The Hand’ marks arguably the most famous five-cross roads in County Clare – while in recent years it has become a destination for many green-fingered residents of the Mid-West.
Cottage Garden Centre & Gift Shop has been run by the Byrne family since 2003 when Lisa and Wicklow native Terry “took a leap of faith” and relocated to Clare from the UK with their young brood. “We didn’t know the area at all – we had never been here – but we were very lucky, we had the support of local people and others passing on the road,” recounts Lisa.
Looking back, she acknowledges the move appeared “a little bit crazy” to some but it’s one that has paid off. Now their two daughters, Charlie and Lauren, along with son David who is studying horticulture in Limerick, are all involved in the business. As Lisa puts it, “we live here and have put everything into it and it’s worked out really well”.
She admits that they have experienced highs and lows over their 18 years in business, and one of the more fortuitous offshoots of Covid-19 was the emergence of gardening as a new national pastime. A surge in interest in gardening intensified – arguably to the day – after Leo Varadkar’s historic address to the nation on March 12, 2020 when Ireland was sent into its first lockdown. Spending on gardening hit a record high in 2020 of €1.2bn (a 50 per cent increase on two years’ previous).
Lisa says the Byrne family like to think of their premises as a destination and they make time to get to know their customers. She’s witnessed first-hand the effects the pandemic has had on gardeners around the county. “It’s brilliant to see a surge of interest in gardening and people are asking so many more questions,” she reflects. “People have had more time at home, looking out at their square of grass. They might have seen a few more gardening programmes so their gardening knowledge has improved so much and people are doing more themselves which is brilliant to see.”
Another positive offshoot for the West Clare business was availing of the Trading Online Voucher from LEO Clare 12 months ago to get their e-commerce store up and running. Lisa admits it has already become an important income stream for their business, and they “didn’t realise it would be such a big benefit”.
Whether you’re experienced or not in your outside patch, Lisa says it’s never too early to start planning for spring and she encourages gardeners to call in for advice. “You can plan anytime for patches in the spring. If you have an idea or a picture from a magazine and you don’t know what it is, just bring the picture along and we can help you with identifying plants and help with laying out of plants and even if we don’t have them in stock, we can make note and they can buy them when they’re available.”
A festive benefit to calling in now is to experience their Christmas shop, which carries everything from decorations and ornaments down to candles and gift tags. Lisa admits she looks forward to a time after Covid when they can reintroduce hosting Christmas nights, where they share mulled wine, treats, spot prizes and of course conversation with customers.
Cottage Garden Centre offers all the typical flower, bedding and shrub offerings along with a generous range of beautiful pots and ceramics, graveside memorials, ornaments, lanterns and lights. A gift shop was introduced in recent years with all occasions covered from weddings to new baby gifts.
Find Cottage Garden Centre on social media, visit their online shop at https://cottagegardencentre.ie/ or call 087 686 5443.
