Heywood Gardens

Heywood Gardens Review

Ballinakill, a pretty Georgian village about 5 km (3 miles) south of Abbeyleix, contains the Heywood Gardens, designed by the English architect Sir Edwin Lutyens in the early 20th century within an existing 18th-century park. The Lutyenses' house burned down, but the gardens, with landscaping most likely attributable to the famed Gertrude Jekyll, are worth a detour. Guided one-hour tours are available through this gardener's paradise, where a formal lawn flanked by traditional herbaceous borders leads to a sunken Italian garden. Highlights include a rose called Natalie Naples and Johnston's Blue geraniums.