Airfield Farm

Airfield is Dublin’s only working urban farm, while the estate is 35 acres, the farm land makes up about 20 acres. Today visitors of all ages can experience what it is like to be on a farm whilst in the middle of the city. Our farm related programmes respond to the natural rhythms of the seasons, with celebrations taking place during Harvest, Spring and Summer. We also have a range of regular farm related activities such as “Meet the animals” and the young Farmers group.

Airfield belongs to the old town land known as Drummartin and the fields are believed to have been farmed since the mid 1700’s. The field structures remain largely the same from that time, a characteristic we are committed to preserving.

The Overend sisters were particularly well known for their pedigree herd of Jersey Cows, and we are pleased to have recently reintroduced a herd to the farm.

The farm continues to be focused on live stock and functions as a fully working farm raising claves and lambs as the main production animals.

The farm is a small holding and is based on the traditional farming practices of mixed animal husbandry. The animals on the farm range from cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, donkeys, miniature horses and ponies to geese, chickens, and ducks.

Airfield has made the conscious decision to become sustainable in the farming practices that it employs to both its live stock and its land management.

Airfield Garden

The Overend sisters, Letitia and Naomi’s’, great passion in the garden were their collection of cacti and succulent plants and they found the perfect place to display them. They won many prizes at garden shows and even wrote for the cacti and succulent society newsletter. On entering the garden at Airfield, we honour the sisters by restoring the collection to the old melon house. Aeonium arboream‘Schwartzkopf’, Agave parryi, aloes, crassulas, echeverias, haworthias and many more sit beside each other like strange underwater creatures.

The old Victorian glasshouse is home to a magnificent specimen of Agave americana ‘Marginata’. Both sisters were photographed as babies in the arms of their father, Trevor in front of the Agave. Known as the century plant, as it was thought to take a 100 years to flower, this specimen is over 120 years old and we are still waiting. All other agaves around the garden are children, grandchildren or great, great grandchildren from this one plant.

The old cutting garden is now the Hot and Cold Border. The contemporary mixed planting of annuals, perennials, ornamental grasses, shrubs, trees and bulbs, which is the style at Airfield, flow from screaming reds, pinks and oranges to the cooler blues, whites and grays.

The old Victorian walled garden has been redesigned within the last 20 years. Still edged with the espaliered fruit trees of the Overends’ and 2 stately old Bramley apples trees, it is now a series of garden rooms edged with box or hornbeam and includes a formal rose garden, a small ornamental pond, exuberant side borders and a soft romantic bed of pinks, blues, purples and pale yellows that can be viewed from the café terrace.

The formal front lawn has many large specimen trees that date before the Overends time, Cedrus deodora, Sequoiadendron giganteum, Araucaria araucana, Ginkgo biloba, and Metasequoia glyptostroboides.

In a quiet corner of the front lawn is Tots. It is named after Letitia, as it was her favourite spot in the garden and the final resting place for their beloved pets. A woodland garden, it is packed with dainty spring flowers and bulbs, epimedium, Narcissus ‘Rip van Winkle,’ Iris reticulata, Tulipa ‘Lilac Wonder’ and many, many more. During the last few years over a 100,000 bulbs have been planted in the gardens at Airfield and give a wondrous spring display.

The Yew Border, edged with old Irish yews, Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’ leads down to the South Border. This is a lush tropical border in summer filled with cannas, dahlias, bananas, gingers and lots of tender shrubs and lifted every winter to the protection of the polytunnel only to be replaced by a flamboyant display of spring bulbs, double daffodils mixed with parrot tulips and imperial fritillaries.

The Green Fingers Garden, Airfield’s young gardeners club, is backed by a lovely old stone potting shed. Abundant with produce and quirky in style, these wonderful young gardeners do all the work under the supervision of Airfields garden team.

A culinary and medicinal herb garden at the end of the chicken run leads to the new Vegetable garden. One area is used by Airfields vibrant educational programme, a local Back-to-education programme has an allotment area for growing fruit and vegetables and the privileged staff at Airfield have their own small allotment plots and meet every Tuesday lunchtime to work, harvest and swap seed and ideas.

Head Gardener, Emer O’Reilly has a wonderful team of professional gardeners, Ken Whelan and Anne-Marie Walshe, horticulture students and volunteers. At 2.00pm every Wednesday, Emer gives a tour or practical demonstration for the visitor.

The gardens are worked sustainably, with no artificial pesticides or fertilizers, and enriched with Airfields own compost and mature manure. Airfield’s garden is a living entity that grows and changes from season to season in the endless pursuit of perfection that is never reached but with daily moments of great beauty and joy.

Sustainable Saturdays

On the last Saturday of every month Airfield will celebrate an aspect of sustainable living with dedicated talks and workshops. Each month a different activity will be platformed from beekeeping to poultry farming, soap making and more.

Be sure to check out our Sustainable Saturday Book Swap - bring a book you have enjoyed and would like to pass on and find a new gem to take home with you

Grow it Yourself meetings take place on Sustainable Saturdays at 3pm.GIY brings people who are interested in growing their own food together to talk, learn from each other and exchange tips, produce and war stories.

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