Antrim Castle Gardens showcased to celebrity garden

Deputy Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Cllr Rosie Kinnear, welcomed Mr Domoney and Richard Fry, Managing Director of Coleman’s Garden

Centre Templepatrick, to the the venue on October 6.

The guests met up with the Friends of Antrim Castle Gardens before embarking on a tour of the historic grounds. They then had the opportunity to see the

Platinum Jubilee Clockwork Garden, Large Parterre, Her Ladyship’s Pleasure Garden, the Long Canals and Clotworthy House.

Both visitors also heard about the council’s ‘Botanical Borough’ initiative, a concept adopted by the local authority to provide a clear vision to deliver award-winning open spaces, promote biodiversity and sustainability as well as help drive the growth of tourism and economic development within the borough.

The visit was part of a weekend of celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of Coleman’s Garden Centre.

Deputy Mayor Cllr Kinnear said: “Six decades of valuable contribution to our borough’s economy, plus generations of employment is an incredible achievement.

"I’m delighted the council is part of these celebrations which are a huge milestone for this extremely popular gardening establishment.

“Our recently announced £5.4m investment in upgrades at Jordanstown Loughshore Park and Hazelbank highlights the council’s commitment to deliver a Botanical Borough, which will continue to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to our region.

“I would like to congratulate Coleman’s on this significant achievement and I wish them every success for the future.”

Richard Fry MD of Coleman’s added: “From humble beginnings, the Coleman family business blossomed from a nursery wholesaler to eventually in the early 1960s purchasing the existing site and commencing trade as a garden centre in the 1980s.

“The garden centre has now become a significant visitor attraction and currently attracts over 400 coach trips to the borough from across Northern Ireland and beyond.”

During David’s visit to the borough he also met up with a number of other horticultural enthusiasts, including Tidy Randalstown who showed him around their Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Elevation Garden on the Viaduct and students from the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) at their Antrim Campus.