Description: Apart from the superb view southwards across Dublin Bay to the Wicklow Mountains and eastwards along the coastline to the Baily lighthouse, the most notable feature about David Robinson's Garden at Earlscliffe is the large collection of tender plants that flourish here at 53.3° N. This is not simply the result of horticultural skill, but is also due to the unusually favourable microclimate. The garden slopes to the south and benefits by being close to the sea and also from the 180 metre high Hill of Howth o
This website is dedicated to the memory of David Robinson (1928-2004) and Muriel Robinson (1929-2016).
The Robinson Garden at Earlscliffe is on the Howth peninsula, just north of Dublin city, at a latitude of 53.3º North. This means that it is further north than Newfoundland, and on the same latitude as Manchester in England, Hamburg in Germany, the southern part of the Hudson Bay and Edmonton in Canada, and Minsk in Russia. Yet despite being much nearer to the north pole than to the equator, bananas, tree ferns, South African Erica and a range of palms flourish outside all year round, without any winter pro
This is not simply the result of horticultural skill, but owes a lot to the unusually favourable microclimate. The garden slopes to the south and benefits by being close to the sea and also from the 180 metre high Hill of Howth on its northern side. With the advantage of the warm current from the Gulf of Mexico almost encircling Howth, it seems that the peninsula can grow a wider range of plants than any other place of similar latitude.