A DEBT drove Hugh and Kathleen Ward to open their Co Tyrone garden to the public. But it’s not a bank loan or super-sized utility bill that’s prompted them to allow dozens – or potentially hundreds – of visitors to file through the gates of Tattykeel House. Instead it’s a sense of obligation towards the Clarke Clinic, the regional paediatric cardiac ward of the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.
The couple’s nine-year-old grandson Caolan Ward was born with a congenital heart defect and as a result has undergone open heart surgery a number of times during his young life.
The Ward extended family is indebted to the nurses and doctors on both sides of the border who cared for Caolan. They now want to repay those efforts by helping raise funds for the the Children’s Heartbeat Trust.
“It is the least we can do after the care Caolan received and the support we have been given – we just want to give something back,” says Kathleen Ward.
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The charity is currently raising funds for the new Children’s Heart Centre in Belfast, which will be part of an Ireland-wide network of paediatric cardiac services.
Next Saturday and Sunday’s gardening opening isn’t the Wards’ first – they’ve previously welcomed visitors as part of the National Trust’s Open Gardens scheme, attracting 800 people over one weekend.
They also open their garden ‘by appointment’ for gardening clubs, etc, which recently secured them a place in Shirley Lanigan's definitive ‘Open Gardens of Ireland’, launched earlier this month.
The couple moved into their newly built Georgian-style home, with its two-acre garden, more than 30 years ago. There wasn’t a lot there when they arrived but, driven by a shared passion and inspired by the numerous gardens they’d visited, the husband and wife team set about transforming this corner of Co Tyrone into a lush and fertile haven.
Retired primary school principal Hugh enjoys the hard landscaping and lawn care, while former social services manager and artist Kathleen, with her creative background, takes charge of plant choice and design.
“The grounds hadn’t been developed at all when we first moved in – it was a rubble-covered building site, with the very minimum of poor quality topsoil,” Kathleen recalls, providing photographic evidence to support her claim. The transformation from arid infertility to the present-day prolificacy is both a testament to the couple and to gardening as means of enhancing and complementing a particular space.
“We previously had a much smaller garden at our first home, planted with roses and some shrubs. This garden has developed over the years through trial and error," she says.
The garden is just one outlet for Kathleen’s creative side. Working out of a studio nestled in the garden, she also paints in oils and on to various textiles and fashion accessories.
Her favourite view of the garden is from her studio, where she can gaze out on the liberally planted deciduous trees, conifers, shrubs, roses and wide variety of perennials. Husband Hugh favours the long vista from the gazebo at the top of the garden.
There's also a sheltered sitting area and the shaded Japanese themed area with ferns and hostas aplenty.
Why not visit next weekend and decide which view is your favourite?
:: Tattykeel House Open Garden Weekend will take place from 12 noon to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday July 1 and 2. Everyone is welcome to attend. A donation of £5 per adult will be required on entry and all children must be supervised at all times. Refreshments will be available. For more information contact Tattykeel House on 028 8224 9801.
