Artist’s collaboration with Mother Nature

TJ Maher gave up painting for two decades to create a gorgeous haven for people, plants and pollinators

One of TJ’s favourite places in the garden in early summer
Summer pots in Patthana garden in Co Wicklow Pic: Richard Murphy

As a child, painter TJ Maher spent his days wandering the fields and fishing near his home in Golden, Co Tipperary. This instilled in him a love of nature that is clear to see in his Co Wicklow garden, Patthana.

Patthana, he tells me, is a term he came across in a book on meditation meaning ‘to be present’. It was his partner Simon’s ...