30th May to 3rd June 2024
Our Garden of Music and Play at Bord Bia Bloom 2024
We are delighted to be present at Bord Bia Bloom this year with an uplifting, beautiful garden sanctuary, designed with the needs of children in hospital, their parents and staff in mind.
The garden has been created to show how supporters of Children’s Health Foundation bring joy to sick children in Children’s Health Ireland through music and play. It also represents the healing power of nature, designed into the gardens in the new Children’s Hospital, providing solace and fresh air for patients, parents and healthcare staff.
A Natural Sanctuary
“Children and families need spaces that provide both respite and diversion. Gardens are natural sanctuaries, they relieve stress for families and form an active part of patient’s therapeutic journey, incorporating fresh air, nature and most importantly play. The new Children’s Hospital will incorporate 4 acres of green space and contain 14 gardens and internal courtyards.
The design of our gardens is rooted in our commitment to nurture the physical, mental and spiritual needs of our children and their families. The planned gardens at the new Children’s Hospital aim to do just that, giving patients and their families a chance to relax, enjoy the outdoors and distract from medical care and treatment even for a short period of time.”
Tracey Wall, Children’s Health Ireland Clinical Transformation Lead.
The Power of Play
“Coming to hospital can be scary for a child, so health play specialists are there to make the whole process as positive as possible. Some parents tell us that seeing the health play specialist is sometimes the only thing that gets their child to agree to come to hospital.
Health play specialists work with children from birth to age 16. They help empower patients by using play as a tool to prepare children for medical experiences. They support children through procedures and help them feel more in control by giving them choices. Health play specialists also provide stress-relieving, therapeutic play after a child has gone through a challenging experience. It’s all about connection, comfort, and empowerment.”
Carolyn Parse, CHI Acting Professional Lead for Play.
Music Therapy – a positive note to any hospital stay
“Music Therapists are clinically trained to use music to encourage development, change and healing in sick children. The beauty of music therapy is that it is very natural, because everyone is born with the ability to respond to musical sounds, something that is not affected by injury, illness or disability.
Music therapy lifts low moods after a tough day and can relax and ease anxiety for young patients, particularly before a medical procedure. It also helps to reduce the perception of pain and can assist with helping people to regain their speech.
Music is a great complimentary therapy, bringing happiness and supporting healing for young people and their families.”
Alison Sweeney, CHI Senior Music Therapist & Site Lead.
Bord Bia Bloom Garden of Music and Play
Our garden designer Declan McKenna is the in-house designer at Silverstream Landscapes in Monaghan. Declan was a finalist in the Horticulturist of the Year 2012 and competed in the 2013 series of RTÉ’s Super Garden. This is his third show garden for Bord Bia Bloom. He previously won silver medals for his Sunwood’s A Contemporary Expression (2015) and the Know, Act, Prevent Garden for the Poisons Information Centre of Ireland (2023).
Thank you for the support of Kildare Growers, a collective of horticultural organisations based in Kildare. For over four decades the collective – consisting of Amour Nurseries, Doran Nurseries, L&K Dunne Nurseries, Rentes Plants, Schram Plants and Woodstock Trees & Shrubs – have worked together to develop and to foster a demand for their wonderful horticultural produce.
Plants featured in our garden:
Heuchera ‘Hollywood’
Polystichum Polyblepharum
Prunus Lusi. Angustifolia
Dryopteris Erythrosora ‘Brilliance’
Polystichum Setiferum
Dryopteris A. ‘Cristata The King’
Campanula Pers. ‘Alba’
Catananche Caerulea
Cirsium Riv. ‘Atropurpureum’
Delphinium ‘Highlander Cha Cha’
Dianthus ‘Memories’
Dianthus ‘Tickled Pink’
Lupinus ‘Gallery Blue’
Lupinus ‘Gallery White’
Lychnis ‘Petite Jenny’
Nepeta ‘Six Hill Giant’
Salvia ‘Eveline’
Salvia ‘Love And Wishes’
Verbena Bonariensis
Dryopteris Filix-Mas
Miscanthus Sinensis ‘China’
Stipa Tenuissima ‘Pony Tails’
Carex ‘Everillo’
Rosa ‘Olivia Rose Austin’
Hosta Sieboldiana ‘Elegans’
Lavandula ‘Vera’
Agapanthus ‘Summer Love New White’
Buxus Sempervirens Ball
Zelkova Serrata
Betula Utilus Jacquemontii
Acer Campestre
Hydrangea ‘Fairytrail Bride’
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Children’s Health Foundation Garden of Music and Play.