Welcome to the Robinson Garden at Earlscliffe, Baily, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Where subtropical plants flourish at 53.3° North latitude

This website is dedicated to the memories 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 N. 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 without any winter protection. 

This is not simply the result of skilled plantsmanship 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.

Advantage is taken of the auspicious situation to test the climatic hardiness of plants from all five continents. No plants are protected artificially even in the coldest weather so that realistic information on hardiness can be obtained. 

The Earlscliffe house itself been owned by an variety of people with links to a number of episodes and events in Irish and world history. 

This site is continuously being updated to include both scientific data and information for the general enthusiast. If there is anything in particular that you would like to see in greater detail, please contact .

Please note that the garden is not currently open to the public and there will be no formal garden tours around Earlscliffe in the foreseeable future. For further details, please contact

What's New?

• Major site updates are on the horizon. Watch this space!

Content on this site - please note

This is a non-commercial site and its contents (including images) are copyright of the site owners (unless otherwise stated) and cannot be reused (in any form) without permission. If you wish to reuse any of the content, please contact  who will be happy to discuss this with you. Any reuse, though, must be for non-commercial purposes.

If you are the owner of any copyright material that has inadvertently been included on this site, please contact  who will be happy to remove or amend as necessary.

Where we think it will be relevant to visitors to this site we may refer to publications that we consider of value. This will not be a recommendation of that publication or publisher. All links are for information only.

Any horticultural or scientific advice is included on this site for information and educational use only and the site owners will not be liable for any damage caused by following any advice given in these pages.  However, we would gladly appreciate your feedback!

We welcome your feedback on either the Robinson Garden at Earlscliffe or on this web site. Please contact   .

This page was last updated on 02-Oct-2017.

Ireland's largest and most spectacular gardening event	For more information on some of the plants grown at Earlscliffe
To find out about one of the longest established horticultural societies on Dublin's north side, visit the Howth & Sutton Horticultural Society	Visit the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin to see some of the plants that grow at Earlscliffe