The garden

Our garden is open to you during your stay at Inishowen Artists' Retreat and Studio.

We have created the garden for ourselves and the local wildlife. We have trees, meadows, hedges, lawns (complete with weeds) and a productive organic fruit and vegetable garden - all extending over about three quarters of an acre.

Like any garden, it changes with the seasons, so even in the depths of winter there's something of interest to draw you away from the cosy confines of the cottage and studio. You might even find some creative inspiration.

Both of us have a background in conservation, so gardening with wildlife in mind comes naturally. We have tried to recreate parts of the wider countryside in the garden - like woodland, coppice, hedgerows and meadows - on a smaller scale, to provide diverse habitats to attract lots of insects, birds and mammals.

We hope you'll take great pleasure from sharing your days with our garden guests. Listening to the birdsong, watching the bees and butterflies or watching the meadow dance on the evening breeze.

The weather in Donegal has been described in many ways! Whatever words you use, it can be wild and wet, but that's not always the case.

We have very long summer evenings, with darkness only descending around 11pm at midsummer. So when it's dry (and the sun may even shine), what better way to relax than sitting near the meadow, watching the bats or swallows flit against the sky, with a glass of whatever you enjoy and throwing an extra log onto the firepit.

We love growing our own food. We've dedicated a good part of the garden to a polytunnel, veg garden and fruit - not quite an orchard, but getting there.

All the food we grow is organic and we compost all our garden and food waste to put the goodness back into the soil.

It's inevitable that we grow too much for ourselves, so you may notice a tray of fresh fruit or vegetables find its way to the front door step of the cottage every now and again. We can make no promises, but it's worth it when it does!