Rothe House set for fantastic sunny event on plant sale and garden day in Kilkenny

Rothe House will hold its always eagerly-anticipated annual plant sale on Saturday (May 20) and this year there will be over 40 varieties of plants for sale.

All of these plants are grown in the Rothe House Garden under the watchful eye of Head Gardener Mary Pyke from bulbs, seeds and cuttings. This year, the first since 2019, there will be a fantastic display of flowers and plants on sale. Mary will be on hand on the day to advise on your garden queries and offer some nuggets of gardening wisdom.

There will be plenty for families too, with a vintage ice-cream cart, face-painting, giant bubbles and much more, it promises to be a fantastic afternoon in summer sunshine. Visitors will be in for another treat as the Lady Desart choir will perform in the afternoon from 2pm. Known for their beautiful harmonies and eclectic repertoire of songs, it promises to be a performance not to be missed.

May is one of the most glorious months of the year for gardeners and to celebrate the summer season the garden at Rothe House will be open to all on the day. Tucked away from the bustling street, the garden is a faithful recreation of the Renaissance style garden built by John Rothe and Rose Archer over 400 years ago.

Painstakingly reconstructed in 2008, the garden is completely enclosed and generally only accessible from the house. As such, it is hidden from view for many. On Saturday, locals can enter via New Building Lane, and will be greeted with the sights and smells of the herb garden, the heritage vegetable patch, the ladies’ lawn and the apple orchard, not to mention the abundant flowers, shrubs and borders.

All are welcome to come along between 11am and 4pm. The plant sale will continue all day, or as long as the plant stocks last. Rothe House and Garden is a non-profit organisation and all of the money raised on the day will go towards funding a new glasshouse for the garden so that next year’s plant sale will be even bigger and better.

So grab your sun hat and picnic blanket and come along to Rothe House to enjoy a few relaxed hours in Kilkenny’s most historical, urban garden.

Entry for the plant sale is via New Building Lane. Free entry, 11am to 4pm.