A Mayo garden designer has created a stunning tribute to Ireland's unique oceanic forests of the Atlantic coast. 

‘Into The Forest’, a show garden designed by Ballina woman Sarah Cotterill, winner of the prestigious Cultivating Talent initiative sponsored by Westland Horticulture, celebrates the distinctive ecosystem of Ireland's western woodlands, while demonstrating how sustainable design principles can be incorporated into home gardens.

And now, Cotterill has been awarded a Silver medal for her contribution to this year's Bord Bia Bloom festival, that has started in Phoenix Park, Dublin today. 

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"Forest-bathing"

Sarah Cotterill, an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering at University College Dublin with expertise in sustainable water management, has created an immersive woodland sanctuary that evokes the restorative power of nature through the ancient Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku or "forest bathing". 

The garden is designed to encourage everyone to reconnect with nature and experience its profound benefits for mental wellbeing.
 
The show garden features a lush green canopy of birch trees symbolising new beginnings, under which mosses and ferns create a verdant woodland floor.

A boardwalk meanders past moss-covered boulders toward a serene reflective pool that captures the changing light of the sky and the foliage above. A sculptural bench offers a contemplative resting place, reminding visitors of nature's restorative qualities.

The garden integrates several sustainable design principles: Resilient "Right Plant, Right Place" Approach: Plants selected specifically for the location's soil, climate, and natural conditions.

Water-Sensitive Design: Fully permeable surfaces throughout, with water-retaining moss and mulch to reduce evaporation
Sustainable Elements: The reflective pool doubles as a rainwater harvesting system for garden irrigation, while moss-covered edging and lichen-covered deadwood have been thoughtfully recycled.

Sarah Cotterill, Cultivating Talent winner and show garden designer, commented: “I wanted to create a space that reflects the gentle wildness of Ireland’s coastal woodlands — landscapes that were once ubiquitous but are now increasingly rare. Just like these forests, moments of serenity are harder to find in our busy lives, which is why we created the sound bath experience.”

The restorative audio journey guided participants through the sensory elements of the woodland garden, deepening the connection to this unique ecosystem.

The sound bath experience invited visitors to appreciate the landscape that’s steeped in intuition and stillness...to notice the dappled light filtering through birch trees, breathe in the scent of moss and rain, observe the protective rowan with its fiery berries, and reflect upon the Irish proverb "An rud is annamh is iontach" (What is rare is wonderful).

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