Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Trust

04/04/2026

How to visit the Peace Maze: There is new signposting and maps in the area of the car parks. However, it may be useful to mention especially to people who have not been to Castlewellan Forest Park that the Maze is on the higher ground immediately adjacent to the main car park.

04/04/2026

Happy Easter everyone 🐣🐣
Things to do:
Visit the Peace Maze at Castlewellan - celebrating its 25th anniversary and it is still the largest maze in Europe.

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1384253170415037&id=100064911003269

Visit the Annesley Garden at Castlewellan which has recently opened after a number of years of restoration.
The Peace Maze and the Annesley Gardens are close to each other within the Castlewellan Forest Park.

The 25th anniversary of the planting of the largest hedge maze in Europe, located within the picturesque Castlewellan Forest Park in Co Down, is to be celebrated with a series of events over the next few months.

The Peace Maze — which opened in 2001 only three years after the Good Friday Agreement — was created with the help of over 4,000 schoolchildren who planted 6,000 yew trees in the hopes of celebrating peace in Northern Ireland.

The initial concept was created with a design competition which pupils entered.

At its opening in 2001, it held the Guinness World Record for the largest hedge maze in the world, featuring over two miles of paths.

It is now still recognised as the largest in Europe.

01/04/2026

Today the hard working NIHGT Committee had a very constructive in-person meeting in the Europa Hotel, Belfast. Lots of forward thinking and planning!

18/03/2026

Reminder:
NIGHC Admin is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

'Sustainability in a Heritage Garden: Hillsborough Castle and Garden' With Claire Woods
TONIGHT - Wednesday 18th March At 7:00 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87941526100?pwd=7ASUcgFv95Hr75hlGkSQQx9NzP0RKT.1

Meeting ID: 879 4152 6100
Passcode: 192324

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18/03/2026

Reminder:
NIGHC Admin is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

‘Sustainability in a Heritage Garden: Hillsborough Castle and Garden’ With Claire Woods
TONIGHT - Wednesday 18th March At 7:00 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87941526100?pwd=7ASUcgFv95Hr75hlGkSQQx9NzP0RKT.1

Meeting ID: 879 4152 6100
Passcode: 192324

12/03/2026

Spring Lecture 2026

Head Gardener Claire Woods has been managing and developing the gardens at Hillsborough for the last 7 years. She will explain what sustainability means in the context of a heritage garden and how the principles and practices can be used in gardens of any size.

Claire has worked in horticulture for her whole career much of it teaching and lecturing at CAFRE. She is interested in many aspect of horticulture and is an active member of the NIHGT, IGPS and is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Horticulture.

Wednesday 18th March
At 7:00 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87941526100?pwd=7ASUcgFv95Hr75hlGkSQQx9NzP0RKT.1

Meeting ID: 879 4152 6100
Passcode: 129324

23/02/2026

Spring Lecture 2026 18/3/2026 @ 19.00 on ZOOM

22/02/2026

ANNOUNCEMENT:
OUR 32nd ANNUAL CONFERENCE 1-3 OCT 2026 will be on the theme of:

The Historic Role of American Plants in British and Irish Gardens

NIHGT 32nd Annual Conference, New Ross, County Wexford- 1-3 October 2026

Commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence, this conference aims to highlight how North American plants have profoundly shaped our gardens, evolving from the exotic, treasured specimens brought back from the early colonies to the staples of modern prairie-style planting popularised by Piet Oudolf.

Pioneering expeditions in the 17th-century, such as those of Tradescant to Virginia, brought back the tulip tree, swamp cypress, phlox, asters and Virginia Creeper, while collectors in the following century, such as John Bartram and Peter Collinson, introduced maples, magnolias and rhododendrons among many others, fostering a trend for 'American gardens'.

The 19th-century exploration of the Pacific North-West coast by collectors such as David Douglas, Thomas Coulter and Theodor Hartweg, introduced many more new trees and shrubs, their transport helped by the invention of the 'Wardian case', all of which have made an enduring impact on our parks and gardens. Conference will the visit the J.F. Kennedy Arboretum, established in 1968, which has one of the most comprehensive and significant collections of woody plants in the world.

Please visit our web pages to Join our mailing list for updates.

https://www.nihgt.org/contact/
OR
https://nihgt.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4e03be89c0d9864a149b7ce58&id=4775a47aaa

Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Trust Email Forms

29/01/2026

Save the Date - Annual on-line Lecture on Wed 18th March 2026 from 7pm
Clare Woods the Head Gardener at Hillsborough Castle Gardens will give an illustrated lecture on Sustainability in Heritage Gardens.
Booking details to follow soon.

22/12/2025

We are very saddened to learn of the passing of our dear friend, Seamus O’Brien, at home in Kilmacurragh. We have lost a real Champion!
We extend condolences to his family & friends.