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Zoe Claymore credit clivenichols.com

Discover the Devon roots behind RHS Chelsea’s British Rainforest Garden – and help raise funds for Stone Lane Gardens

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Award-winning garden designer Zoe Claymore is hosting a special fundraising talk this October in support of Devon’s Stone Lane Gardens.

Zoe’s British Rainforest Garden, created for The Wildlife Trusts, sponsored by grant-giving charity Project Giving Back and supported by insurer Aviva, wowed visitors at RHS Chelsea this May, winning the coveted People’s Choice Award. She will be sharing the inspiration behind the design, revealing how Devon’s lush, rain-fed woodlands and her own family heritage shaped the look and feel of the garden.

The event takes place on Saturday 11 October at Endecott House, Chagford, just a short distance from Stone Lane Gardens, the botanic garden co-founded by Zoe’s great uncle, Kenneth Ashburner. The gardens, which used to be known as the Mythic Garden, are home to the National Collection of Birch and Alder trees, some of which featured in Zoe’s Chelsea design.

British Rainforest Garden credit Clive Nicholls

In her talk, Zoe will explore how themes of heritage, landscape and sustainability came together in her rainforest garden, and she will offer practical advice for recreating elements of the design at home, including how to use birches from Stone Lane Gardens to achieve the look.

The talk will last around 45 minutes, followed by a Q&A. Tickets are £10 (advance) and £12 (on the door), information via the Stone Lane Gardens website, with all proceeds going to support Stone Lane Gardens. Attendees will also have the chance to enter a raffle to win a one-to-one design consultation with Zoe.

Event details: The Story Behind the Rainforest Garden at Chelsea
Date: Saturday 11 October
Time: 7pm
Venue: Endecott House, Chagford, Devon TQ13 8AJ
Tickets: Advance £10; £12 on the door

ENDS

For further information contact Emma Mason emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk 07762 117433

Zoe Claymore is a garden and landscape designer based in southwest London but works across the UK. From her studio, she crafts bespoke outdoor places that resonate emotionally with her clients – while staying mindful of environmental responsibility. Named RHS Horticultural Hero 2023, a triple award-winner at RHS Hampton Court, and double Chelsea winner, she draws on personal, cultural, environmental, and artistic inspirations to shape her designs. A regular media contributor and public speaker, Zoe advocates for innovative, sustainable, and deeply personal landscaping solutions that stand the test of time. www.zoeclaymore.com

Stone Lane Gardens was the creation of Kenneth and June Ashburner, the owners of the grade 2* listed Stone Farm. Kenneth was an avid traveller and plant finder and in the early 1970s began planting the trees he had grown from seeds gathered on his travels and from other botanic gardens. Gradually the garden expanded as the Ashburners bought land, until it took the shape it is today. Originally called the Mythic Garden they started an annual summer sculpture exhibition, which this year is again curated by South West Sculptors showcasing the best outdoor art from West Country artists. Plant Heritage awarded the gardens its ‘National Collection’ status in recognition of the importance of the diversity and rarity of its trees, and ‘Scientific Status’ in acknowledgement of the great work Kenneth Ashburner had done to extend and promote knowledge of the species, work that continues today under the stewardship of Garden Manager, Paul Bartlett. In 2019 Stone Lane Gardens became an RHS Partner Garden and in 2024, Stone Lane Gardens proudly became an accredited BGCI Botanic Garden, an internationally recognised, very prestigious and unique world-wide accolade bestowed by the BGCI at Kew, London. https://stonelanegardens.com

The Wildlife Trusts British Rainforest Garden, sponsored by Project Giving Back (PGB) and supported by the UK’s leading insurer Aviva, was awarded a Silver Gilt and People’s Choice medals at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025. It aimed to inspire people to support the restoration of this threatened habitat and show how nature-friendly gardening can help British wildlife thrive. The Wildlife Trusts and Aviva have been working together since 2023 on a mission to bring rainforests back to the British Isles. The British Rainforest Garden told the story of this precious habitat that once blanketed a fifth of the country but now only covers about 1% of the land – and the work underway to recover it.

RHS Healer's Hollow credit Julie Skelton

Tradition of ‘plants for purpose’ and their benefits for modern-day health and wellbeing celebrated in Feature Garden, RHS Healer’s Hollow at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival

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The human connection to plants, and our deeper need for them beyond food and beauty, is enchantingly explored by designers Emily Grayshaw and Jude Yeo in their Feature Garden, RHS Healer’s Hollow, at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.

Rooted in the rich traditions of herbal medicine dating back hundreds of years, the garden blends folklore, healing and horticultural beauty. It also highlights the growing modern trend to reconnect with nature and recognise the vital role plants continue to play in supporting and protecting our health.

Set in a British woodland glade, a shepherd’s hut is nestled amongst native trees and verdant planting. Beautiful linens with hand-printed botanical drawings give an artistic nod to the cultivated herbaceous beds containing plants carefully selected for aiding skin, digestion, wellbeing and women’s health. Parsley helps with collagen production and skin elasticity, fennel relieves bloating and stomach pain, and peppermint serves as an natural analgesic for painful periods.

A boulder sits amongst the planting and is a simple mortar for preparing herbs to use in tinctures, oils and poultices, with a nearby waterfall and babbling brook adding to the calming ambience. As well as celebrating plants for purpose, the garden encourages visitors to reconnect with the British countryside and its native woodland species.

Designers Emily and Jude, who run Inspired Earth Design, were approached by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to design this garden after winning two gold medals at previous shows, and a best in show award.

Jude said: “We are honoured to be commissioned for such a prestigious project at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival this year.  We’ve loved the opportunity to be creative with our plant palette to explore the connection between plant folklore, and plants for medicinal and health purposes.  We can’t wait for our visitors to explore the myriad of health benefits that plants can offer.”

Emily added: “It has been an absolute joy exploring the topic of medicinal plants through the eyes of Gaia, a healing woman who lives in a beautiful shepherd hut in a glade in the woods.  The off grid feel of the garden emphasises that plants are the origin for so many of our modern medicines and that sharing of ancient knowledge is key to our development of the garden.”

After the show is over, elements from the garden will be relocated to Farncombe Community Garden near Godalming in Surrey, the brainchild of a determined group of local GPs who are keen to encourage social prescribing as part of a treatment plan.

To create the garden, Emily and Jude have assembled a talented team of artisans and fellow experts including:

  • Artist Georgia Lingwood has created the botanical artworks depicting key plants in the garden on signage and textiles.
  • Kayleigh Sinclair, Horticulture Team Coordinator at the RHS and founder of The Historical Herbologist, has advised on plants.
  • Hannam & Taylor has supplied a handcrafted shepherd’s hut.
  • Cobham Court Landscaping has built the garden, with support from Shade Landscapes, experts in creating naturalistic streams and waterfalls, and Aqua Design & Landscaping.
  • Boulders on the garden have been sourced from Caradon Stone, other stone and the bridge have been supplied by Allgreen, and materials for the water feature are from Aquascape. Paul Cheetham of Gecko Stonework has crafted the pathway using dry-stone walling offcuts.
  • Helping to plant the garden is Sarah Mayfield, a designer and lecturer who teaches horticulture to medicinal herbal students, as well as an incredible army of horticultural volunteers.
  • Plants are supplied by Hardy’s Plants and trees from Majestic Trees.

The RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival is taking place 1-6 July 2025, more information can be found athttps://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-hampton-court-palace-garden-festival.

Emily Grayshaw and Jude Yeo photo credit Julie Skelton

ENDS

For further information on the RHS Feature Garden contact the RHS Press Office on showspr@rhs.org.uk

Information on Inspired Earth Design contact Emma Mason on emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk 07762 117433

Notes for editors: Inspired Earth Design – Emily and Jude have been working together, in the horticulture industry, for over 20 years. They bring a wealth of practical knowledge and experience to the Inspired Earth Design studio having consolidated their design skills by gaining their professional garden design diplomas in 2021. Since then they have won two Gold medals at RHS Hampton Court and a best in show, and have completed a huge variety of private and commercial projects.inspiredearthdesign.co.uk | hello@inspiredearthdesign.co.uk |Instagram @inspiredearthdesign

Farncombe Community Garden – based near Godalming, thriving thanks to an expanding group of local volunteers. The idea came from GPs at the nearby practice who wanted to encourage patients and the community at large to interact with nature and each other to benefit their physical and mental health. Their vision is encompassed in the phrase ‘ growing community wellbeing’.

Hannam & Taylor – based near Windsor, its team of craftworkers build beautiful bespoke huts for clients. hannamtaylor.co.uk

Georgia Lingwood – an artist inspired by the natural world; its flora, fauna, and folktales. Working in pencil and watercolour she creates pieces depicting the plants, insects and animals that have captured her imagination, often selecting those with fascinating folkloric connections. georgialingwood.com

Cobham Court Landscaping – a Surrey-based business driven by a local, friendly team of talented professionals with award-winning skills. They’ve been transforming gardens in the local area for over 15 years. cobhamcourtlandscaping.co.uk

Sarah Mayfield – a garden designer, horticulturist, and lecturer with a focus on nature friendly gardens, Sarah teaches horticulture to medicinal herbal students, who learn how to grow and care for the plants they use in their practice. She was awarded The People’s Choice Award and Silver-Gilt medal at 2024 RHS Hampton Court for The Moonshadow Moths Garden, a resilient planting pocket inspired by moths and night pollinators. sarahmayfielddesigns.com

 

Allgreen – Masters in Stone providing natural stone surfaces and landscaping products to garden designers, architects and private clients worldwide. allgreen.uk

Caradon Stone – the only supplier of Caradon Cornish granite, a premier construction material prized for its durability and sustainable properties. caradonstone.co.uk

Shade Landscapes – a family business specialising in designing and building naturalistic ponds, streams, and water features that bring movement, wildlife, and tranquillity into your garden. shadelandscapes.com

Aqua Design & Landscaping – a Berkshire-based company specialising in bespoke water features. aquadesignlandscaping.co.uk

Aquascape – Aquascape connects people to water the way nature intended. From fire and water displays to Pondless® Waterfalls and ecosystem ponds, its products enhance landscapes and create inviting spaces for gatherings. With over 30 years of experience, Aquascape ensures reliable, high-quality products that bring beauty and nature to outdoor living spaces. aquascapeinc.com

Gecko Stonework – involved in construction and hard landscaping since 1988, having worked for and on behalf of many leading garden designers and architects.  Working with natural stone and organic materials, producing bespoke garden features to enhance any outdoor space. geckostonework.co.uk

Verdigris – contemporary copper metal bird baths. Verdigris UK designs and makes large contemporary bird baths which add a decorative and elegant element to your outside space or garden. Not just ornamental pieces but they also provide a vital source of water for garden birds. The company tries to make all its bird baths from reclaimed copper and steel, so they are built to last. verdigris.uk

The Panathlon Joy Garden by Llevelo Garden Design, RHS Chelsea F

Hope thousands more young people with disabilities could benefit from grassroots sport as charity Panathlon extends its reach at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

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  • Disability sports charity teaming up with designer Penelope Walker of Llevelo Garden Design for The Panathlon Joy Garden
  • Wheelchair accessible All About Plants garden at the show to be officially opened by Paralympians Steve Brown, Liz Johnson and Louise Sugden on press day (Monday 20 May)
  • Panathlon’s current fundraising campaign aims to tackle waiting list for its sporting events for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
  • To be relocated to Marjorie McClure School in Chislehurst, London, a school for students aged 4-19 years old with complex medical needs and physical disabilities
  • Supported by Project Giving Back, the grant-making charity that funds gardens for good causes at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the garden is a colourful and uplifting depiction of how Panathlon inspires inclusion and normalises difference, with an overall message that joy is for everyon

Disability sports charity Panathlon is hoping around 5,000 more young people could benefit from the life-changing sporting opportunities it offers, by amplifying awareness of its current campaign to raise an extra £100,000 when it exhibits at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

With a long waiting list for the competitive sporting events it runs across the UK for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), the charity is teaming up with multi-award winning garden designer Penelope Walker for The Panathlon Joy Garden. The aim is to highlight the transformative impact of its work and the drive to secure much-needed funds to help more young people.

Paralympians Steve Brown, Liz Johnson and Louise Sugden will officially open the garden at the show and share their hugely positive experiences of working with the charity. Fellow Panathlon Patron and TV presenter, Alex Brooker, is also providing pre and post-show support.  The Patrons hope the event will offer a unique chance to garner more support from the show’s 150,000 visitors to extend Panathlon’s reach UK-wide.

Already Panathlon is poised to increase its services to help nurture the physical and mental wellbeing of even more children with SEND, and to promote aspiring youngsters with disabilities to become potential future medal winners in competitive disability sport. With greater funding and donations, it is hoped that an additional 5,000 young people can be involved in the 2024/25 school year.

Demand is increasing for Panathlon’s competitive disability sporting events, which the charity has delivered throughout the UK for over 25 years. In 2023 Panathlon achieved a record-breaking year, providing 62,981 young people with disabilities with the opportunity to participate in competitive disability sport.

Panathlon Patron Steve Brown (Wheelchair Rugby Captain at the London 2012 Paralympics and BBC Countryfile presenter), comments: “Providing children with disabilities the opportunities to develop their interests and skills across all sports, allows them to open their minds to the competitive possibilities. The platform and experience that Panathlon creates is awesome, and with greater support, we can do even more nationwide for young, aspiring para-athletes!”

Paralympic Champion and Panathlon Chair, Liz Johnson, says: “Panathlon delivers life-enhancing opportunities for over 60,000 young people every year. Research in 2023 proved that Panathlon massively improves the self-confidence, motivation, mental (and physical) well-being of tens of thousands of children with disabilities and special needs. We want to involve more children, and already we have the demand to expand outside of our current resources. We would love to hear from businesses and individuals who wish to support our work!”

Ashley Iceton from Panathlon, adds: “Panathlon needs to raise £900,000 every year, and as we expand we have to raise even more money! RHS Chelsea Flower Show is our opportunity to tell 150,000 people about Panathlon’s core mission – and we hope to encourage more people to support the charity whilst increasing the number of young people participating in Panathlon. With greater funding, it is hoped that an additional 5,000 young people with disabilities can become involved with Panathlon during the 2024/25 school year.”

The Garden

The Panathlon Joy Garden, in the All About Plants category at the world-famous show, is an uplifting depiction of how the charity inspires inclusion, enables accessibility, and normalises difference. The overall message of the garden is that joy is for everyone.

The garden is a colourful space with tangible and conceptual details to promote and represent joy. Curves dominate in the layout, soft and hard landscaping. Colour is present in the planting and garden features, whilst ‘ribbons’ across the rear boundary represent Panathlon’s use of ribbons in celebration at their sporting events.

The unusual tree shapes symbolise normalising difference; they may look different from the ‘norm’, but this does not impact their ability to function and perform perfectly well and still exude beauty. The pathway connecting both ends of the garden, and the seating area with space next to it for a wheelchair, both promote the message of inclusion. The pathway is also slightly concave to create playfulness, as does a bright orange, organically-shaped rocking bench.

Planting is colourful and undulating to ensure all garden visitors – irrespective of ability or age – connect to the plants, with a better sight line for wheelchair users. Geranium ‘Anne Thomson’, Salvia ‘Neon’, Allium siculum, Heuchera ‘Midnight Rose, Actinidia kolomikta, Trifolium rubens and Asphodeline lutea add pops of colour, and evergreen Portugese laurel shrubs in a ball shape are repeated to create consistency and sense of flow.

Penelope Walker says: “It’s been a pleasure to design The Panathlon Joy Garden and I’m so excited to share this with visitors. I really hope they feel inspired by the garden and take some new ideas home with them.”

Plants are supplied by How Green Nursery in Kent and the trees by Van den Berk Nurseries, and the garden is built by Stewart Landscapes Construction.

Following the show, the garden will be relocated to the Marjorie McClure School in Chislehurst in London, a school for students aged 4-19 years old with complex medical needs and physical disabilities.

The Panathlon charity relies on sponsors, charitable trusts, foundations, and individual giving, to support its work each year. To help the charity create opportunities for more children in 2025, visit https://panathlonfoundationltd.enthuse.com/cf/joygardenchelsea2024.Each donation of £25 will allow another child the opportunity to take part in competitive sport. Donations pay for adapted sports equipment, specialised coaches, and the cost of supplying medals, sports clothing and trophies to reward the competitors.

– ENDS –

Notes to Editors

  • Arsenal amputee footballer Isaac Addai has credited Panathlon with kick-starting his career by giving him the opportunity to compete in disability sport at school. Last season Isaac was voted Arsenal’s ‘Player of the Year’ when the Gunners won the England Amputee Football League Cup.
  • Great Britain wheelchair racer Michael McCabe began his dream of becoming an athlete while competing with Panathlon during his school years. He finished fourteenth in the London Marathon 2024 men’s wheelchair race.
  • In the last 12 months Panathlon’s UK reach has broken records! In 2023 Panathlon’s programmes featured: 62,981 participants; 7,359 young leaders; 3,012 schools; and took place across 44 English counties and 10 areas of Wales.
  • March 2024 saw Panathlon deliver 142 sports events across the country, involving 6,303 competitors with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Additionally a further 1,387 young leaders were involved, providing those children with new responsibilities and leadership qualities.
  • Panathlon’s sporting programmes include: multi-skills, swimming, football, 10-pin bowling and boccia and a range of impairment specific sports.
  • Panathlon needs to raise £900,000 every year.

Media Enquiries

For more information about Panathlon

Contact Helen Stock – helen@foxredmedia.co.uk

For more information about The Panathlon Joy Garden or Penelope Walker

Contact Emma Mason – emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk / 07762 117433

Press Images

Images for media use can be found by clicking here. If you require more, please get in touch with the media contacts above.

About Panathlon
Panathlon delivers over 950 days of sporting activity each year, across every English county, into North and South Wales and Northern Ireland.

Independent Research in October 2023 reported that due to Panathlon:

  • 92% of schools reported increased self-belief and pride in themselves
  • 88% increased confidence and resilience
  • 82% increased teamwork and leadership skills
  • 79% of participants had their first-ever competitive sporting experience
  • 77% increase in social interaction

Moreover, the research also found an additional 51,164 children have benefitted from Panathlon-inspired activities, with schools making PE curricula more inclusive; investing in equipment; developing assessment tools; creating leadership roles for SEND children; building new inter-school sports fixtures and opening school facilities to the community.

This ripple-effect shows the work of Panathlon to promote inclusivity in sport will continue to extend to even more pupils in the future. This provision to at least 114,145 children and young people this year is more crucial than ever, given the barriers of cost, resources, and local authority support to physical education among children and young people with special needs are increasing, emphasising the lens through which the growing impact of Panathlon should be viewed.

Panathlon Touchpoints

Web – https://panathlon.com/

Email – enquiries@panathlon.com

X – https://twitter.com/Panathlon

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/PanathlonChallenge

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/panathlonchallenge/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/panathlon-challenge/

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/Panathlon1

The Designer

Penelope Walker is an award-winning landscape and garden designer based in the UK who set up her own practice in 2016.  Driven by a passion for design, Penelope has an eye for style; her trade stand design at the Chelsea Flower Show 2022 was featured in an article titled ‘Five Trends to Watch Out for in 2022’ by Homes and Gardens UK. Penelope is a pre-registered member of the Society of Garden Designers and has passed the first stage of adjudication.

Penelope’s strength lies in her spatial awareness and ability to make a space fit for purpose as well as beautiful and reflective of its setting. After graduating from the English Gardening School at the Chelsea Physic Garden, Penelope spent a year working at The Place for Plants; a highly reputable independent Plant Nursery selling everyday and unusual plants from perennials to shrubs and trees.

One of Penelope’s core beliefs is that design has the strength to evoke powerful emotions. With a particular affinity for designing wellbeing gardens and ‘feel good’ gardens in the faith that a little joy can go a long way.

With extensive experience of listening to clients’ needs and delivering quality work, Penelope has vast knowledge of what is required to design and implement a range of gardens and landscapes as well as a real eye for style.

Web – www.llevelogardendesign.co.uk

Email – penelope@llevelo.co.uk

Instagram – www.instagram.com/llevelo_garden_design

Tel – 01206 625330

Project Giving Back

Project Giving Back (PGB) is a unique grant-making charity that provides funding for gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. PGB was launched in May 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating effects on UK charitable fundraising – effects that have since been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis. PGB will fund a total of 15 gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2024 and intends to fund up to 60 gardens inspired by a range of good causes at the show from 2022 – 2026.

Find out more at www.givingback.org.uk.

Celebrity Panathlon patrons

Liz Johnson – a triple Paralympic medallist, became a Panathlon patron in 2010 and, since then, has attended dozens of competitions around the country, inspiring a new generation of athletes. She is now chair of the charity. Liz, a 100m breaststroke S6 swimmer, won the gold medal at the Beijing Paralympic Games in 2008, to add to her silver medal from Athens 2004. She then went on to complete a hat trick of medals in front of a home crowd at London 2012, where she won bronze.

Steve Brown – the Great Britain wheelchair rugby captain at the London 2012 Olympics, Steve is a Panathlon Patron. He was a TV host/presenter at the Paralympics in Rio as well as a regular on BBC’s Countryfile and Springwatch programmes.

Alex Brooker – co-hosts award-winning show The Last Leg, and has been a Panathlon patron since 2013. He rose to fame as a reporter for Channel 4 at the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

Plant List

Trees

Platanus x hispanica ‘Malburg

Plants

Actinidia kolomikta

Alchemilla sericata ‘Gold Strike’

Allium cyathophorum var. farreri

Allium siculum

Asphodeline lutea

Asplenium trichomanes subsp. trichomanes

Astrantia ‘Buckland’

Astrantia major ‘Star of Beauty’

Blechnum spicant

Carex testacea

Cirsium rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’

Epimedium pubigerum

Erigeron ‘Lavender Lady’

Festuca amethystina

Foeniculum vulgare

Geranium ‘Anne Thomson’

Geranium ‘Mavis Simpson’

Geum ‘Pretticoats Peach’

Heuchera ‘Midnight Rose’

Luzula nivea

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Nippon Beauty’

Pimpinella major ‘Rosea’

Prunus lusitanica

Rhaphiolepsis umbellata ‘Southern Moon’

Rosa ‘Cardinal de Richelieu’

Salvia ‘Neon’

Silene banksia ‘Hill Grounds’

Sorbaria sorbifolia ‘Sem’

Tellima grandiflora

Trifolium rubens

Tulbaghia violacea

Valeriana officinalis

Scabiosa columbaria subsp. ochroleuca

 

 

8a

Nature heals: Pioneering intensive care project opening at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital

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  • Bespoke outdoor/indoor treatment area fitted with specialist equipment so critical care patients can spend time in the fresh air and sunshine whilst fully ventilated 
  • Outdoor garden space designed by award-winning BBC TV gardening expert, wheelchair user and former ICU patient Mark Lane
  • Embracing the benefits of nature aims to improve rehab experience and outcomes for seriously ill patients and families 

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHP) is to harness the positive healing power of nature by encouraging intensive care patients to spend time outdoors, even whilst fully ventilated, thanks to a new £625k treatment area opening in December 2022. 

Patients and staff will be able to feel the breeze and sun on their faces when the bespoke critical care rehabilitation garden room, called The Secret Garden, opens at Derriford Hospital, part of University Hospitals Plymouth (UHP) NHS Trust.

Innovatively, the unit’s life-saving ventilation equipment will be able to run outdoors in the courtyard garden, meaning patients can spend time outside, in a non-clinical environment – an important recovery steppingstone for many. Uniquely, it has been designed by Mark Lane, the UK’s first garden designer in a wheelchair, who himself spent months in a critical care unit after a serious car crash.

The project was inspired by a former patient, Andrew Heveran’s desire to get outside, to feel fresh air, after a life changing attack that left him paralysed. Andrew will be there to cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony.

Kate Tantam, Critical Care Specialist Rehabilitation Sister, who spearheaded the project, said: “Our patients and their loved ones tell us that being in critical care is like a bomb going off in your life, that everything is blown apart. Our job as a multi-professional team is to support them in rebuilding their lives.

“Part of supporting people with their recovery journey after critical care is getting to know them as individuals and exploring with them what they most want out of their future.  For many it is simply time with loved ones, time to restore relationships and play with children and grandchildren in non-clinical environments. It was the desire to support this that the idea for the secret garden at University Hospitals Plymouth was born.”

Getting patients who require ventilation to support their breathing outside in the fresh air takes a lot of work. “They need a team of people and it is not without risk. It is also very challenging in busy hospitals to find private spaces, where patients can relax without feeling overlooked,” said Dr Sam Waddy Critical Care Consultant at UHP.

The team decided in 2018 it needed to build a bespoke garden space where ventilated patients and the critically ill could be cared for in the fresh air with all the specialist equipment that requires. With no similar facilities in the Southwest like this at the time, the staff knew it was going to be a big challenge, made even more complex as COVID-19 hit a year into the project.

Despite this, the team raised the funds for the garden thanks to Plymouth Hospitals Charity, NHS Charities Together and the Trust’s budget.  The new-look secret garden is a bespoke critical care therapy space with floor to ceiling glass exposing a walled flower garden.  Full of nurturing botanicals it provides a space for patients, loved ones and staff to recover together.

Mark Lane has designed the garden to be fully inclusive and accessible, with space for beds and wheelchairs, walking frames and sticks, and with slip-resistant, anti-glare, self-binding gravel surfaces. There will be mixed height planting, some in-ground, others in raised beds so patients laying down or seated can see plants. He said: “Outdoor, green spaces are enjoyed by many, but when your life turns a different corner and you end up in ICU, like I did after my car accident, you become completely unaware of the changing seasons, whether it’s sunny or raining outside and, if like me, you’re fortunate to be able to go outside again the first thing that hits you is the sun on your face, the breeze and the colour green.

“So, when I was commissioned to design this garden for Derriford I felt truly honoured to be able to create a space for patients to enjoy, to improve their physical and mental wellbeing by introducing a Secret Garden. Yes, it’s an awkward space with high walls around all four sides, but this lent itself to a nurturing woodland-style of garden with pops of colour here and there. I wanted the patients to feel the plants and enjoy the textures, engage with the garden, whether that be passively or actively getting their hands dirty during rehabilitation and have a space to reflect. I know, because of the incredible staff, and their amazing fundraising activities, that this garden will flourish over the years and make a huge difference to people’s lives, patients, visitors and staff.”

The secret garden has gone from an abandoned courtyard, to a bespoke critical care garden room with specialist capacity to facilitate full care for ICU patients and their loved ones wherever they are in their recovery journey.  It also provides a welcome outside space for clinical staff to support them with the challenges of working in ICU.

ENDS

Notes for editors:

Mark Lane – Mark Lane has gained recognition as a first-class landscape designer, being the UK’s first garden designer in a wheelchair, as well as the first BBC gardening presenter in a wheelchair. As a broadcaster, he’s the gardening expert on BBC One’s Morning Live. He has also been a presenter of the award-winning Gardeners’ World on BBC Two as well as for BBC Gardeners’ World Live and the BBC’s coverage of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Flower Shows – Chelsea, Chatsworth, Hampton Court Palace and Tatton. In 2001 Mark was in a car accident and had to have operations on his spine, which were complicated by him being born with spina bifida. Following a long rehabilitation period Mark studied garden/landscape design through an Open Learning course at KLC, Hampton Court.

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust – If you would like more information on the hospital itself or want to talk to staff please contact communications.phnt@nhs.net

 

RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden of hope for mothers to raise awareness of Covid’s devastating impact on perinatal mental health

RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden of hope for mothers to raise awareness of Covid’s devastating impact on perinatal mental health

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  • The Mothers for Mothers Garden: “This too shall pass” designed by Pollyanna Wilkinson for Mothers for Mothers charity in the new show garden category ‘All About Plants’ at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022.
  • Design and planting to echo the road to recovery for mothers experiencingmental health  
  • Covid restrictions have had a drastic impact on pregnant women, birthing people and new parents with partners barred from appointments, anxiety in the workplace, isolation due to a lack of family/peer contact, changes in antenatal care and fewer face-to-face appointments.
  • Planting from the garden will be relocated to Hartcliffe City Farm in Bristol after the show, close to Mothers for Mothers’ base

The Mothers for Mothers Garden, for the namesake Bristol-based charity, is a symbolic plant-filled garden showing the mental health journey mothers take in pregnancy and early parenthood. It will raise awareness of perinatalmental illness, and the added pressures of Covid, at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May 2022.

 The garden will feature a cloister of bronze-toned walls and archways to represent how long days at home with a baby can feel either like a sanctuary or a cage.

A fractured pathway through the garden surrounded first by muted, restrained planting will gradually transition to a joyful, feminine palette depicting the road to recovery, supported along the way by other mothers with a similar lived experience. True to this new show garden category, 78% of the garden will be plants – showing the impact a small space can have (6x8m).

Designer Pollyanna Wilkinson, a former mental health counsellor and mother of two young children, said: “The expression ‘this too shall pass’ is a mantra passed between women navigating motherhood and the mental healthchallenges that often come with it. The garden is based on the idea of transition – from despair to hope.”

The global pandemic and associated restrictions have had a devasting impact on pregnant women, those giving birth and new mums. Seven in every ten women1 who were pregnant or who had given birth during COVID said they had increased stress and struggled with the ability to cope with pregnancy or baby. 70% of new parents said the lockdown was negatively affecting their baby, and only a third said they were confident in being able to access mental healthsupport.

The garden is funded by the Project Giving Back scheme and supports the vital work of the Bristol charity Mothers for Mothers set up 40 years ago to help mums survive perinatal illness by offering peer support, therapies and counselling, as well as providing assistance for dads and partners.

Maria Viner, the charity’s CEO, said: “The theme of our garden is hope and reassurance. We would like visitors to walk away seeing that it’s possible to find your way back to yourself. For women who are struggling with their mental healthand emotional wellbeing during pregnancy or after the birth of their baby there is support and understanding available. There are people who have lived through this experience and recovered who have been trained to support you and will walk alongside you on your journey to recovery. With the right help and support you will get better.

“For others we hope that the message of hope will translate across whatever their own personal circumstances may be – that if you can find the courage to reach out there are often others who understand and who have walked the same path who can offer companionship, support and compassion without judgment, until you too feel more hopeful about your future.”

During the show, Mothers for Mothers plans to host campaign and fundraising events supported by CBRE and after the RHS Chelsea Flower Show plants from the garden will be relocated to Hartcliffe City Farm close to the charity’s Bristol base.

In terms of planting, the exuberant pink and apricot ruffled Iris ‘Wondrous’ will denote the colour returning to life; apricot Rosa ‘The Lark Ascending’ will provide a feminine and informal feel; tangerine tones of Verbascum‘Clementine’ will denote joy, and the pure blue hues of Anchusa azurea ‘Loddon Royalist’ will conversely symbolise low mood.

ENDS

For further information on the garden contact Pollyanna Wilkinson on polly@pollyannawilkinson.com 07534 506604 or Emma Mason emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk 07762 117433. For further information on Mothers for Mothers contact Maria.viner@mothersformothers.co.uk  07796 402667

1 The Fawcett Society

Pollyanna Wilkinson Garden Design: After a decade working in London in legal marketing, Polly retrained as a garden designer at the English Gardening School at the Chelsea Physic Garden before setting up her namesake studio, based in Surrey.   She later studied Horticulture at Merrist Wood.  Prior to her career in Garden Design, Polly volunteered as a counsellor for several years, working in a variety of settings from schools, to bereavement charities and maternal mentalhealth clinics.  As both a mother and qualified counsellor, the Mothers for Mothers garden holds very significant meaning to her. Polly has previously created two other show gardens, both at Hampton Court Flower Show. In 2018 she earned a Silver Gilt for her garden focusing on the mental health impacts of social media (A very modern problem) and in 2019 she created a garden focusing on nature crafts, earning a Silver medal and People’s choice award. Polly’s design style is a mix of elegance and practicality. She works on all manner of gardens – from country estates to roof terraces across London and the South West.

Mothers for Mothers: Since 1981 Mothers for Mothers has supported families affected by maternal mental illness and emotional wellbeing needs across Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset and received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in their 40th year. They offer support to women and their families during pregnancy and until their youngest child attends school, from illness to wellness, through support services which include: Reach helpline/support calls, Home Visiting, Counselling, Antenatal wellbeing in pregnancy group and Peer Support Groups with a play support worker. The services are designed and delivered by women with lived experience of maternal mental illness.  Mothers for Mothers aim to achieve the following outcomes for the women and families they work with:

  • Improved confidence, resilience and relationships with children and family, leading to faster recovery.
  • Improving children’s emotional development by supporting mothers to be sensitive and responsive in their relationships with their children.
  • Reduced social isolation and improved social and support networks.
  • More awareness of maternalmental Health and the support available.
  • Improved care and services for maternalmental illness.