Peters Hill supported living scheme in Belfast has been crowned the winner of Choice Housing’s 2022 Best Kept Garden competition.

The winning garden has been transformed by residents and guided by scheme staff scheme staff into a comfortable outdoor green space for residents and staff to enjoy.

The scheme is jointly managed by Choice and Inspire and provides support to tenants with learning disabilities and mental health issues.

The Best Kept Garden Competition now in its seventh year, invites tenants across Northern Ireland to showcase their green-finger skills.

The residents and staff worked hard to overhaul and maximise the small area of the scheme, carefully selecting perennial plants to survive all seasons and boost biodiversity.

Several fruit trees are dotted around the garden and the residents harvest the produce to use in baking and jam making.

The colourful seating area is a popular spot, allowing residents and staff to enjoy nature and socialise outdoors.

Speaking at the prize ceremony, Carol Ervine, Group Director of Tenant and Client Services at Choice Housing said,

“The Choice Best Kept Garden competition has always been popular for our tenants; it is an opportunity for them to lead on an initiative that can have real benefits to their wellbeing. An outdoor space that can facilitate socialising, exercise, gardening, and a range of other activities can bring real benefits to the mental health and wellbeing of both our residents and staff.

“Supporting tenants to manage how their space looks and feels is equally as important. It is, after all their homes and their garden. Peters Hill has made their fairly small outdoor space into a welcoming, colourful, and thoughtful area for everyone”.

Conor Mullin from Inspire Wellbeing added,

“Access to fresh air and green spaces can have a positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing, and we have already seen the positive impact this new space is having on residents at Peters Hill. Whether you have an interest in gardening, want to socialise outdoors or simply want a welcoming space to spend some quiet time, this new area does exactly that.

Congratulations to the staff and tenants at Peters Hill, who worked very hard to transform their outdoor space.