Blarney Castle Poison Garden — Please Don’t Eat the “Daisies”
A short stroll from Blarney Castle, located behind the battlements, is a rather recent edition to the ground. This is the Blarney Castle PoisonGarden, which we’ll view today on the blog.
Warning Signs Abound!
Some of the plants here are not so much poisonous as they are beautiful to behold:
Multi-hued tree
While others are cordoned off more for being recreational, albeit illegal, rather than outright dangerous:
WARNING: Keep Off The “Grass,” “Weed,” or whatever else you want to call it
But enough of the the plants. Let’s take another look at some of the castle’s details. Remember the Blarney Stone we talked about last Wednesday? It’s 85 feet/26 meters above the ground, and directly above this yarn-adorned “window”:
Yarn-adorned window on the South Wall
But we have another site to visit here on the castle grounds. So, let’s swing around for one last look at the North Wall before heading for the Stable Yard:
Kissing the Blarney Stone — not for the faint of heart
We’re today going to take a look at the famous Blarney Stone, a structure some tourists feel the need to kiss. Planting your lips upon this rock, you’ll forevermore have bestowed upon you the gift of gab (great eloquence and skilled flattery). And who doesn’t want to become a silver tongued devil?
How “Blarney” came about
The Blarney Stone is actually atop the east wall of the castle keep. You’ll recall the north wall from last Monday, and you can see it below. That’s the wall facing to the right of the image. It’s atop the opposite south wall, not pictured here, where the Blarney stone sits:
Blarney Castle — North wall right side; East (Blarney Stone) wall left
In this next image, taken below the watchtower, shows the east wall of the keep. The top structure here is very similar to the south wall, so you can get an idea of how the Blarney Stone is situated. If this were the south wall, it would be in a spaces above one of the uppermost windows:
Watchtower and east wall
Now let’s head on over to the south wall and watch a tourist plant his mouth of this disgusting piece of stone:
Getting into position — suspended at a great height, and on one’s back
Why did I just say disgusting? Well, let’s forget for a moment the centuries of lips that have preceded your visit. Let’s even disregard the stories that this stone was installed as a deflector for a toilet (yuck!). Instead, let’s just focus on the rumors that drunk local youths like to make the trek up there and, to this day, empty themselves of their Guinness or Smithwicks.
Getting ready
Whether that’s true or not, it’s enough to make me want to forego the experience. I’ll just miss out of the gift of gab instead. Now let’s watch our intrepid hero cast caution to the winds:
Decisions — Murder in Paradise
The Globe — Murder in Luxury
R. Doug Wicker — Author 