Horizon House had been blessed with a large area of land for its gardens, but many of them needed the Greenfingers' 'treatment' to turn them into magical spaces for the children and families at the hospice.

This was the first Children’s Hospice garden outside England that the Greenfingers was able to improve. The Quiet Room garden and the Memories garden received a complete make-over with a revamped water-feature and additional plants and climbers were included to create a better and more peaceful ambience. 

The main Play Garden needed additional drainage and by adding brighter but low maintenance evergreen plants to give extra shelter the whole area was given a new lease of life. 

Finally, a new courtyard garden was installed, directly outside the bedroom windows, which with its pretty summerhouse, trickling water, stepping stones and colourful display of plants provided a wonderful place for even those children with greatly restricted mobility to access.

Construction was by the Landscape Centre – and the garden improvements came largely from ideas put in by all the members of staff who, throughout, showed great interest in the project.

In the presence of the local mayors, the suppliers of many materials (nearly a third of the cost was donated as gifts in kind) the improved gardens were opened on Wednesday 29 October 2003 by Cherrie McIlwaine of Ulster Radio.

 

Address:

18 O'Neill Road, Newtownabbey, Belfast, Nort, BT36 6WB

29/10/2003

Garden Completed