The Garden of Hope
Introducing the Make-A-Wish Ireland Garden of Hope
Make-A-Wish Ireland are delighted to present the ‘Garden of Hope’ at Bord Bia Bloom 2025.
This garden is a symbol of the respite, joy, and hope that wishes provide to critically ill children and their families.
Created in collaboration with the Smurfit Westrock Foundation and award-winning landscape designer, Linda McKeown of BlueLeaf Garden Design, the garden reflects the charity’s mission – to bring hope, strength and joy to children living with life-threatening illnesses – brought to life in a modern, sensory-rich, and emotionally resonant space.
About the Garden
This modern, naturalistic, and accessible space is designed to capture the magic and wonder Make-A-Wish brings to children across Ireland. A rich sensory experience unfolds where vibrant colours, soothing scents, and diverse textures create an atmosphere of tranquillity and possibility.
Concentric circles shape the design, symbolising unity and the cycle of wishes granted. Lush planting and carefully selected materials weave together to form a welcoming retreat. At the garden’s heart, a pergola shelters a peaceful seating area, embraced by curving rills that introduce the calming presence of water.
A focal point is a handcrafted piece created by a wish child using their kiln received in 2024 – an enduring testament to the transformative power of a wish. Among the greenery, a bespoke dandelion sculpture, sponsored by Cairn, stands as a poignant symbol of the moment a wish is made – a time filled with wonder and the infinite promise of hope.
The Meaning of the Garden
Why Make-A-Wish Ireland are at Bord Bia Bloom
To generate awareness of our services and their impact, particularly the message that Make-A-Wish’s services are available to children with a broad set of diagnoses and prognoses, not solely for terminal cases.
Our Garden Designer Linda
Linda McKeown has been a professional garden designer since 2001. Based in Belfast, she designs private, public, and commercial garden spaces, combining her passion for plants with her love of simple, contemporary form.
Linda is a member of the Garden and Landscape Designers Association (GLDA) and has created several award-winning show gardens for Bord Bia Bloom, many of which have been in support of charitable organisations. She has won six medals at Bloom, including gold medals for the Enable Ireland Diversity Garden in association with Solus (2019) and St James’s Hospital (BRAVE) ‘Highlighting Hereditary Cancer’ Garden last year.
Our Partners
We have partnered with two fantastic organisations for this year’s Board Bia Bloom, without which participation would not have been possible.
Smurfit Westrock Foundation are the headline event partners, facilitating our presence at the Bord Bia Bloom event, with Cairn as our sculptural partners, sponsoring the dandelion sculpture for the garden and supporting with rehousing costs.
The Garden of Hope Features
Our Dandelion Sculpture
Our striking dandelion sculpture is a bespoke piece that captures the exact moment a dandelion releases its seeds into the wind – symbolising the powerful moment of a child making their wish.
A single second of hope, strength, and magic in the midst of a difficult journey.
Thank you to Cairn for sponsoring the creation and rehousing of this feature.
Our Pottery Feature
At the heart of our garden sits ‘Emmet’, a beautiful pottery sculpture created by Abi, a talented young artist and former wish recipient.
Abi crafted Emmet using the pottery kiln and clay tools she received as her wish in 2024, and now, her special creation will take centre stage as a powerful symbol of hope, creativity, and the life-changing magic of a wish.
Planting Information
The Garden of Hope will be filled with relaxing planting that brings a sanctuary-like feeling to the space. The planting includes:
Silver Birch Trees (Betula Pendula)
Flowering Dogwood Large Shrubs (Cornus Kousa or Cornus Florida)
Clipped Evergreen Globes
Wood Ferns (Dryopteris)
Perennial Evergreen Grass (Carex Testacea)
Blue Oat Grass (Helictotrichon Sempervirens)
Blue Spire Shrubs (Perovskia Atriplicifolia)
Catmint (Nepeta Racemosa)
Caradonna (Salvia Nemerosa)
Black Barlow (Aquilegia Vulgaris)
Plume Thistle (Cirsium rivular ‘Atropurpureum’)
White Flowered Fox Glove (Digitalis Purpurea ‘Alba’)
Mexican FleaBane (Erigeron Karvinskianus)
Geum ‘Mai Tai'”
If you have more questions about the planting used in our Garden of Hope, chat to Linda at the Bord Bia Bloom show.
Rehousing
Sustainability is at the heart of our project at Bord Bia Bloom 2025 – because just like a wish, we believe in creating impact that lasts long after the event.
After Bord Bia Bloom ends, the Make-A-Wish Garden of Hope will live on – with the majority of the garden’s features being donated to the Phoenix Park Specialist School, where it will bring calm, connection, and joy to primary school children with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Principal of Pheonix Park Specialist School, Emma Stokes, told us “Make-A-Wish’s Garden of Hope is set to brighten up our outdoor space and inspire our whole school community to connect with nature.”
