Small Talk with landscape architect and garden designer – Peter Donegan

Peter Donegan is an international and local landscape architect / garden designer and speaker based in Dublin, Ireland

Peter Donegan talks about his achievements, experiences, and challenges regarding garden designing

Horticulture

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4 December 2025

In association with ICL

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

This month’s conversation is with landscape architecture and garden designer – Peter Donegan.

How did you first get involved in the horticulture sector?

Ultimately I was a geeky Jarvis Cocker-esque one of eight children growing plants under my bed aged 6 fascinated by a plants stimulus to light (what I know now to be phototropism), figured out how to propagate and created my first garden aged 9. At a time when horticulture wasn’t the coolest hobby in the world and garden design in Ireland certainly wasn’t considered an occupation to embark upon. Fast forward a little and I‘m studying horticulture in Teagasc Kildalton College and designing gardens under my own name aged 25.

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

Without question, the Label Architecture Contemporaine Remarquable for the gardens I designed at the Historial de la Grande Guerre, better known as the 13th century castle, Château de Perónne in France. The Remarkable Contemporary Architecture Label was described to me as a Michelin star for historic landscape and building architecture that is not older than 100 years.
I think maybe because one can’t apply to achieve it and the prerequisite to that was me being selected by a French jury to design a first garden (2018) to commemorate the centenary of the ending of the First World War and then to be invited back and commissioned (2022) to design a second inaugurated garden in the castles inner courtyard.
There‘s something special about knowing that abroad I did the right thing by the people of a town that became my second home twice, was inaugurated by the Irish Embassy Paris twice and was then recognised by their own government.

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

Without question my second garden designed at Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2024. It was the shows featured garden, designed to highlight suicide rates in veterans – 107% higher than the normal populous in females, 30% higher again in males and the highest demograph of homeless. Logically, if the garden did not evoke that feeling and emotion and therefore I had got it wrong, I don’t think I’d ever have been welcomed back, not just to the Southern Hemispheres largest flower show but to design internationally anywhere. A potential career ending, dangerous as versus safe, design. The day after the garden was accepted, Martin Semken (the most medalled contractor in shows history) told me his father built the F111 Bombers for the Royal Australian Air Force. Whilst that and his daughter Nicole certainly ensured getting detailing exact, there is no magic formula in anticipating the publics response or eliminating a self imposed pressure. I guess I wanted it right for those who needed a light shon upon them. Four awards for the same garden later and I‘m due back in 2026 to design a permanent park for Australia’s Veterans. Still, the greatest challenge ever.

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

The courtyard school garden I designed for Mercy College Sligo winning the European Finals at the Pro Landscaper International Awards in London this October. It was shortlisted against but one other finalist, a 20,000 hectare beautifully designed development in Portugal. In June 2026 I will travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to present my designs and compete at worlds finals.
In reality what a beautiful moment for school principal – Ann Gorby, her team and one entirely wondrous town and their school. In the end it will always be because she, dared me to dream a design for the students and not so much for “the grown ups“.

What are the greatest challenges facing the industry today?

The biggest challenge horticulture ever had was always young people. Entering the industry in any format or, willingly taking it up as an interest. The reality is where they spend most of their time from 4 to 18 years of age outside of home is school, whilst nationally we have a tendency to build the building and car park (of the latter very similar to the design of a retail park), all the while invariably one teacher is fundraising for a green house and growing seeds on a window ledge. I know that‘s not the case everywhere. I‘ll be forever grateful to one elder in my secondary school without whom I‘m unsure I’d be in this industry today.
Of amenity horticulture (as versus some vegetable growing) on the one hand there’s the mental health benefits we all speak of a lot more openly now. On the other, we shouldn’t have to travel to a park to see a beautiful garden and the next generation should sit surrounded by nature and daydream of structures that are ridiculous to some but entirely beautiful to others. That, is art, architecture, horticulture and everything in between that allows daydreams to become a reality via a set of technical drawings, mathematics and engineering. If nothing else, today’s pupils are the future, who will plant trees, support our garden centres, see the value in employing a garden designer or professional contractor and just maybe see the worth in taking up horticulture as a vocation.

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

Horticulture education, work hard, learn how to do all of the “terrible“ jobs, have a dream and a business plan – if only written in bullet points on a piece of scrap paper and never ever look back. Don’t be afraid to get in touch and if I can help at all I certainly will.

What are your hopes for the future of Irish horticulture?

Bloom has come of age and certainly has helped propel Irish horticulture, Carmen Cronin is doing something quite beautiful with other garden festivals around the country and Blarney Castle and Gardens for example with Adam Whitbourn at the helm are achieving their own acclaim. It is worth bearing in mind that we are still young as an industry. I don’t so much have hopes more, if it keeps on this trajectory with the right mix of daydreamers and make it happen planning, the future will be extremely bright and more beautiful.

Small Talk is produced in association with ICL, a world-renowned leader in agriculture, food, industrial products, and a top global producer of specialised fertilisers.

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