Development of Hunting Brook Gardens began in 2002 by Jimi Blake, the garden's designer and owner, on 20 acres of land at the edge of his family's farm. At the time, the land comprised fallow fields, the remains of a 7th century ring fort, and a glaciated, wooded valley containing native beech, oak and ash interspersed with numerous sycamores, stands of young spruce and larch planted in the early part of the 20th century. A small stream which was identified on an 1837 Ordnance Survey map as Hunting Brook is located at the bottom of this valley.

The land is located at approximately 900 feet above sea level and is at the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains which significantly influence the climate in the garden. The majority of the land slopes somewhat steeply to the southeast and contains acid soil.

Jimi began development of the site by building a log cabin imported from Poland. This cabin, along with the newly added Garden Room, is used both as a home and as a venue for a wide variety and ever increasing number of courses taught at Hunting Brook.

Development of the garden began with the construction of retaining walls of granite collected on the family farm along the driveway and the planting of broad beds of tropical herbaceous planting and grasses on the sunny slopes around the house. These planting areas have been modified over the years with the addition of trees and shrubs to lend year-round structure to the gardens and have been continuously redesigned and replanted to incorporate new finds from Jimi's plant hunting expeditions, from purchases and gifts of rare plants  from around the world and from Jimi's sister June Blake's nearby garden and rare plants nursery. The Exotic Slopes currently occupy approximately three acres of land around the house.

Other early additions to the gardens include a woodland garden within the ring fort, a small kitchen garden and a hen (and duck) house. Over the years, paths have been added through the wooded portions of the property to create a woodland walk that accesses the Hunting Brook. Work in this portion of the garden has increased this past winter with the felling of densely planted spruce creating dappled shade in the woodland along the stream and facilitating the development of new gardens in this area.

What's New in the Garden

A lot of work has been undertaken during the past winter in the woodlands and continues with unabated enthusiasm despite bad weather and sore backs. An overgrown bank of young spruce trees has been removed from the bottom of the woodland on the west side of the brook to create space for new plantings. Further up on the banks of the woodland valley, thinning of trees is taking place. On the east side of the valley, sycamore which have seeded themselves among the mature beech and the old larch planted in the early part of the 20th century are being selectively thinned with the aim of creating more space for the larch and beech and allowing pockets of light into the woodland which will create opportunities for growing a wider range of plants in this area in the future.

The woodland walk has also been extended this winter to take in the upper portions of the woodland valley and to connect with The Ring Fort. A bridge has also been added in the lower portion of the valley to access the opposite side of the brook. Future plans include extending the woodland walk on the west side of the brook along the bed of an old canal which was used in the past to divert water to a small waterfall on the family estate. This walk will access a tree ring planted in the 19th century and will eventually connect to a new Arboretum where planting began last autumn. It is hoped that the Arboretum will be open to the public in 2009 so that you can join us in watching it grow and mature.

Redesign and replanting of The Exotic Slopes has been undertaken this winter and spring, removing the old clustered planting and replacing it with rivers of colour flowing through the structural planting of the beds. In addition, further planting was undertaken in The Sun Gardens, The Woodland Glade and The Ring Fort to extend the season of interest from early spring to winter.

Also new at Hunting Brook this year is the addition of The Garden Room which is being used for Hunting Brook Series of classes, for hire for private functions and independent classes by other enthusiastic teachers and as a place to duck out of the occasional showers for a cup of tea during open days.