Sightsavers at Bord Bia Bloom Festival: navigating the garden

Zone 1

Fáilte, welcome to Sightsavers Gairdín na gCéadfaí, sensory garden. Can you feel a gritty red earth surface pathway under your feet? It gently curves to your right and will lead you through the garden.

To the left of the pathway, at ankle height, is a sunshine yellow curb for the aid of cane users, it accompanies the path all the way around the garden. In the evening or at darker times of the day, a white LED stripe light shines underneath the curb as spots of light appear nestled in among the plants.

Pillars of Irish larch wood reach from the earth and rise high above our heads to the height of a small tree. Some of them are approximately 2.5 meters high, others about two meters high. They accompany the pathway on either side and can also be used as guides. If you reach out to your right or left, you can feel the edges of the raw, unpolished wood. They are roughly three small steps apart. The QR codes are placed on some of the right-hand pillars, I’ll let you know when they are coming up. There are plants either side of the pathway.

Now let’s begin our journey. If you are able to lower your right hand to ankle height, at the foot of the pillar you’ll be able to feel a delicate, tiny, purple flower. This plant is called thyme and if you rub it ever so gently, you may notice an aromatic smell, similar to the smell of lemon.

As you stand, hang your right arm loose and swing gently backwards and forwards; your hand will touch soft grasses. If you’re very tall, perhaps you’ll need to bend your knees a little to reach.

You might notice a sweet smell wafting over from your left. Take a step sideways towards the left of the path, where you can run your fingers through a tall jasmine shrub. You may feel the delicate softness of the small, white star-shaped flower: this is what’s giving off the smell. Can you feel the green leaves that accompany it?

Zone 2

There is a larger gap between the pillars to our right where we can peek into the centre of the garden, where there are seats – we’re not quite there yet! And the back wall, which is decorated with mosaic tiles in block colours – blue, yellow, lime green and red. The foliage in the earth to our right – an explosion of large purple flowers mixed in with a large, waxy green leaves that has eight points and long grasses. Tucked underneath in the shade there are green ferns with curled leaves. Can you find them?

As we walk on, you’ll notice the path curving gently upwards, just a little.

Count six pillars to the next QR code.

Zone 3

Take a small step forward and reach out to your right to feel a bronze water fountain, you can run fingers through the water if you like. At your feet to the right and left more ferns and grasses. Can you smell something familiar? Take a step forward and you’ll find on your right another jasmine plant, breathe in the sweet smell. Can you hear a breeze rustling through the grasses? Count five pillars to the next QR code.

Zone 4

Here we have two different large, leafed plants if you reach both left and right. To your left the waxy, green eight-pointed leaf, to the right an even bigger leaf with a different texture. Can you notice the difference?

You can take three small steps forward and reach out to your left to feel a large, tall leaf that hangs over with the weight of itself. This plant is green with deep red edges, not unlike the path that we are walking on. It’s a banana plant. When you’re ready, move back over to the pillar on your right to find the next QR code.

Zone 5

Now we are in the centre of the garden – the courtyard. There’s a blue plastic armchair to your right. If you reach out, you can touch it and guide yourself around to the front of it. Your feet will touch a concrete seat: this is somewhere you can sit. Can you hear the water fountain? If you reach back, you can run your fingers through the water again.

High above your head is a beautiful West African piece of wax cloth – yellow with a blue fan pattern. The cloth, which is fashioned into a sail, is protecting us from the perhaps, imaginary hot sun. Why not take a moment to listen to the birds. Reach out to your right, what shapes can you feel in the plants? Are there any smells? If it’s a sunny day maybe, you can sense the light of sun peeping through the sails and foliage.

When you rise to go to the 6th and last QR code reach in front of you to find a red two-seater couch. Follow the front of this couch and when you get to the end take a few more steps to find the last QR code on the very last pillar to your right.

Zone 6

We are reaching the end of our journey through the garden. To your right and left are tree ferns that tower above us. At their feet lemonier smelling thyme, with a slightly different flower. If you have time to go around again you might be able to compare types of thyme, ferns, grasses, large leaves and the sweet smell of jasmine.

Thanks for coming to Sightsavers garden. Our vision is of a world that is inclusive and prioritises those left furthest behind.