Bernard McMahon occupies a quiet but pivotal position in the formation of American horticulture. Born in Ireland around 1775, he was part of a generation shaped by political unrest, agricultural hardship and limited opportunity. Like many educated and ambitious young Irishmen of the period, he looked west. When he arrived in Philadelphia in the mid-1790s, the United States was still an experiment, politically fragile, culturally uncertain and botanically dependent on Europe. Gardening in the early republic was largely an act of imitation. Estates, town gardens and productive plots alike leaned heavily on English precedent. Imported seeds dominated the market, and success was measured by how closely a garden resembled those left behind.
Diarmuid Gavin, Award Winning Garden designer joined Pat Kenny on the show to discuss.
