By Monica Cardoza

Outside Belfast, unique microclimates form where mountains block cold air, valleys trap warmth, and the Irish Sea cools the surrounding land in summer and warms it in winter. It’s in these pockets of mild climate that wealthy Victorian plant collectors built mansions and filled their grounds with exotic plants and trees from around the world. The flora was secured by plant collectors who returned from their global adventures with seeds and saplings that, when planted in these microclimates, not only survived but thrived.

Today, visitors can stroll wide paths snaking through these enormous estates in County Down, Northern Ireland, past towering North American redwoods, magnolias with plate-sized blooms, rare Himalayan blue poppies, and Chinese rhododendrons the size of a tiny house. Adding to these sightings are themed garden rooms, walled flower and vegetable gardens bordered with high rock walls where espaliered fruit trees cling, and Irish wildflower meadows dotted with apple trees.

You’ll also find Champion trees. Recorded by the Tree Register of Ireland as the most outstanding examples of their species within the British Isles, these specimens are identified for their immense size, age, rarity, or cultural and historical significance.

Last June, I visited three of these gardens, including one whose house is open to the public. All are located in County Down, Northern Ireland, less than an hour from Belfast, yet a world away from what we typically imagine as a garden.

Mount Stewart

Named one of the 10 best gardens in the world in 2014 by Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, Mount Stewart House and Gardens is an 80-acre estate on the Ards Peninsula, where a mild, subtropical marine climate influenced by Strangford Lough and the Irish Sea creates ideal growing conditions. It was the home of Edith Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry, an influential society hostess who developed and expanded the extensive gardens throughout the 1920s.

Mount Stewart features a series of distinct formal gardens including the Italian, Spanish, and Mediterranean gardens, known for their elaborate color schemes, mythological sculptures, and rare plant collections. The Dodo Garden was inspired by the informal Ark Club that Edith founded with her husband during World War I. The concrete statues of dodos and other creatures symbolize club members, with Winston Churchill depicted as Winston the Warlock; her husband as a Gryphon, or shape-shifter for his philandering. Her father is depicted as a dodo, representing an older landed gentry becoming obsolete, much like the bird itself.

Lily Wood is a woodland garden renowned for its lilies, Chilean myrtles, and bright blue Himalayan poppies. The Mairi Garden, inspired by her youngest daughter Mairi, features a statue of a child sitting in a fountain surrounded by “silver bells and cockleshells” from the nursery rhyme “Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow?

Winding paths lead through woodland areas filled with plants from South America, South Africa and Australia, including a rare Andean cypress, Japanese magnolias, and a Chinese handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata) known for white flowers that resemble hanging handkerchiefs. It was named after Father Armand David, a French missionary who collected many plants in China. Fuchsia excorticata from New Zealand is a unique plant whose blue pollen Polynesian women used as eyeshadow.

In addition to the gardens, visitors can tour the nineteenth-century house with personal treasures, including family memorabilia, a large art collection, and period objects and furniture.

Montalto Estate

Montalto Estate’s ownership began with Patrick McCartan. But his involvement in the 1641 Rebellion led to land confiscation, and in 1657 Sir George Rawdon purchased the townland. Circa 1765, his descendant Sir John Rawdon built the mansion now known as Montalto House. His ancestor, Sir Arthur Rawdon, known as the Father of Irish Gardening, had amassed a large collection of exotic plants at Moira Castle. Many of Sir Arthur’s plants were transferred to Montalto when his grandson, Sir John, moved to the estate.

Montalto changed hands until 1994 when the Wilson family purchased the 400-acre estate and opened it to the public in 2018. During that time, workers discovered overgrown pathways, wild plants, and original glasshouse ruins. This is now The Lost Garden Trail, a 1.2-mile walk featuring the glasshouse and rose arbor set beside an orchard and wildflower meadow.

Other trails include The Garden Walk, which features Champion trees like the Giant Redwood and Austrian Pine, plus the Alpine Garden with over 300 Alpine plant varieties. The Lake Walk passes the boat house and a witch’s cottage surrounded by spring-blooming azaleas, daffodils, camellias, and bluebells. The History Trail includes the site of the Battle of Ballynahinch, which took place during the 1798 Irish rebellion.

In addition to the gardens and woodland, Montalto features a visitor center, café, ice cream parlor, and gift shop, plus a children’s playground with a treehouse and rope bridges, and a bark park where visitors can watch their dogs play.

Rowallane Garden

Rowallane Garden was laid out from the mid-1860s by Reverend John Moore, with his work continued by his nephew Hugh Armytage Moore. From 1903, Hugh drew on connections with seedsmen and botanic gardens worldwide to acquire plants and trees from North and South America, Japan, China, Tibet, and New Zealand.

Today, visitors can explore a variety of walks throughout the 52-acre garden. Adjacent to the house, the 2-acre walled garden showcases an eclectic mix of plants, bulbs, herbs and vines that provide magnificent spring and summer color displays. The Pleasure Ground path meanders past a pond through trees and loops back with sweeping farmland views.

The Lower Garden includes a woodland walk, a rocky outcrop planted with a charming array of bulbs, herbaceous plants and small shrubs, and The Hospital, named when this small, sheltered field housed ailing calves, which today contains a collection of unusual trees. The Spring Ground features an impressive display of massive rare rhododendrons, many from Asia and planted in the early twentieth century.

Among other unique plants and trees you’ll encounter: a holly-leaf sweetspire from China with dangling green tassels; Himalayan blue poppies; Japanese anemones; and a wildflower meadow of orchids, English bluebells, primroses, and daffodils.

The garden features a welcome area and cafe with a stone patio overlooking the walled garden and Pleasure Ground.

Where to Stay in Belfast, United Kingdom

Belfast offers several comfortable neighborhoods for history-minded visitors and cultural attractions. The Cathedral Quarter, centered around St. Anne’s Cathedral has grown into a welcoming area with independent hotels, guesthouses, and boutique accommodations within walking distance of galleries, cafes, and historic sites. The nearby Queen’s Quarter, home to Queen’s University, offers a more residential feel with family-run bed and breakfasts and smaller hotels serving visitors exploring the university’s architecture and adjacent Botanic Gardens.

For those seeking convenient access to the city center, the Europa Hotel and similar mid-range properties on Great Victoria Street provide direct connections to restaurants, shops, and public transport. This area can get busier during peak seasons, but its location cuts travel time to major attractions like the Titanic Museum and City Hall.

Guesthouses and bed and breakfasts scattered throughout the Malone Road area and South Belfast neighborhoods offer quieter alternatives with personal service and local knowledge. These accommodations sit within easy reach of the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens, making them practical bases for visitors exploring the area’s cultural and historical sites. Proprietors at these establishments frequently recommend lesser-known historical locations and can arrange transportation to nearby attractions outside the city center.

For budget-conscious travelers, central Belfast has several hostels with private rooms and shared kitchens. These attract history-minded visitors and create opportunities to share recommendations and travel experiences with fellow guests interested in Northern Ireland’s past.

Recommended Reading

Historical Fiction:

• When Starlings Fly as One: Based on a True Story of the 1641 Rebellion and Ireland’s Longest Siege by Nancy Blanton – A historical drama based on the 1641 Irish Rebellion and the siege of Rathbarry Castle.
• Betsy Gray or Hearts of Down: A Tale of Ninety-Eight by W.G. Lyttle – Published in 1888 and reissued in 2015, the novel recounts the legend of Betsy Gray who was reputed to have ridden into the Battle of Ballynahinch wearing a green silk dress and brandishing a sword.
• The Plant Hunter by T.L. Mogford – This historical novel follows British plant hunter Harry Compton as he travels through 19^th-century China in search of a fabled tree last heard of in The Travels of Marco Polo.

**Non-Fiction:**

• The Plant Hunters: Two Hundred Years of Adventure and Discovery Around the World by Toby Musgrave, Chris Gardner, Will Musgrave – The story of the men who discovered and brought back a wealth of exotic new plants.
• The Mount Stewart Murder: A Re-Examination of the UK’s Oldest Unsolved Murder Case by Chris Paton – A historical true crime book that re-examines the UK’s oldest unsolved murder case, which took place at Mount Stewart.
• A Year in the Life of Mount Stewart by David Kirk – A collection of photographs and text that explores the house, gardens, and the work of the National Trust staff and volunteers there.
• A Year in the Woods: Montalto Through the Seasons by Paul Clements – An illustrated hardcover detailing the author’s yearlong experience living in a cottage on the 400-acre estate  while recovering from surgery, and explores its natural beauty and history throughouth the year. Merrion Press

Monica Cardoza is a freelance journalist covering outdoor recreation, conservation, gardening, and travel, with bylines in The Washington Post, Audubon, Wine Enthusiast, and New Jersey Monthly. She can be found on Instagram @thegreatlocal, and writes a Substack newsletter called Probably Outside. Her website is monicacardoza.com

All images are owned by the contributor and are used here for illustrative purposes.