now-popular D. antarctica. He also has several members of the Cyathea genus, the lesser-known tree ferns. C. medullaris is gorgeously creepy-looking with its black, hairy stems, while the stalks and fronds of C. dealbata are lightly dusted with powder, lending it a luxurious, blue-green sheen.
The thing about these special and covetable ferns is that most of them are tender specimens: a degree or two of prolonged frost and they kick the bucket, leaving behind a rather expensive corpse. And speaking of deceased tree ferns, the Victorians, who were terribly keen pteridomaniacs, must have had a surplus of them on their hands, because one book of the period suggested a use for the dead stumps. Plant a "nice drooping fern" on the top, it counselled, fasten smaller ones onto the side, and you'll have a uniquely ornamental feature.
No such advice, however, is needed by Malcolm and Phemie Rose, for their garden is in one of the few really favoured parts of the country - west Cork. At Kilravock, in Durrus, frost is rare, and tender plants thrive. Southern hemisphere species are especially happy here: from Australia and New Zealand come the sculptural Pseudopanax, the shiny-leaved Coprosma, and, of course, those interesting tree ferns. Equally at home are the spiny Puya and the Chilean fire bush (Embothrium coccineum) from South America.
South Africa, meanwhile, offers proteas and leucadendrons with their crown-like flowers, and restios - grassy plants recently discovered by the Chelsea set, but long popular in Cork gardens. Phemie Rose, it must be said, has her own peculiar obsession: growing things from seed. Her progeny (including the restios) are distributed throughout the terraced two acres.
The Roses' patch is one of 16 that are open during the West Cork Garden Trail (June 12th-27th). Phemie, who has run the project since its inception 10 years ago, points out that many of the participating gardens are open all summer (some by appointment, so be sure to ring beforehand).
One of my favourites is the mysterious and romantic Creagh, near Baltimore. This near-wild, 30-acre creation was made from the mid-1940s onwards by the late Peter and Gwendoline Harold Barry, whose abundant sense of fun is still evident in the garden's layout. The lush and heavily-foliaged planting around the serpentine mill pond was modelled on the paintings of the French naive artist, Henri "Le Douanier" Rousseau. Arum lilies, skunk cabbage, ferns, phormiums, cordylines, chusan palms and gunnera all combine to make a convincing jungle landscape, the perfect habitat for Rousseau's endearingly absurd-looking tigers and monkeys.
Elsewhere, the Harold Barrys built a thatched "Baluba Hut", and carved a "Ho Chi Minh Walk" through a dense grove of aucuba. On sunny days, this tunnel is a magical place, with stars of white light bouncing in the dark green canopy.
Some time after the death of Peter Harold Barry, the gardens were restored with help from the the EU-funded Great Gardens of Ireland Programme, and were regularly open to the public. Now, however, they have changed hands, and are open for just four afternoons during the West Cork Garden Trail fortnight - well worth the pilgrimage.
Not far away, just as you enter Baltimore, is Jean and Peter Perry's organically-run Glebe Gardens. The Perrys used to have a market garden here, but the vegetables have gradually been ousted from all but one section - a series of long beds, where sweet pea, nasturtium and other cottagey flowers ramble freely among the cabbages, pumpkins, peas, beans and other wholesome things.
The four-and-a-half-acre plot slopes down to the sea at Church Strand Bay - and you can stroll almost to the shore via the newly-made woodland walk, funded by the Gwendoline Harold-Barry Trust.
If you're less energetic, the waters and headlands can be enjoyed from a well-placed seat in the cut-flower garden - where Jean likes people to "feel at home and be comfortable". And it's a lovely place to sit, surrounded by massed cardoons and Verbena bonariensis, and annuals such as zinnia, cleome and cosmos. In June, the Perrys will be opening a little café, a good reason to linger even longer in this peaceful patch.
A new entry on the West Cork Garden Trail is Robin and Janet Stonard's Lassanroe in Skibbereen. Janet looks after the organic vegetable garden, while Robin has a large collection of bamboos - many of them new to cultivation.
More bamboos (30 varieties) may be seen at the Glengarriff Bamboo Park, as well as 12 different palm species - proof of west Cork's clement climate.
A mile from Glengarriff is Ilnacullin, on Garinish Island (and an expensive boat ride at 8 or €10, depending on the service). An impressive gathering of antipodean and oriental plants was collected here first by Annan Bryce (who bought the 37-acre island in 1910), and later by his son and head gardener. Now owned by the State, it's worth a visit, for Harold Peto's classic architecture, as well as for the flora - but not if you dislike crowds of glazed-eyed tourists. Unfortunately, they are bussed and boated in by the thousands each year.
And finally, although there are many more, I have room only to mention the grandest garden on the trail, at Bantry House. I love the gnarled old Wisteria Circle with its over-the-top shell-encrusted fountain, and on the front lawn, the brave rounds of red hot pokers and hazy, purply-blue Russian sage (Perovskia). The so-called Stairway to the Sky is a serious fitness test, but if you puff your way to the top, your breath will be further taken away and your spirit set free by the sight of glistening sea, green islands, and the Cork and Kerry mountains.
The West Cork Garden Trail runs from June 12th-27th, but most gardens are open throughout the summer. Brochures are available from Phemie Rose, Kilravock Garden, Durrus, Co Cork (027-61111, kilravock1@eircom.ie). Or find all the information on: www.westcorkgardentrail.com. The Celtic Ross Hotel, Rosscarbery, offers a special rate from June 12th-27th for garden visitors: €165 (per person sharing) for two nights' B and B, one dinner, plus free admission to two gardens. Contact: 023-48722, www.celticrosshotel.com