For almost 50 years, the Sensory Garden at the Botanical Gardens has provided a haven of tranquillity for Jean Howes, who is completely blind.

Now, 80-year-old Mrs. Howes and other members of the blind community are facing up to the fact that plans for the new hospital will mean the loss of the garden that they love.

"It's good just to go down there and know that everything is beautiful around you and to have a quiet place to go," she said yesterday. "I would not like it to be demolished. It's our own special special garden, and blind people have had many happy times there."

Mrs. Howes believes that the new acute care hospital should be rebuilt on the same Paget site currently occupied by King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, rather than taking up 30 percent of the Botanical Gardens. An accident at the age of nine robbed her of the sight in one eye, and she lost the use of the other at the age of 11 through a condition known as "sympathetic blindness". However, she has not let her disability get in her way. Besides being famed for her singing and piano playing, she is a long-term member of the Bermuda Society for the Blind which was founded by Lady Gladys Hall, who was also the driving force behind the Sensory Garden.

Mrs. Howes has visited the garden on many occasions since it was founded in 1960, and it is now a feature of the trips she takes to the Botanical Gardens with her family, which includes two granddaughters, a step-granddaughter, and three great grandchildren.

According to her, her dog Kuana ? who is Bermuda's only guide dog ? and 14-year-old Walnut, her retired dog, enjoy the visits as much as she does because they do not have a garden to play in at her home in Mary Victoria Road, Devonshire.

On the day she visited the Sensory Garden with , she took delight in reading the Braille sign which welcomes visitors, and also Lady Hall's words of tribute to her "gallant sightless friends". She was pleased to hear there are plans in the pipeline to replace the Braille plant labels that had previously been destroyed by vandals. "There are scented plants selected for their fragrance and beauty and it would be lovely to read about them again," she said.

The Botanical Gardens also hold particularly poignant memories for her as they are one of the last places she visited with her husband George Howes before he died of LouGherig's disease 22 years ago

"They add to the quality of life in Bermuda, not only because of the Sensory Garden but also the exhibition held every year. That means a lot to many people. I love it, and go every year with my nephew. It also means the children get a chance to display all their work and see animals they would usually only see on TV," she said. "The quality of life of Bermuda would be diminished without the gardens." The plans to build the new hospital at the Botanical Gardens include a pledge to return the existing KEMH site to open space. However, no announcement has been made on whether the Sensory Garden would be replaced. Premier Alex Scott announced earlier this month that the plan to build on the Botanical Gardens could be changed in the face of significant public opposition.

A hospital spokeswoman said yesterday: "At this moment, there are two site options that BHB is going to review and consult with the community on further ? KEMH and the Botanical Gardens. We look forward to providing the public with more details of both options as we advance through the process."