Galway based garden designer Prof Derek O’Keeffe achieved a Silver medal for Croí – the Cardiovascular Garden, sponsored by Croí, at Bord Bia Bloom, the national flower, family, and food festival which took place over the weekend.
Professor O’Keeffe, a consultant endocrinologist at University Hospital Galway and an avid gardener, designed the show garden to raise awareness about cardiovascular health and the role gardens, plants, and technology can play in protecting the heart.
Prof O’Keeffe believes a garden is an ideal medium to communicate the importance of heart health. Plants are used in many life-saving cardiovascular medicines, including digitalis, which is a key ingredient in digoxin, a treatment for cardiac arrythmias and heart failure.
While it deals with a serious subject, the garden is designed to be whimsical, engaging, and interactive. It will feature pollinating drones and a health-focused interactive robot.
