087 2737883 | 087 2728337 info@gashgardens.ie
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Plan Your Visit

Your day with us…

A visit to Gash Gardens provides the perfect backdrop to enjoy a leisurely, self-guided wander with friends and family, while staying safe, in a pleasant outdoor setting surrounded by beauty and nature. There are places to sit and chat or relax and savour birdsong and the humming of insects, the scents of summer and picturesque vistas. Keen gardeners will be pleased to find that many of our plants are labelled for easy identification and you might like to browse our plant nursery for a memento of your visit before you leave. In this section you will find information to help you plan your visit to us.

We look forward to welcoming you soon!

Opening Times
  • From May 3, 2023 Gash Gardens and Nursery are open May  to mid-September on Wednesday only of each week from 11am to 5pm. Visitors are welcome at other times from Monday to Saturday by appointment. This simply means we kindly ask intending visitors to telephone or email in advance to make sure we are here to let you into the garden or to assist you in our plant nursery.
  • We will also post dates of special open days here on our website and social media over the summer months.
Admission

Admission charges apply to Gash Gardens only. Entry to the plant nursery is free.

Day Ticket

Season Ticket

Adult

€7.00

€20.00

Child (age 5-15 years)

€2.00

€6.00

Children under 5

FREE

FREE

Family (2 adults + up to 3 children)

€50.00

Advance booking is usually not necessary but if you wish to you can Book your ticket for garden entry

Season Tickets

If you would like to visit the garden regularly and enjoy the evolving beauty of the plants through our open season, you may wish to buy one of our excellent value Season Tickets, which will allow you entry as often as you like during normal opening times, without requiring you to pay each time you visit. Season tickets also make fabulous presents – why not visit our online shop for some great gardening gift ideas.

Offers / Concessions

Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland (RHSI) Partner Garden

We are proud to be an RHSI Partner Garden. Individual members can visit Gash gardens for free on the presentation of their valid RHSI membership card. This does not apply when you are visiting as part of an organised group or for entry to special events in the garden. 

We are happy to accept a valid Gardeners’ World 2 for 1 entry card on any normal open day. The first guest pays full price, the second is free.  This offer is not available for entry to special events in the garden.

Group Visits

A visit to Gash Gardens & Nursery is a great day out for any group of garden lovers.  We welcome pre-arranged groups and pride ourselves on offering a unique and personal experience to ensure that your particular group’s interests are met.  We have coach and mini-bus parking available close to our entrance. Groups of 10+ are facilitated with guided tours. A tour takes about 90 minutes and is usually led by the garden’s owner, Mary Keenan, providing a knowledgeable and practical insight into the garden and its plant collection. Additionally, we can provide a relaxing cup of tea or coffee and delicious homemade scones served with butter and jam for your group. Make sure to leave time for a browse through the interesting and unusual range of good, garden worthy plants in our plant sales area.

Group entry to Gash Gardens is by appointment only and requires advance booking.  We recommend a minimum of 1½ hours to take in the gardens and nursery although most groups stay much longer!  It is also possible to arrange a group visit outside of normal opening hours.  If you would like us to provide teas, coffees and home baking for your group, this must be requested in advance when booking and is subject to an additional charge.

We can also assist with information on other gardens and places of interest to visit in our area as well as venues for lunches and evening dinner.

Admission charge for a group visit is €7.00 per person to include up to 90 minutes personal guided tour. Light refreshments including tea, coffee and home baking is charged at an additional €5.00 per person.

To discuss dates, times and costs please telephone us on 087 2737883 or complete the GROUP BOOKING FORM and we will get back to you.

Visitor Facilities & Access
  • Parking: Car and coach parking are available
  • Toilets: Available
  • Where to eat: Café, restaurant and take-away facilities are available locally in Mountrath, approximately 5-minutes-drive / 4km from the garden. Some local cafés offer picnic boxes which visitors are welcome to enjoy in the garden.
  • Picnics: Visitors are welcome to bring a picnic to the garden
  • Plant sales: Our plant nursery offers the opportunity to purchase from a select range of plants, mostly propagated from Gash Gardens.
  • Accessibility: Surfaces are loose gravel or grass. For visitors with impaired mobility and wheelchairs, some narrow paths and areas of sloped access may require the assistance of a companion to navigate. Visitors are welcome to telephone before visiting for full details of access to ensure a safe, comfortable and enjoyable experience.
  • Open water: For your safety, please be advised that there are a number of unfenced ponds in the garden. Children or dependants must not be left unsupervised.
  • Surface tree roots: Some pathways within the garden and along the riverside walk may be uneven due to surface roots. Please take care when walking on the paths.
  • Dogs: We love dogs at Gash Gardens and welcome them, but we do ask that you please keep them under control on a short lead and that you clear up after them.
Photography

Gash Gardens are available for wedding photography and photoshoots. 

For further information, to check availability and rates, or to organise a visit to our garden Please telephone 087 2737883 or email us.

Visit Us Safely

To ensure the safety of our visitors and ourselves, we ask all visitors to please observe social distancing and wear a face covering where appropriate (unless exempt).

Please do not visit us if you have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 or COVID symptoms, if you are currently under isolation or quarantine orders, or if you have experienced any Covid symptoms within the last 10 days.

How To Find Us

Gash Gardens & Nursery is located less than 1 kilometre from the village of Castletown in Co. Laois. We are approximately 20-minutes-drive from our nearest main town Portlaoise and about 1 hour 10 minutes from Dublin.

Satellite navigation users should enter our Eircode R32K068 or refer to the Google Map.

Gallery

Enjoy a day in our garden

Visit

Gash Gardens & Nursery,
Castletown, Portlaoise.
Co. Laois. R32K068
Ireland