The Gardens at Hazelwood House

I love visiting gardens, it’s one of my happy places, and I love Hazelwood House in Sligo. I got to look inside it back in 2015 – you can read about it here. I haven’t been inside the house since then, but I know there has been a huge amount of work done on the place, and the work is still ongoing. The Sazerac Company took over in 2022, you can read about that here.

I was delighted to meet Mick and Cormac, the gardeners at the house. It’s absolutely incredible the amount of work that has been done on the grounds, they should be so proud of themselves, it’s stunning, and the good news is that it will be open on August 16th, as part of the Secret Gardens of Sligo. You can visit between 1.30pm – 5.30pm and you don’t need to book, just turn up, and prepare to be amazed.

From the Secret Gardens of Sligo website:

“The grounds surrounding Hazelwood House and Lough Gill Distillery are a mix of tillage fields, woodlands, recently restored lawns and gardens at present being developed. Adjacent to the Garavogue River, the grounds contain a good mix of herbaceous perennials, fruit, climbers, bulbs, shrubs and roses with a great range of mature trees often blended in with the planting. There are also a number of work sheds, a poly tunnel and glasshouse where many of the plants are grown on and propagated.” https://www.secretgardensofsligo.com/gardens2

I have a photo of the courtyard that I took in 2015 above, and just look at the difference now:

There’s also a chance to visit visit Hazelwood House on August 20th, when it opens for National Heritage Week. This is a free event and places are limited, find out more, and book your place here. As of 2nd August this tour is fully booked.

Above is a photo of the house from 2013, and you can see 2024 below:

There’s something to see everywhere you look, and Mick pointed out some of the gorgeous things that Noel has made, including bug hotels, planters, sculptures, and more. Most of them have been made from items that were disgarded from the house and the factory.

I have so many photos to show you, it’s hard to pick out just a few, because as usual I got carried away! I loved seeing the pond, and Mick also pointed out the Native Black Honey Bees who have made their home in one of the trees.

The fields at the front of the house have been planted with barley, and it’s almost ready to harvest, it will be used in the distillery – and by the way the distillery used to be the Saehan Media Factory, which used to manufacture video tapes. Below you can see the distillery as it is now on the left, and as it was in 2013.