We are thrilled to welcome Seamus O’Brien, head gardener at Ireland’s National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh, to Seattle. He will share the garden’s evolution and rich history, which date back to monastic origins in the 17th century. Two centuries later, it became a wild Robinsonian garden, when exotic plants and trees from international collecting expeditions were added. Seamus will also detail the exuberant restoration of Kilmacurragh’s 300-year old hay meadows. The spectacle launches in February, when a million crocus neopolitanus (native range: Italy, Greece and the Balkan Peninsula) bloom, making way for nearly 150 native wildflowers and grasses over the next six months. Among the stars are devil’s-bit scabious, lousewort, orchids, pignut and yellow rattle. Learn how the process has evolved since its beginning in 2007, including regenerative and sustainable management practices that have culminated in what Seamus calls “the little Noah’s Ark of wildflowers” and a haven for pollinators, birds and more. A lively Q&A will follow the lecture. 

Speaker Bio:

Seamus O’Brien, one of Ireland’s premier horticulturists, became head gardener of the National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh in 2006. He received his horticultural training at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin and holds an International Diploma in Botanic Gardens Management from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He is a member of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Woody Plant Committee and is a judge of the RHS Early Spring Shows. In 2018 Seamus was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland’s Gold Medal of Honour for distinguished services to horticulture in Ireland. In pursuit of botanical and historical knowledge, he has traveled to Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Tibet, Oceania, California and Chile. He is the author of two award-winning books: “In the Footsteps of Augustine Henry and his Chinese Collectors” and “In the Footsteps of Joseph Dalton Hooker: A Sikkim Adventure.”

Thank you to Bartlett Tree Experts for their generous donation to our 2025 Education Fund,

which helps make in-person events like this possible.

Additional Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXEz0SVhc_Q

https://www.instagram.com/kilmacurraghgardensopw/

https://www.instagram.com/seamus_d_o_brien/

https://www.facebook.com/nationalbotanicgardensofirelandkilmacurragh