The water feature at the Council offices on Rosanna Road in Tipperary town has been transformed into a new rain garden.
The water feature had been damaged over the years with lights and pump fixtures out of order leading to an accumulation of algae and litter at times. Council officials were also concerned about safety as at times children and horses were seen paddling in the water.
The space has now been transformed into a garden with plants specially selected to provide year round blossoms and support for butterflies and bees. The plants are all perennials that are a mix of soft foliage, dwarf trees, shrubs and bulbs. The plants include a mix of Native Irish Ferns, Dwarf Rhododendrons and Fatsia Japonica at both ends of the space, the centre is a mix of Delphiniums, St John’s Wort, Buddleia, Hazel, Witch Hazel, Viburnum, Osmanthus – an evergreen shrub, Crinodendron hookerianum – with lantern shaped blossoms, River Birch, Hydrangeas, Magnolia and Camellia dwarf trees. The plants were chosen by Dundrum Nurseries to suit the modified water feature and the location which is exposed to large quantities of sunlight.
The garden will be watered by the rainwater that is already being harvested from the buildings on the site. The space is currently surrounded by plaques to celebrate some of the previous winners of the Tipperary International Peace Award – however as most of these plaques are faded they will be removed as part of this project and stored for a possible future use. A new Peace Path with signage displaying all winners between 1984 and 2023 had been installed in the Tipperary Hills Park. Council staff and Tipperary Tidy Towns Group assisted with the project which has an approximate cost of €4,000.
