The award winning boutique hotel One Pery Square has been busy this summer developing it’s newest project, a kitchen garden. Nestled in the courtyard of this cosy stylish hotel in the heart of Limerick’s Georgian quarter, the garden has been developed since an idea hatched last winter with local food writer and horticulturalist Valerie O’Connor. Chef Alan Burns and the hotels proprietor Patricia Roberts contacted Valerie to uptake the challenge and having recently completed a two year diploma in Organic Horticulture at An t’Ionad Glas in Co.Limerick she is keen to highlight the possibilities of growing your own food in the urban environment.
“This is a really exciting project as it brings elements of rural and urban together in a small space like a hotel garden”.
The garden has a raised bed with a bumper crop of Anyas, Jersey Royals and Nicolas, but the tomatoes are still green due to a lack of sun this year and the peas, runner beans and cabbages have done really well according to the team at the Pery No1.
All the crops are grown organically and the waste from the kitchen is composted in the gardens own composter. There has been a great response from diners when they get a steak sandwich with rocket that we’ve just picked from our own plot”, says chef Alan Burns. “For it’s first year the project has been a great success, and a learning experience”.
