Small Talk with creator of the Poppy Garden – Ealma Purcell

creator of the Poppy Garden – Ealma Purcell

Growtrade.ie talks to a self-taught garderner Ealma Purcell on creating the Poppy Garden in Oldcastle, Co Meath

Horticulture

21 May 2026

In association with Gardenworld Nurseries

At Growtrade, we’re running an interview series titled ‘Small Talk’, where we talk to various influential members of Ireland’s horticulture trade.

This week’s conversation is with the creator of the Poppy Garden – Ealma Purcell.

How did you first get involved in the horticulture sector?

It was when my husband built me my first little flowerbed, consisting of a wee stone wall attached to the front of the house! That was in 2007, and up until then I had absolutely no interest whatsoever in plants or gardening, I literally wouldn’t look at a plant.

I originally trained as a journalist beyond in London, and spent a mental decade in trade magazines in Dublin. Then I met Packie, we got married in 2001, and built our house. We had the typical Irish newbuild at the time, a house we built in the middle of an acre and moved into in 2003. Our first child (JP) came along in 2004 and Maisie in 2007, and at that stage the only plants outside were a few rushes and a heap of weeds. Then he built me the flowerbed, we filled it with compost, and I went to a garden centre and bought six plants, planted them and I was hooked! I haven’t stopped planting since. I have never had any horticultural training whatsoever, bar reading books and magazines and just learning on the job, mostly by killing hundreds of plants.

Luckily by then I was a stay-at-home mammy and over the years the one little flowerbed eventually became the entire acre planted up. I now struggle to fit another plant in. In 2003 I decided to open the garden (the Poppy Garden, as I called it) to the public. Much of my motivation for this was to have a cover to keep buying plants without Packie giving out, and in that regard it has been a huge success.

What was one of the proudest moments in your career to date?

I think it’s every time a bus-load of visitors head off having had a great time. Big groups are fantastic, but also nerve-wracking. I am worried about the weather, worried that everything in the garden should look perfect, hoping that everyone will enjoy it, there is a lot that can go wrong.

One of my first ever groups was the Irish Garden Plant Society in 2023, and I was nearly shaking before they arrived, imaging this group of extremely knowledgeable garden people who would realise I haven’t had a clue what I am at and know nothing about gardening and it would be a disaster. As it turned out, they were the nicest gang ever and just great craic. That was actually a great insight for me early on – most people coming to visit your garden will appreciate everything you have done, and actually, the garden tours have nearly turned into a stand-up routine at this stage. People love the craic, we can talk about the plants and do latin names and all that stuff, but the few men on the bus are going to get a bit of a ribbing and we will all have a laugh. It makes me very happy to see everyone leave with a smile on their faces.

What was one of the greatest challenges you’ve faced in your career to date?

I think it’s probably self-doubt. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would actually end up opening the garden, not even up to a few years beforehand. I developed it over the 17 years to opening with very little money, cuttings, division, seeds, bargain shelf plants, and asking for garden centre vouchers for every birthday and Christmas. And then when you go and visit other gardens and some of them are just like, out of this world, and you think you’ll never reach a good enough standard.

Even now, I still nearly get panic attacks about it. I guess you just have to believe in magic – and there is something magical about small private gardens that open to the public. Millions of photos and videos from when the garden looks magical, help me get through the bleak dark winters, knowing that with a bit of sunshine and lot of hard work, it will look magical again.

Could you give us an example of a recent success you had in your work?

There are loads of tours and groups booked in for 2026 and a huge interest in the open days, so it looks like it is going to be a mad busy year. I genuinely never thought it would become so popular as it has – open gardens are such a niche market.

Every time I meet someone who isn’t into gardening and they ask what I do and I tell them, it seems they can’t understand what I am saying! They’re like, “what, people come and look round your garden?!” and I can understand that. So yeah, to see it grow and get so well known is very gratifying.

What are the greatest challenges facing the industry today?

I suppose just from the point of view of an open garden, the current situation in the Middle East is very troubling for nearly every business, but if your customers have to travel to you by car or bus then any fuel shortages would just shut us down. And related to that, the rising cost of living means less disposable income for people, so less days-out, with the knock-on of less visitors and plant sales for us. Tourism numbers are also down, so there’s less holiday makers just touring round and looking for something to do. And finally, the bloody weather! If we had guaranteed sunshine visitor numbers would double.

What are the greatest opportunities facing the industry today?

I think since Covid more people are getting into gardening, and we provide a place for them to come and wander around and get inspiration for their own gardens or balconies or pot displays. And it is such a lovely thing to do – my ideal day-out is one spent visiting other gardens.

What advice would you give to someone just starting their career?

I feel very unqualified to answer this but I think if you want to spend a whole career in a job or sector, you have to love it! If you ever get that feeling of dread, you’re in the wrong game. But when you feel the magic every day, you are lucky to be doing what you are doing.

What are your hopes for the future of Irish horticulture?

We have such an amazing selection of both private and public gardens in Ireland, amazing nurseries, brilliant plantspeople, such an amazing diversity of gardens and styles and plantings, in such a small island – we really should be a world leader for horticultural tourism! Bord Bia need to start marketing the garden version of The Wild Atlantic Way.

The Poppy Garden is open Thursday to Saturday, from May to September, in Oldcastle, Co. Meath. Come along and enjoy the vibrant planting, quirky salvage finds, view to the Loughcrew Hills, the pups, a relaxing coffee and cake, and a superb range of fabulous plants and pots.

Small Talk is produced in association with Gardenworld Nurseries, one of the country’s leading wholesale plant nurseries, specialising in high-quality specimen trees, hedging, shrubs, and perennials.

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