Kildare native stars in new TV series about Irish horticulture

Home Grown is a brand new 7-part series which celebrates the Irish Horticulture industry,  presented by two of the sector's dedicated advocates, Kitty Scully and Kildare native Colm O’Driscoll.

A dedicated exponent of organic horticulture and craft gardening, Kildare born Colm O Driscoll spearheaded the transformation of the gardens in Airfield Estate in Dundrum from part building site to one of Ireland's must-see gardens. This November sees him taking up a new position as Head of Gardens in Lismore Castle.
A Graduate of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland Colm has enjoyed a diverse career gaining experience in many sectors of the horticultural industry including, landscape, retail, nursery stock, and organic food production.  

Colm strives to innovate and introduce new and exciting plants while adopting sustainable methodologies, an endeavour that is clearly seen from his regular contributions to The Irish Garden Magazine, and through his lectures and workshops. Colm has an insatiable appetite for all things horticulture and he can regularly be found indulging in a busman’s holiday visiting various gardens. 

Kitty and Colm travel all over Ireland in search of stories that celebrate Irish Horticulture and growing in all its variety. Ireland is a world leader in mushroom production. The GAA has its own farm where turf is grown for the pitch. Cut foliage grown in Tralee is used by high end florists in London and other parts of Europe. Grapes grown in North Co Dublin are being turned into wine. 

As well as stories about the different growers and producers, there are visits to inspirational gardens which are open to the public. This recognises the fact that, partly as a result of Covid, there has been a surge of interest in gardening.

Horticulture is the science and technology of plant cultivation. The horticulture industry in Ireland encompasses both food production and the production of ornamental plants and trees. The horticulture industry is an important economic sector in Ireland, with an estimated 6,600 people employed full time in primary production activity, and a further 11,000 employed in value added and downstream businesses such as wholesale, retail, distribution, landscape and garden design; and construction as well as local authority and county councils and parks and landscaping services.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's provisional estimates put the Horticulture industry’s farmgate value in 2021 at €521m. This places the industry as the 4th largest sector in terms of gross agriculture commodity output value. Of the €521m total output, Edible Horticulture production represented €423m and Ornamental Horticulture €98m.

"A career in horticulture is not for the faint-hearted as it embodies so many challenges" says Kitty. 

"It was fascinating to hear stories on the ground, and refreshing to meet so many resilient, hard-working, charismatic characters; dedicated to keeping this often overlooked industry alive and embracing old and new innovative technologies in the process''.

"What excited me most about recording Home Grown was the opportunity to get behind-the-scenes access to many of the leading enterprises in Irish Horticulture", says co-presenter Colm. 
"The vast range of those we visited is a testament to the vibrancy and diversity of the industry here in Ireland." 

Programme three:

This week Kitty Scully heads to Enrich in Kilcock in Co Meath where she sees how valuable compost is made from waste products.

 Colm O'Driscoll is also in the county as he visits Summerhill Lawns in Trim. Growing turf for lawns has become big business, and Colm learns how one of the country's largest turf growers manage to grow, and mow, acres of lawn.

In Dublin, Colm heads to Lusk to chat with apple grower David Llewellyn who also grows grapes on his farm to produce Lusca wines,

And in Rush, Kitty sees how technology is changing the way lettuces are grown at Morning Fresh Farms.