PRESS RELEASE: For immediate release
Saturday 31 May 2025
Entries on a postcard! Highly Commended NI Bord Bia Bloom pop-up garden has acquired brain injury in mind . . .
NI-based horticultural business Seedability, is celebrating a first with their highly commended Postcard Garden at this year’s Bord Bia Bloom Gardening Festival at Phoenix Park, Dublin.
Music in Mind and Place is all about the natural rhythms and melodies of nature through a green space, constructed to catch the elements from the breeze, through the rain and under the sun. Willowy grasses, ethereal planting and artwork in the form of an up-cycled mannequin dressed as a fairy entitled ‘Flourishing in Times of Change’ by Wendy Kelly, set the scene for this unusual garden, complete with a rain chain umbrella, helps communicate a message of resilience and achievement despite setbacks and challenges. While the colourful spiral backdrop design lends thought to how changes to the brain may uniquely affect how those with acquired brain injuries may perceive the world around them.
With conservation in mind, the quirky rain chain, made from old cutlery, beads, crockery and hardware accessories, is designed to direct water to underground storage. Visitors will also notice an illuminated box sign, which simply uses the word ‘Hope’ which is perhaps the one word this small garden conveys in spade loads.
The story behind the garden is linked to acquired brain injury, which may result from many issues such as stroke, accident, infections, hypoxia, tumours, metabolic or hypoxia/anoxia.
An acquired injury is not present at birth and in many cases people affected may find life very different than it was before. Seedability linked with acquired brain injury charity, Brain Injury Matters to develop artworks for this garden.
One of the Seedability garden designers, Sandy Carney said,
“We very much enjoyed pulling this space together and working with Brain Injury Matters. The artwork developed by the charity’s participants brought a playful but poignant slant, to what can be a difficult message to communicate with planting alone. It is a challenge trying to include the many facets of acquired brain injury into such a compact space without making it overwhelming.
Adding, We are absolutely delighted to be highly commended for this, our first attempt and importantly, given the opportunity to showcase the work of Brain Injury Matters who make such a positive impact on people with acquired brain injuries and their families”.
Ciara O’Malley, Creative Arts Manager with Brain Injury Matters, Belfast explains why a positive outlook on living life to the full is very much a part of the charity’s ethos,
“We believe that while living with an acquired brain injury does in many cases cause life-altering changes, that it doesn’t have to mean people can’t continue to live an active and rewarding life. Our participants are a positive bunch that grab opportunities and find new ways to do old and new things!”
ENDS//
For more information please contact:
Tel: Gill McNeill 07850 657785Email: gill@mcneillmedia.com
Interviews can be arranged.
Photo captions:
Quirky outlook – the Seedability garden featuring the Brain Injury Matters fairy, resplendent with her rain chain umbrella.
Seedability Postcard Garden at Bord Bia Bloom Gardening Festival 2025.
Notes to editors:
About Seedability
Seedability is a horticultural business run by two trained horticultural professionals. We offer social & therapeutic horticultural therapy, horticulturally inspired courses for everyone and promote and sell sustainable seeds & other planted products. We also provide sustainable garden design consultancy services.
Through our work we have linked with the UK-wide acquired brain injury charity, (BIM) Brain Injury Matters. We have designed a small outdoor space at their Belfast office to enable their service users to engage with nature and embrace growing in a more sustainable way.
The garden ay Bloom is succinct, sustainable and we hope will provide inspiration for all those who visit. Importantly, it will be a space, which will be easily replicated in any garden, or green space, using moss, ferns & pops of colour through clever use of flowering species.
We are a hands-on team who plan to develop simple but effective garden design, which makes a real difference for people and place.
seedability.co.uk
About Brain Injury Matters
Brain Injury Matters has earned a reputation for developing and delivering a range of innovative programmes and initiatives led by a dedicated team of passionate, caring and experienced professionals for individuals affected by brain injury, their carers and wider community.
We work with children and adults with acquired brain injuries and their families to develop programmes, which help individuals, become more independent, achieve their goals and enable them to adjust to life with an acquired brain injury.
braininjurymatters.org.uk