A major Bristol charity is celebrating the completion of gardens designed by a Chelsea Flower Show winner - and everyone is invited to have a look.
St Peter’s Hospice, Brentry, is the city’s only adult hospice, providing care for people with life-limiting illnesses while supporting their families too.
A new multimillion-pound inpatient building was recently finished, thanks to a mass fundraising appeal, but the icing on the cake are the beautiful gardens designed by Olivia Kirk.
Anyone wishing to visit them would be welcomed to attend an open weekend on September 7-8.
The hospice’s community fundraiser Esther Hall said: “The whole weekend is to give people the opportunity to connect with the natural surroundings and experience the peacefulness that this space provides.”
The new £6.53 million inpatient building, boasting 15 en-suite rooms, was finished in November 2018, helped by a contribution of £1.5 million from the public.
During construction, however, most of the original gardens - which had picked up awards - were destroyed.
But now, following many hours of hard work by Ms Kirk and a team of gardeners, inpatients and families alike have access to attractive and tranquil green space once again.
Ms Kirk told Bristol Live: “I started designing the hospice garden two years ago so I’ve lived with this garden for a long, long time so it’s lovely to see it today [August 21] because I’ve not seen it since April.”
The garden is divided into several sections, each boasting its own theme, but sharing some common features.
“They’re nice to look at, but also they should be nice to be in,” said Ms Kirk, who went on to explain some of the more notable elements.
“All of these plants are low-allergen - none of them are wind-pollinated, which is the biggest sinner,” Ms Kirk said.
“All of this is insect-pollinated, which is inherently heavier and stickier. There’s nothing overly perfumed. There’s nothing that’s going to trigger anything.”
Ms Kirk pointed out the abundance of evergreen features, explaining her desire for the gardens to look pretty throughout the year.
“It’s important that a garden has a good bone structure so it hangs together during the winter,” she said.
Among the highlights is the ‘sensory gardens’ area, containing five borders, each dedicated to one of the senses.
The ‘sound’ section, for example, features rustling bamboo and quaking grass, while also attracting the buzz of bees.
During the open weekend, Ms Kirk will give a guided tour, but there will also be various workshops - including a meditation session and a class devoted to building your own garden sculpture. The gardens will be open from 10am-3pm on both days.
Ms Hall said: “We want the general public to come in and see what their local hospice is all about and this is an opportunity for keen gardeners to explore some professionally-designed gardens that provide a variety of gardening ideas.”
Ms Kirk was awarded an RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold medal in 2011 for her ‘Power of Nature’ garden.
