During the lockdown of 2020 I spent a lot more time than usual in my garden and listening to gardening podcasts. It was during one of these podcasts that I heard about the charity Horatio’s Garden, and in particular, the new garden that was being designed and built by them at University Hospital Llandough in South Wales – a hospital that is very close to my childhood home and at which many of my family members and friends have been patients, including myself.
What we have always known as simply ‘Llandough Hospital’ has changed a lot over the years, especially recently with a new expansion, including the transfer of neuro and spinal rehabilitation services from Rookwood Hospital in Llandaff. It’s here that the inspiring charity Horatio’s Garden have chosen to build their first garden in Wales for those recovering from spinal injury.
Designed by Sarah Price, an award-winning, three-time RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal winner who was endeavoured to incorporate as many elements of the Welsh landscape into her designs as possible. Blues, purples, pinks and whites add splashes of contrasting colour to the lush greens. The garden fencing is designed to eventually be covered with climbing plants, with circular windows cut-in to show glimpses of the surrounding landscape of the Vale of Glamorgan and the Severn Estuary in the distance.
On the 2nd July 2022 I was delighted to be invited to the opening of Horatio’s Garden Wales which was formally opened by the Welsh former rugby union player Sir Gareth Edwards CBE. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the garden first hand, meet patients, volunteers, the designer, the head gardener and the founders Olivia and David Chapple and hear them talk about the garden, the work involved in it’s conception, through to it’s completion and the wonderful impact it has already had on patients’ wellbeing.
Horatio’s Garden was first conceived in 2011 by Horatio Chapple, who was a schoolboy inspiring to be a doctor. Having visited the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Centre in Salisbury, he devised the idea of creating a garden for it’s patients. Tragically, his life was cut short by a polar bear attack whilst he was on a science trip with The British Exploring Society to Svalbard.
Horatio’s Garden was established by his family and friends as a symbol of the hopes that Horatio had for a future of making a difference to the lives of others.
If you’d like to help continue the work of Horatio’s Garden you can donate here. ways to get involved with the Horatio’s Garden community within a range of patient-facing, gardening, events, fundraising, advocacy and administrative volunteer roles across the UK.
Whether you are interested in nurturing their beautiful and biodiverse gardens, baking cakes and engaging in friendly and supportive conversation with patients, helping with therapeutic activities, fundraising, organising events or getting involved as part of a programme such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award – the volunteers play a vital role in the success of the charity.
If you would like to volunteer at Horatio’s Garden Wales, or any of their other gardens around the UK you can find out more here.
Also, if you would like to buy one of my Bellflower Fine Art Giclée prints, a sizeable percentage of the profits from the sale of the prints will go to Horatio’s Garden Wales:
for each A3 print purchased £15 will be donated;
for each A2 print purchased £30 will be donated;
for each A1 print purchased £50 will be donated to the charity.
You can purchase the prints here.
To date, the sale of my Bellflower prints has raised £225 for Horatio’s Garden Wales 🙂
50 Flowers for 50 Charities 