Events in the National Botanic Gardens
September to December 2016
September
Daily Guided Walks: Autumn Colour
Autumn in the gardens is an incredible experience. Join us for a special guided tour through the autumn leaves and herbaceous borders savouring the seasonal colour and view some of the sculptures dotted throughout the gardens along the way.
Times: Monday – Saturday 11.30am and 3.00pm. €5 per person
Sundays 12.00pm and 2.30pm. Free of Charge
Thursday 8th September - Friday 21st October
Sculpture in Context Annual Exhibition
Sculpture in Context is Ireland's largest outdoor sculpture exhibition. Now in its 15th year at the Gardens, it offers an unparalleled opportunity to view well-established and promising future artists from both Ireland and abroad. For further details, see the Exhibition section of this brochure.
Daily throughout the Gardens and Gallery, Education and Visitor Centre
Thursday 8th September – Friday 21st October
Sculpture in Context Tours for Primary Schools
Throughout the Sculpture in Context exhibition, primary school groups can book a special guided tour of the gardens that includes some of the exciting sculptures both outdoors and in the gallery and glasshouse areas.
For further details and booking contact the Education and Visitor Centre
Sculpture Trail for Schools
A chance for both primary and secondary schools to explore the exciting outdoor sculpture exhibition. Come and collect your trail at the Education and Visitor Centre.
Saturdays 10th, 17th, 24th September and 1st, 8th, 15th October
Guided Walk: Through Sculpture in Context
Meet the Artists: On Saturdays throughout the exhibition, you will have a rare opportunity to join one of the participating artists for a guided tour through the exhibition to gain an insight into Ireland’s largest outdoor and indoor sculpture exhibition.
Time: 3.30pm. Meet in the Education and Visitor Centre
Thursday 15thSeptember
Lecture: Birdwatching in Dublin – an Introduction to the Wild Birds and the Birdwatching Sites of the County
John Fox, wildlife photographer, keen ornithologist and member of BirdWatch Ireland, Tolka Branch.
Organised with BirdWatch Ireland
Time: 8.00pm. Education and Visitor Centre
Saturday 17th September
Guided Walk: Biomimicry
How are scientists inspired by nature to create ingenious new inventions? Did you know that the idea for Velcro was sparked by a seed head? Can you guess which plants were responsible for the creation of water proof paint? Join us on this fascinating tour and find the answers to these and other examples of science mimicking nature.
Time: 2.00pm. Meet in the Education and Visitor Centre
€5 per person
Saturday 24th September
Children’s Workshops: Budding Artists and Hardy Annuals
Art workshops suitable for 4 to 7 year olds and 8 to 12 year olds. For further details and booking information see the Children’s Events section.
Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th September
The Dahlia Show
Following some years of absence, the National Botanic Gardens is delighted to host the return of the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland's Dahlia Show. Can you tell your pompom from your semi-cactus, or your decorative from your peony dahlia? Join us to find out all about the dahlias on display in the Teak House.
Organised with the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland
Open from 2.00pm – 5.00pm Saturday, 10.00am – 5.00pm Sunday
Monday 26th September
Exhibition of Wild Mushrooms with Howard Fox
A continental style exhibition of wild mushrooms will be held at the National Botanic Gardens. This is an opportunity to bring in foray baskets, meet and talk with mycologists to share experiences, and augment ones knowledge with the huge diversity of fungi in Ireland.
Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm. Meet in the Education and Visitor Centre
October
Daily Guided Walks: Autumn Colour
Autumn in the gardens is an incredible experience. Join us for a special guided tour through the autumn leaves and herbaceous borders savouring the seasonal colour and view some of the sculptures dotted throughout the gardens along the way.
Times: Monday – Saturday 11.30am and 3.00pm. €5 per person
Sundays 12.00pm and 2.30pm. Free of charge
Continuing until Friday 21st October
Sculpture in Context Annual Show
Sculpture in Context is Ireland's largest outdoor sculpture exhibition. Now in its 15th year at the Gardens, it offers an unparalleled opportunity to view well-established and promising future artists from both Ireland and abroad. For further details, see the Exhibition section of this brochure.
Daily throughout the Gardens and Gallery, Education and Visitor Centre
Saturdays 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th October
Themed Guided Walk: Fantastic Food
Do you know how the Aztecs grow their squashes? Or what the Vikings grew in their gardens? Come and join us for a fascinating insight into harvest time in the gardens.
Time: 3.00pm. Meet in the Education & Visitor Centre
€5 per person
Thursday 6th October
Irish Tree Society Annual Lecture: Managing Threats to Ornamental Trees
Mature ornamental trees face many challenges: climate change, weather, diseases and human activities. In this lecture, author and Head of the Arboretum and Horticultural Services at Royal Botanical Garden, Kew Tony Kirkham will illustrate how both local environment and management are fundamental to the health and longevity of trees: knowledge of their natural habitats may guide cultural practices to mimic them as best as possible.
Organised with the Irish Tree Society
Time: 2.00pm in the Education and Visitor Centre
Saturday 8th October
Lecture: Planning your Organic Vegetable Garden
Klaus Laitenberger has been growing organic vegetables in Ireland since 1999. For the last few years he has been working as a self-employed trainer, mentor and consultant in organic horticulture. This talk will help you prepare for the next growing season. Good planning is half the work done. Tips on how to bed down the garden for the winter, improve soil fertility and develop a crop rotation. Klaus will help you choose suitable crops and varieties and how to make a sowing plan for the following year.
Time: 2.30pm in the Education and Visitor Centre
Free event but booking essential
Thursday 6th October
National Tree Day Guided Walk: Terrific Tree Tales
In celebration of National Tree Day, we will be exploring the stories of many majestic and interesting old trees in the National Botanic Gardens as the spectacular autumn foliage appears. There will be a similar tour held in the National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh.
Time: 3.30pm. meet in the Education and Visitor Centre
Thursday 6th October
National Tree Day Tours for Schools
Tree walks for schools – Booking Essential! Hear some fascinating facts and tales about native and exotic trees alike and also learn how to identify some of our most popular trees. Suitable for 1st class and up.
Saturday 15th October
Children’s Workshops: Budding Artists and Hardy Annuals
Budding Artists
Join our ‘budding’ artists, a creative workshop especially for younger children taking place once a month, under the attentive eye of artist Niamh Synnott. Children are encouraged to take a closer look at the natural world all around them to inspire fun art-making activities. Suitable for 4 to 7 year olds.
Time: 11.00am-12.30pm. Meet at the Education and Visitor Centre
Cost: €10. Booking Essential, call 01 857 0909
Hardy Annuals
Why not join us for a guided discovery of the natural world where you can observe, engage, and be inspired by your surroundings. Participants in this art programme will be encouraged to use materials in fun and interesting ways while taking inspiration from the world of plants on show at Glasnevin. Suitable for 8 to 12 year olds.
Time: 2.00pm – 4.00pm. Meet at the Education and Visitor Centre
Cost: €10. Booking Essential, call 01 857 0909
Monday 3rd to Friday 7th October
Harvest Display Construction
Come along and see our harvest display being built.
Saturday 8th October – Saturday 6th November
Halloween Harvest Display
Enjoy this popular annual celebration at Glasnevin. Our Halloween Harvest Display is packed full of colourful pumpkins, gourds, fruits, nuts, and seeds of different varieties, all grown and harvested here in the Gardens. You can try your luck at guessing the weight of the giant pumpkin – the prize-winner will be announced on the 31st of October.
Thursday 20th October
Evening Lecture: Unusual Bulbs and how they Get in your Garden
John Amand runs thefamily business of Jacques Amand International Flower Bulb Specialists, which began as a flower shop in the Strand in 1927 and has grown to become a major supplier of bulbs, including well-established favourites as well as the rare and unusual. His lecturecovers the commercial growing of bulbs and plants some of which are thought to be rare.
Organised in conjunction with the Irish Garden Plant Society and the Alpine Garden Society
Time: 8.00pm in the Education and Visitor Centre
Saturday 22nd October
Decorated Pumpkin Competition and Exhibition
Take part in our decorated pumpkin competition, and your pumpkin can be part of a fantastic exhibition which will be on display in the Teak House. This unique event is a big hit with our visitors every year. Entries will only be accepted on Saturday the 22nd of October. Please check our website or at the Visitor Centre desk for entry forms and details on how to take part in this spook-tacular event! (Please remember we cannot except any carved or cut pumpkins!)
Sunday 23rd October
Halloween at Glasnevin
A bumper series of events will be held today. It’s Dress Up Day when all you witches and ghouls can dress to distress! View the Halloween Harvest Display and Decorated Pumpkin Exhibition, help spin a Giant Spider Web through the oak trees, and discover all about Magical Plants when you visit the witches in their garden! It all kicks off at 12.00pm. Prize giving for the Decorated Pumpkin Competition will be at 3.00pm in the Teak House.
Sunday 23rd October
Maths Week Ireland
As part of our Hallowe’en festival, Maths Week Ireland visits the Gardens. There will also be a wide variety of maths demonstrations, puzzles, mazes, maths tricks, and much more! Mathematicians, magicians, and puzzlers join us as part of Maths Week Ireland’s annual celebration highlighting the fun and accessibility of mathematics while celebrating Halloween too!
Thursday 27th October
Lecture: Human Genetic Differences; Unravelling which ones Matter
Dr. Anne Parle-McDermott, Senior Lecturer in Genetics and Principal Investigator of the Nutritional Genomics Group at DCU, will narrate our journey and fascination with the human genome to date and describe some of the latest findings and provide a glimpse of what the future might hold.
Organised with the Institute of Biology of Ireland (
Time: 8.00pm in the Education and Visitor Centre
Sunday 30th October and Monday 31st October
Children’s Event: Magical Plants
Visit the witches in their garden today and learn all about Magical Plants! Why not dress up and startle us in your spookiest style?
Time: 11.30am – 12.30pm and 2.00pm – 3.00pm
Monday 31st October
Guided Tour: Magic, Murder and Monkshood
For centuries people have delved into in the darker more ominous uses of our plants. From poisons and hallucinogens to alcohol and magic why not come along to this adult only tour for a look at the more sinister uses and seasonal stories behind some of our collection.
Time: 2.30pm, meet at the Education & Visitor Centre
€5 per person
November
Daily Guided Walks: Autumn Colour
Autumn in the gardens is an incredible experience. Join us for a special guided tour through the autumn leaves savouring the seasonal colour and tropical Rhododendrons in the Glasshouses.
Times: Monday – Saturday 11.30am and 3.00pm. €5 per person
Sundays 12.00pm and 2.30pm. Free of Charge
Saturdays 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th November
Themed Guided Walk: Rainforests
Take a stroll through the hot and humid tropic rainforest of our great palm house and immerse yourself in the world of the tropics. Then travel to the cloud forest of the mountainous regions of Asia in our curvilinear range while learning about the these amazing habitats along the way.
Time: 3.00pm. Meet in the Education & Visitor Centre
€5 per person
Saturday 12th November – Sunday 4th December
Exhibition: Heritage Irish Plants: Plandaí Oidhreachta
The Irish Society of Botanical Artists and The Irish Garden Plant Society have joined forces for this project, which highlights the wealth of good Irish Garden Plants and celebrates the best of Irish botanical illustration. This exhibition, of the original paintings from the book Plandaí Oidhreachta, features many well-known plants includingIrish snowdrops, dahlias and sweet pea along with primroses, iris and daffodils as well as a number of garden plants selected from the native Irish flora.
Daily in the Education and Visitor Centre
Saturday 12th November
Book launch and exhibition opening: Heritage Irish Plants: Plandaí Oidhreachta
Martin Ricks, Editor of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, Kew will officially launch the book Plandaí Oidhreachta, and open the above exhibition of illustrated heritage Irish garden plants.
Run in conjunction with the Irish Society of Botanical Artists (ISBA) and the Irish Garden Plant Society (IGPS)
Time: 12.00pm in the Education and Visitor Centre
Science Week Lecture
Wednesday 16th November
Lecture: Facts, Theories and the Scientific Process - Understanding big questions in science
To mark Science week, Matthew Jebb, Director of the National Botanic Gardens, will talk about the science behind a wide range of topics including GMOs, Climate Change, Creationism, Fair Trade and Organic produce. What should you believe? And how can you know the difference between facts and hyperbole? In our modern world science often comes out second best to politics and economics, a better public understanding and awareness of science is always called for.
Time: 3.00pm in the Education and Visitor Centre
Thursday 17th November
Evening Lecture: Dublin's Mediterranean Gulls
Sean Kingston of BirdWatch Ireland talks about the recent success of a new species for Ireland.
Organised with BirdWatch Ireland
Time: 8.00pm in the Education and Visitor Centre
Friday 18th November
Lecture: In Search of Sanctuary...Is it inthe Biologist's Contract to Inform and Lead Public Policy and Law Towards Environmental Sustainability?
Well known environmentalist Brendan Price is Head of the Irish Seal Sanctuary, Dublin. He is an Advocate for Ireland as a ‘Centre for the Advancement of Wildlife Rehabilitation’, partnering communities at home and abroad in efforts to live harmoniously with wildlife and the environment.
Organised with the Institute of Biology of Ireland
Time: 8.00pm in the Education and Visitor Centre
Mondays 7th, 14th and 21stNovember
Workshop: Beginner’s Photography with Eamon O’ Daly of the Outdoor Studio
The three-day workshop will cover all the basics of digital photography, how to understand your camera, and take better and more creative photographs.
Time: 10.30am – 3.30pm
Cost: €100. Book online at or call 01 849 2572
Saturday 12th November
Children’s Workshops: Budding Artists and Hardy Annuals
Budding Artists
Join our ‘budding’ artists, a creative workshop especially for younger children taking place once a month, under the attentive eye of artist Niamh Synnott. Children are encouraged to take a closer look at the natural world all around them to inspire fun art-making activities. Suitable for 4 to 7 year olds.
Time: 11.00am-12.30pm. Meet at the Education and Visitor Centre
Cost: €10. Booking Essential, call 01 857 0909
Hardy Annuals
Why not join us for a guided discovery of the natural world where you can observe, engage, and be inspired by your surroundings. Participants in this art programme will be encouraged to use materials in fun and interesting ways while taking inspiration from the world of plants on show at Glasnevin. Suitable for 8 to 12 year olds.
Time: 2.00pm – 4.00pm. Meet at the Education and Visitor Centre
Cost: €10. Booking Essential, call 01 857 0909
Saturday 19th November
Panel Discussion: Growers and Heritage Irish Plants
In conjunction with the exhibition Plandaí Oidhreachta, a series of panel discussions and talks will be held on Saturday afternoons throughout the exhibition.
Further details at
Organised by the ISBA and IGPS
Time: 2.00pm, Education & Visitor Centre
Saturdays 26th November
Children’s Event: Eco Christmas Crafts
Kids! Get crafty and make cool Christmas ornaments from recycled and natural materials. It’s fun to make your own decorations and good to know you’re helping the environment by reusing old card, paper, string, and plant material from the Gardens. Suitable for age 6 and up.
6-8yrs Time: 11.00am -12.00pm
8yrs & over Time: 2.00pm-3.00pm
Cost: €5. Booking Essential
Saturday 26th November
In conjunction with the exhibition Plandaí Oidhreachta, a series of panel discussions and talks will be held on Saturday afternoons throughout the exhibition.
Further details at
Organised by the ISBA and IGPS
Time: 2.00pm, Education & Visitor Centre
December
Daily Guided Walks: Seasonal Plants in the Gardens
Brighten up your December day with a guided tour of the seasonal plants looking their best at the moment such as Holly and the wide range of conifer trees in the gardens. Venture indoors to view the tropical Rhododendrons and of course the Poinsettia looking splendid in the glasshouses.
Times: Monday – Saturday 11.30am and 3.00pm, €5 per person
Sundays 12.00pm and 2.30pm, free of charge
Saturday 3rd December
Panel Discussion: Botanical Artists and Heritage Irish Plants
In conjunction with the exhibition Plandaí Oidhreachta, Patricia Jorgensen, Susan Sex and Lynn Stringer will participate in a panel discussion on the project.
Further details at
Organised by the ISBA and IGPS
Time: 2.00pm, Education & Visitor Centre