Caragh Nurseries launch new garden design studio

The train carriage which will now house the Caragh Nurseries Garden Design Studio. Photo: Caragh Nurseries.

Caragh Nurseries has recently launched their brand new Garden Design Studio. In an interview with Jo McGarry of Caragh Nurseries, we discuss the value the new Garden Design Studio brings to Caragh Nurseries's customers, and the story behind the train carriage that it now calls home.

Retail

3 July 2019

Caragh Nurseries has revealed their new Garden Design Studio, adding to their range of services they can offer their customers, both residential and commercial.

Announcing their new Garden Design Studio on June 28, Jo McGarry of Caragh Nurseries said the new Garden Design Studio has been some time in the planning stages.

“Caragh Nurseries has been designing gardens for a long time, but in more recent years the garden design element of our business has been increasing, especially on the commercial side with our hotel and hospitality customers, as well as for commercial projects alongside the residential projects that we work on.

“With two full-time designers it is now necessary to have space to meet with clients and show them their plans, not only in their gardens and businesses, but also within the nursery, so that we can show them the trees and plants, and get a grasp of scale.”

Thew new design studio will also compliment the two designers that Caragh Nurseries has added to their workforce.

“We have two full-time designers on the nursery both coming at it from a different angle, one with an architecture background who has then branched into garden design and studied at the highly esteemed KLC School of Design in Chelsea, London; and the other has come from a horticulture background, studying here in Ireland but with many years experience in landscape architecture and garden design. Both [are] just as qualified to design commercial and residential gardens and (sic) with a strong CV in designing gardens for hotels, restaurants, large and small businesses, as well as a long list of residential gardens.”

The train carriage

The new design studio will be situated in what was once a neglected train carriage. However, a major face-lift later, the train carriage rises again from the middle of the nursery with the new role as the Garden Design Studio for Caragh Nurseries.

“The train carriage was unused and derelict in a nearby field, we took it as a project and brought it back to life. It used to be a train cafe on the nursery, but as we got busier, having 2-3 staff tied up just wasn’t viable, and so, it has been lying empty for several years until its resurrection.

“The carriage was a buffet car running, as we understand, from Dublin to Limerick, and we get visits from plenty of train enthusiasts who like to take pictures of it. The hardest part was getting it into it’s current position due to its length, and even now images of the carriage being craned in over our glasshouses still make me sweat.

“The train carriage has been unused on the nursery for a number of years and we have been looking to re-use it for something beneficial. When our second designer came onboard last year, we needed meeting rooms, and so the idea was born to recycle the train carriage and it was ideal as a design studio. It has plenty of tables and chairs and is bang in the middle of the nursery – ideal. It has had a face-lift, new branding, new design, and even if I say so myself, it looks pretty damn good.”

Looking to the future

We now have space to meet one or more customers, in private, and discuss their gardens. On busy days, our old office felt like central station and it was very hard to not be interrupted, so this is a great resolution. Coffee is always on-hand and with the added bonus of Caragh Nursery Park to showcase our more mature trees and specimens, we now have a great offering for all our customers.”

An event to be held to mark the launch of Caragh Design Studio, along with Caragh Nursery Park, will take place on Friday, July 5, from 3pm to 7pm. Prospective guest can contact Caragh Nurseries directly to get on the guest list for the day via email at jo@caraghnurseries.ie.