Mary Reynolds is an Irish gardener, landscape designer, author and public activist, known for being the youngest contestant to win a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show. She currently works as an author, designer and environmentalist, and published her first book The Garden Awakening in 2016. Her career as a landscape designer and latter accomplishments inspired the biographical drama Dare to Be Wild (2016).
Early life Reynolds was raised on a farm in Wexford, Ireland with her parents and five siblings, of which she is the youngest. Her father, Séan Reynolds, worked as a soil scientist and farmer, while her mother, Teresa, worked as a full-time teacher. In her personal anecdotes, Reynolds claims to have developed her fascination with nature at a young age, often referencing a childhood memory in which she became lost on the family farm and felt the plants around her "leaning towards me […] fighting for my attention. They wanted me to know that they were part of my family." Reynolds studied landscape design at University College Dublin, graduating with a degree in Landscape Horticulture to pursue a career in landscape design.
Career and achievements
2002 Chelsea Flower Show Reynolds' design entry for the 2002 Chelsea Flower Show was delivered to RHS officials wrapped in mint leaves. An excerpt from the text reads; "People travel the world over to visit untouched places of natural beauty, yet modern gardens pay little heed to the simplicity and beauty of these environments." All contestants were required to provide evidence of a £150,000 sponsorship to fund their garden. While Reynolds provided the paperwork and proof of sponsorship, she later confessed; "It was very carefully worded so no actual amount was mentioned; [my sponsors] gave me a pound, so it wasn’t a complete fib." She later secured sufficient sponsorship to construct her garden. To complete the construction of her garden, Reynolds enlisted the help of Christy Collard and others from Irish gardening business Future Forests. Her design, titled ‘Tearmann sí – A Celtic Sanctuary’, was awarded a gold medal and gained public acclaim nationwide. The installation featured a moon-gate archway, leading down a path to four stone Druid thrones surrounding a fire-bowl placed over a pond. The garden was engulfed by traditional stone dry-walls and supported over 500 native Irish plants, such as hawthorns. Reynolds' installation was famously visited by Prince Charles, a regular visitor to the Chelsea Flower Show, who talked with Reynolds as they toured her garden.
Landscape design Reynolds' designs often feature:
Spiralling stone walls in the style of the Fibonacci sequence. Unkempt native flowers and wildlife, often referred to as forest gardening. Stone sculptures in the style of traditional Celtic constructions; obelisks, Druid throne. The shapes and patterns of nature.
Kew Gardens
Following her success at the 2002 Chelsea Flower Show, Reynolds was approached by the British government to design a garden for the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. Reynolds stated the design was inspired by W. B. Yeats' poem The Stolen Child. It featured a large stone sculpture of a sleeping faerie.
Delta Sensory Gardens: Stolen Child Garden
Reynolds was commissioned to design a garden at the Delta Sensory Gardens, within the Delta Centre in Carlow, Ireland. The garden mimics that at the Royal Kew, as it also features a stone faerie covered in moss, surrounded by a variety of native Irish fauna. The garden also features some topiary sculpture by Irish gardener Martin Monks.
Brigit's Garden: Gairdin Bhride Brigit's Garden is located in County Galway, Ireland. The garden was designed by Mary Reynolds under the commission of its founder Jenny Beale. Beale requested the design feature four central gardens, each inspired by the seasonal Celtic festivals of Samhain, Imbolc, Bealtaine, and Lughnasa. Each garden features a sculpture created by local artists, as commissioned by Beale. A limestone wall winds through the whole garden, with the Lughnasa garden featuring circles of limestone obelisks.
New Ross Library Park
The New Ross Library Park is located in County Wexford, Ireland. The park is inspired by Irish mythology and historical writings. It features a Clog Mór Amphitheatre and a sundial designed by Eamonn Hore and Liam O’Neill the sculptor. The trees planted at the park correlate with the Ogham alphabet that is displayed on a stone walkway.
Other projects and commissions Cornwall Seaside Garden at the Camel Quarry House in Cornwall, England: designed a terraced spiralled stone-wall. Celtic Gardens at the Monart Destination Spa in County Wexford, Ireland: features stone bridges and a terraced waterfall. The Convent Gardens and The Tree Of Life Garden at the Díseart Visitor Centre in County Kerry, Ireland. The 'Buncloch' or Foundation Stone garden at Farmleigh House, in Castleknock, Dublin, Ireland: features a small garden commemorating the Proclamation of the Irish Republic of 1916. Rooftop penthouse gardens in Dublin, Ireland: features fully irrigated garden terraces filled with assorted plants and trees.
Publications
The Garden Awakening: Designs to Nurture the Land and Ourselves (2016) Reynolds' first publication is an instructional memoir in which she promotes sustainable horticultural practice through "forest gardening", while also detailing her spiritual connection to the Irish landscape through the terms and symbols of Celtic paganism. In her text Reynolds covers the practice of permaculture and natural farming, foraging, keeping poultry, composting, and beekeeping. The book features illustrations by artist Ruth Evans, alongside drawings and architectural sketches by Reynolds, and a foreword by US author Larry Korn. The publication was publicly endorsed by fellow activist and anthropologist Jane Goodall, who stated the book helped guide readers to be "in tune with nature" and give their gardens a "sense of home". Other notable figures who shared their support of Reynold's writing include Sir Tim Smit, Co-Founder of the Eden Project; and James Alexander-Sinclair, judge and council member of the Royal Horticultural Society.
Views and activism
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