New therapy garden at Cork ARC provides cancer patients with a calm place to promote wellbeing

A new therapy garden at Cork ARC opens tomorrow, offering a quiet oasis to soothe and uplift those recovering from cancer treatment

Fri, 24 Apr, 2026 - 02:00

Deirdre McArdle

The first thing you notice at the Cork ARC therapy garden is a sense of peace. Next come the colours, bursting from every corner — reds, yellows, oranges, purples — a rainbow of vivid colour.

The garden, an extension of the Cork ARC Cancer Support House, came to life almost a year ago. When the cancer support centre moved into its new headquarters at Sarsfield House in 2019, the garden space was a wasteland, but its potential was quickly realised, says Stephen Teap, the centre’s CEO. “When I arrived in 2024, planning permission had already been granted for the garden, and the initial ground works had been started.”

The cancer services organisation relied heavily on volunteers and corporate support to bring the garden vision to life.

This place wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the support we’ve received, either through funding or practical support. Of course, a garden is a living thing, so we’re always looking for corporate volunteers to help us with maintenance throughout the year

Engineers, electricians, plumbers, and gardeners have all played a role in the garden’s development. “We had so many people and companies that gave us their expertise and helped us to organise the materials.”

Cork-based company TELUS International was instrumental in the garden project. “Every year they pick a project, and in 2025 our garden was their chosen project. The company brought Cork-based garden designer Anne Hamilton on board,” he adds.

The brief for Hamilton was comprehensive. “It needed to serve as a calm retreat, not just for those with a cancer diagnosis, but for their families too, because they so often bear the weight of it alongside their loved ones”, she says. “Alongside that, there were some very practical considerations: the site is sloped and surprisingly generous in size, so the design had to make thoughtful use of that space. Cork ARC was also installing several structures — a therapy cabin, a shed, and an open gazebo — and the planting needed to soften and connect those areas naturally.”

On May 17, 2025, the transformation from site to garden took place, with the help of 70 TELUS employees. All the plants and lawn turf were sitting on pallets that morning, and by the end of the day, the garden was born.

“It was like they waved a magic wand. Trees and flower beds were planted, and a lawn was laid, and almost in an instant it became our garden,” says Teap.

An elevated view of the Cork ARC therapy garden.

The garden sits at a lower level than the impressive period house, with different levels accessible via steps and ramps. One side of the garden is devoted to wildflowers. “This is our wild garden,” says Teap proudly. “Come the summer, you’ll see it absolutely popping with colour.”

The wild garden area covers steeply banked planting zones that wouldn’t support any real depth of soil, says Hamilton, which is why wildflowers made sense. These wildflowers are primarily native plants, including birdsfoot trefoil, black medick, corn chamomile, corn flower, field poppy, and knapweed black.

In mid-April, when we visit, the tulips are in bloom, with their cheerful colours bringing the garden to life. Several frothy cherry blossom trees attracting bees are scattered around the site, and they’re joined by the calming scent of lavender, which frames the built structures in the garden.

A glorious olive tree with a wizened trunk stands at the centre of a gravel area. The ancient tree has long been a symbol of peace, resilience, and longevity.

The fresh scent of herbs fills the air. “We added a selection of healing herbs, including lavender, rosemary and thyme throughout,” says Hamilton. “Lavender has many beneficial qualities, including promoting relaxation, reducing anxiety, improving sleep, and providing mild pain relief. Rosemary is known for being a natural anti-inflammatory, for boosting circulation, and improving mood. And thyme is a natural antiseptic rich in antioxidants — it also supports respiratory health and is a natural anti-inflammatory.”

For Teap and the team, the aim is to make the garden feel like a calm, nonclinical sanctuary for people who have received a cancer diagnosis or are in recovery, and their families.

“My goal is to see people in the garden, enjoying it. We want them to park their problems outside, come in here, get support, and relax in our garden. Or they could go for a stroll before or after an appointment and just embrace the space.”

The garden is already proving popular with those using Cork ARC services. In many ways, it serves as an extension of the house’s calm atmosphere, says Teap: “The therapy pod is already in use and is a lovely space for people getting counselling.”

Now that summer is on the way, the open gazebo will become invaluable, says corporate development officer Karen Dolman, and a former service user of Cork ARC. “We’ll bring our tai chi and yoga classes out here, and we will also be able to host teaser sessions of other classes like our activator pole classes,” she says.

Service user turned staff member, Karen Dolman. Today she is Cork ARC's corporate development officer, though she initially connected to the centre as a service user, after she herself was diagnosed with cancer.

Teap hopes that in time the shed in the garden will come into its own. “We have great ambition for this to turn it into a space where men feel comfortable using our services.”

The garden sits readily with Cork ARC’s core philosophy. “Our mission statement is ‘anybody who’s had a cancer diagnosis, we look after them’,” says Teap. “The garden is another way that we can do that. By providing a peaceful, healing place to promote wellbeing and restoration.”