DDiscover AloneMap About A

People's Garden

Garden

People's Garden — Photo: P L Chadwick, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Original Geograph photograph · Report the wrong picture

Explorer Tom

The People's Garden gives Phoenix Park a wonderfully democratic flourish: twenty-two acres of Victorian flower beds, a lake and space to sit down without first joining a royal household. Dublin has bigger spectacles, certainly, but this one lets the flowers do the talking. They are surprisingly persuasive. The ground began as the Promenade Grounds around 1840 and was laid out and enclosed as a public flower garden in 1864. It lies between the Parkgate Street and North Circular Road entrances. Winding paths, specimen trees, lawns and a restored Victorian bandstand preserve the pleasure-ground idea, while the ornamental lake and playground give today's visitors something to do besides admire bedding schemes with a serious expression. Look closely at the pond margins. Phoenix Park's own nature account describes a mature reedbed here, with moorhens, coots and mallards among the wetland life. There is also a more recent and moving work among the old garden forms: Embraced Loop, installed in 2023 as Ireland's national monument to those affected by HIV and AIDS. The garden is allowed to be playful and thoughtful in the same afternoon, which is a rare skill. The wider Phoenix Park is free and open around the clock, but the People's Flower Gardens have their own hours, normally 8 in the morning until dusk, with the closing time changing through the year. Enter by the marked park gates and check the day's notice if arriving late. Bring a picnic, follow the paths around the lake, and see whether a place designed for public strolling still knows how to make you slow down.

What is recorded here

From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) n3057071672

What do you know about this place?Tap to add a comment or ask a question

Places near here

Photo credits

renee_mcgurk, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Marathon, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
Maker named on the Wikimedia Commons picture page · CC BY-SA 3.0
Kmcnamee, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mauro Tozzi, Wikimedia Commons
N Chadwick, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

Silver maple17 yd

Explorer Tom Silver maple in County Dublin is secretly proud of a single potato it grew last year, which it considers its finest…

Carlisle MonumentMonument · 57 yd

Explorer Tom Carlisle Monument in Chapelizod is just a pedestal now because the statue got lost or stolen. It was built for an Earl…

Seán Heuston MonumentMonument · 75 yd

Explorer Tom Seán Heuston Monument in Phoenix Park has made its New Year's resolution: stop looking so serious all the time. It…

Sean HeustonMemorial · 78 yd

Explorer Tom Sean Heuston in County Dublin is locked in an eternal feud with the rain, because every time it gets wet, he looks like…

Silver Lime242 yd

Explorer Tom Silver Lime in County Dublin has an unlikely celebrity friend who used to sit under it writing bad poetry about love…

Jerome ConnorMemorial · 272 yd

Explorer Tom Jerome Connor Memorial in County Dublin is linked to the Lusitania disaster, which is a big deal for ships. He sculpted…

Monument of RemembranceMonument · 331 yd

Explorer Tom Monument of Remembrance holds thirty-six names on granite, which is serious stuff, but I bet two families are feuding…

Phoenix Park Pitch, St. Oliver Plunkett Eoghan RuadhGAA ground · 764 yd

Anna LiviaPublic artwork · 873 yd

Explorer Tom Anna Livia changed address and kept her river manners. I could learn from that. Anna Livia once lounged in a long…

Phoenix Park (Camogie), Portobello GAAGAA ground · 883 yd

Islandbridge LodgeVisitor information · 884 yd

Explorer Tom Islandbridge Lodge is hiding a secret tunnel that leads straight to the nearest pub, but only if you knock three times…

Pearse LyonsHeritage attraction · 1216 yd

Explorer Tom Pearse Lyons Distillery occupies a former church on James's Street in Dublin's Liberties, which is a way to make a…

More things to do in County Dublin · All of County Dublin

Add to this placeAdd a picture Add a detailed tip Add a story

Explore the map1,095,414 places to discover

Next place · or swipeSilver maple