Belfast Plant Stories - First plant to make you fall in love with taking care of plants

We asked the people of Belfast what was the first plant to make them fall in love with taking care of plants

Our first Belfast Community Plant Library event was completed last Friday at Culture Night, but we still have some plant stories to share including from the main team, starting with Karishma Kusurkar @karishmasworld who shares with us here a bit about her love for plants!

Last Friday we had the best time hosting Belfast Community Plant Library at Bankmore Square for Culture Night 2026!

Belfast Community Plant Library was a collaborative project all about connecting people, place, plants and creativity and had lots of parts including:

- Plant Furniture Installation created by @d.keyssustainablewoodworking and the @greenremakehub

- Plant Clinic with @jillydougan

- Co-design workshop, Zine and Flax Seed Kits with @onebite.design

- Exhibition and origami plant pot making with our Design Hothouse Residents @rachelcowie_graphics and @beth__schmidt

- Belfast Plant Map of plants found growing naturally in Belfast and places to pause in Belfast City Centre illustrated by @thomasbannondraws

- Leaf rubbing and interactive information gathering posters

Event funded by Belfast City Council and venue provided by @linenquarter

Photos kindly taken by @creativedavephotography

Beautiful light in our Hill Street studios this evening ✨️ 💛 ✨️

Fingers crossed it will stay dry for @culturenightbelfast this Friday! but just in case the weather is not kind to us our Design Hothouse Residents have been busy designing and making their own shelter for their exhibition as part of the Community Plant Library using sustainable materials!

This will protect their interactive exhibition about plants, design and Belfast which also includes the cutest origami plant pots they have designed that you can pop along and make and take home with you on the night!

About the exhibition:

During the Design Hot House residency our residents @bethschmidt and @rachelcowie_graphics worked collaboratively, exploring how plants are incorporated into Belfast, this included exploring what grows in Belfast, the city’s decorative features in buildings and their part in history and the benefits growing plants has on us and our surroundings. This led them down a few routes of experimentation through cyanotype, collage and creating shapes inspired by features across the city’s buildings and homes which were also melded into the branding of this year’s Design After Dark.

Pop along to Bankmore Square on Friday from 4pm to see their work, learn a bit about plants, design and Belfast and get yourself a mini origami plant pot to take home with you!

Belfast Community Plant Library Team Plant Stories - @rachelcowie_graphics Multidisciplinary Designer and Design Hothouse Resident.

As part of our Design Hothouse Residency Rachel along with @beth__schmidt created the beautiful artwork for the Community Plant Library, they have also been working hard to create an exhibition for the Community Plant Library event, in Bankmore Square on Culture Night (this Friday from 4pm)

Come along to see their beautiful and enlightening exhibition about plants and Belfast and plants and design.

Here you can read a bit about Rachel and her genuine passion and enthusiasm for plants

One of my favourite elements of our Community Plant Library project. This beautiful Belfast Plant Map which has been thoughtfully illustrated by Blick resident and talented local illustrator @thomasbannondraws

The Belfast Plant Map shows some of the plants and trees we found (often in unexpected places) growing naturally throughout the city centre. It tells some of the stories of these plants and highlights some of their benefits.

The map also shows some of the places in Belfast City Centre (with varying amounts of plants and nature) where you can pause, sit and enjoy a moment of nature and the benefits it brings to your wellbeing.

Most of these places don`t have as many plants as they could have. Whilst in many ways overall Belfast is a pretty green city with around 2,390 hectares of open space across the city the city centre isn`t as green with some inner-city areas having just 1–7% tree cover, while some outer areas have as much as 43–49%. So, while Belfast is already green in places, there’s a real opportunity to bring more trees, plants and green space into the inner city areas and communities that arguably need them most.�

Call in to see us at Bankmore Square on Culture Night from 4pm to pick up your free Belfast Plant Map

Belfast Community Plant Library Team Plant Stories - David Keys Woodworker

Here we get to meet some of the team behind the project and find out about their love of plants and why they wanted to get involved. Today hearing from @d.keyssustainablewoodworking woodworker and creator of the interactive plant installation that will feature in Friday`s Community Plant Library event at Culture Night. The installation has been thoughtfully designed as a living evolving space, using sustainable materials so passersby can interact with the installation adding and taking away plants throughout the event

COMMUNITY PLANT LIBRARY PLANT CLINIC

A special Culture Night drop-in plant clinic with local plant expert @jillydougan is happening this Friday at Bankmore Square as part of our Community Plant Library event.

Jilly will be sharing her knowledge on edible plants, engaging with the public and answering people’s questions on growing and caring for edible plants.

Come along to Bankmore Square on Friday to get some free samples and learn more about plants 🪴 🌱 🌿 🌾 🌵

Belfast Community Plant Library Team Plant Stories - Gardener @jillydougan

Here we get to meet some of the team behind the project and find out about their love of plants and why they wanted to get involved. Starting with gardener @jillydougan who will be hosting a plant clinic for us as part of our event at Culture Night this Friday evening at Bankmore Square

The Belfast Community Plant Library is a collaborative initiative that connects people, place, plants and creativity.

The Belfast Community Plant Library will pop up at Bankmore Square during Culture Night Belfast 2026 (Friday 18th September, 4pm onwards) and will feature an interactive design installation, workshops and of course, the plant library!

There will also be lots of plant freebies, including Belfast Plant Map, a special zine giveaway, seeds and plants as well as the following activities.

INTERACTIVE PLANT FURNITURE INSTALLTION

At the heart of the project will be an interactive design installation. Designed as a living, evolving space, the installation will invite participation from the public.

The structure will be sustainably manufactured by David Keys Woodworker using environmentally responsible materials.�

PLANT CLINIC

A special Culture Night drop-in plant clinic with local plant expert Jilly Dougan engaging with the public and answering people’s questions on plants and growing and caring for edible plants.

CO-DESIGN WORKSHOP

A community co-design workshop led by One Bite Design Studio will bring together event attendees to collectively shape and build the installation. Participants will be encouraged to contribute plants alongside stories and memories that reflect Belfast’s relationship with plant life and place.

So… come along to learn more about plants, growing and to take, share and swap plants.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Friday 18th September
Time: from 4pm
Venue: Bankmore Square

Everyone is welcome and no advance booking is required.

Belfast Plant Stories - Biggest or Silliest Plant Care Mistakes

Ahead of our Community Plant Library event at Culture Night next Friday we asked the people of Belfast for their biggest or silliest plant care mistakes...

You can find details of the event on our website

Belfast Plant Stories - What’s your earliest plant memory?

We asked the people of Belfast what their earliest plant memories are.

Belfast Plant Stories - How Taking Care of Plants Makes You Feel

We asked the people of Belfast how taking care of a living green thing changes their mood and makes them feel

How the idea for Belfast Community Plant Library came about after @karishmasworld and I (Christine) visited Hong Kong in 2024 to create a @belfastdesignwk design installation for the British Council Spark Festival.

When we were in Hong Kong we got a last minute invite to visit Alan Cheung in the beautiful @onebite.design studio and saw their Community Plant Library outside and instantly loved the idea of bringing something similar to Belfast.

As a follow on to our recent Grow Your Own Way project that was all about bringing designers and growers together to explore the potential of supporting residents in Belfast’s Botanic and Holylands areas to grow their own food within the city to improve their health and wellbeing.

We also thought the Plant Library was a great accessible, welcoming intervention that used plants to create new opportunities for interaction and improving wellbeing in the city and thought it would translate very well to Belfast.

We kept in touch and in 2025 Alan and his business partner Sarah Mui visited Belfast then later that year we worked together on our Islands of Design project for Irish Design Week, before finally in 2026 we have found the opportunity thanks to support from Belfast City Council to bring the project to Belfast at our next Design After Dark event during Culture Night on Friday 18th September where we will be at Bankmore Square from 4 - 10pm with lots of plant and design related activities including:

- See and interact with our plant library, bringing and taking away plants

- Share your plant stories and wishes and ideas for a greener Belfast

- Learn about how to care for and grow your own edible plants with our plant expert Jilly Dougan

- Learn how to make your own mini planters with Green: Remake

- Pick up a Belfast Plant Map and Zine, as well as some seeds and planting materials

And much more

This is a free drop-in event, just pop by and say hello!

Community Plant Library - Belfast Plant Stories

Exploring Belfast’s relationship with plant life and place through the plant stories of the local community. Plants in some shape or form are an important part of life for most people. Forming some of our earliest memories, helping the environment and positively impacting our health and wellbeing.

As part of the Community Plant Library project we have collected personal plant stories from people across Belfast to explore the different ways plants connect with our lives. On the run up to the event on Culture Night we will be sharing out some of these stories. Starting today by sharing the stories of some of the people from Belfast and why they love plants!

If you love plants let us know why?

Our latest roundup of funding and opportunities for NI Creatives.

01. Business Innovation Grant

BIG helps support sole traders, micro-businesses and SMEs in Northern Ireland to develop and bring their innovation activities to market with a grant of up to £20,000.

Closing date: 4th September, 12 noon

 

02.Wear Her Story

Applications are now open for Wear Her Story, a free cross-border creative programme from Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) and Glow NI that will help young women aged 16 to 25 explore fashion, heritage, wellbeing and emerging digital technologies.

Closing date: 11th September

 

03. Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Offering Visual Artist Residency Opportunity

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council is offering a new residency, based at Down Arts Centre in Downpatrick from September 26 to April 27, 2026.

The opportunity is open to a visual artist to provide dedicated time and space to develop their creative practice while engaging with audiences and communities across the district.

Closing date: 9th September

 

04. National Lottery Rural Engagement Arts Programme

You can apply for an award of between £500 and £10,000 for a project, which can last up to one year and can take place on any dates between 1 December 2026 and 30 November 2027.

Deadline: 24th September, 12noon

 

05. InvestNI Leadership and Capability

Develop your strategic leadership capability in order to take your business to new heights.

 

06. Creative Spark Residency Programme 2027

Creative Spark is pleased to offer three Artist-in-Residence opportunities designed to support artistic development, creative exchange, and engagement with our facilities and local community.

07. Creative Belfast Internship

The Belfast Buildings Trust, in partnership with leading cultural organisations, proudly presents the Creative Belfast Internship Programme- the second instalment of a six-month paid internship designed for young people aged 18-25 to gain meaningful experience within Belfast’s vibrant creative and cultural industries.

Deadline: 11th September 5pm

Full listings including links on our website blog

https://blickstudios.org/blog/

The sixth week of our @belfastdesignwk collab  Design Hothouse Residency with @rachelcowie_graphics and @beth__schmidt, this week working on finalising details with Blick resident Alex Synge @thefirst47 for the Design After Dark and Community Plant Library artwork to be ready to launch online in time for @culturenightbelfast on Friday 18th September. Then starting to think about how to exhibit the artwork for Culture Night.

We are excited to officially launch both projects and share Rachel and Beths beautiful artwork online later this week!