FIT FOR OUR NEW KING
A truly special guided tour of the new Botanical Borough in County Antrim
AS I’VE written here previously, I have been working on the idea of a Botanical Borough in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland for some time, and the Coronation of King Charles III gave us a chance to launch it.
Since he was young, the then Prince Charles has had a love of gardening and the environment. By developing a space to celebrate his Coronation, we felt it would be fitting to add to what is already a beautiful place, Hazelbank Park on the shore of Belfast Lough in Newtownabbey outside Belfast.
I drew up a list of ingredients, from a native wildflower meadow to humour, a hint of song and dance, along with whimsical features and classical architectural proportions.
We started building and I wrote to the King, explaining the project and the principles behind it. His reply led me to believe that we were on the right track… and just a week before his Coronation he sent his warmest wishes.
As our small team built and planted, we had a visit from the palace. Enchanted and concerned in equal measure, they stood in mud while listening to my dreams for a potential visit. Soon they were followed by a team of security making their assessment.
We hadn’t made it easy for them – the garden was an island within a public park and we had chambers underground for the mechanical workings.
But news soon came through that a visit to the garden was on their
Northern Irish itinerary so we picked up the pace, and opened the garden on schedule on Coronation day for the public to enjoy.
At 5pm we closed it again… I’d had another idea. I asked permission to add another garden to the main one, a quieter spot in the shade of some trees, with a stone pavilion and a bubbling pond. The local authorities agreed and we had nine days to build a new garden.
And so, surrounded by security at 1.30am in the morning we finished planting, cleaning and watering, just 11 hours before the royal couple were due.