Horatio’s Garden Oswestry officially opened

The garden was created to support spinal injury patients and their loved ones spending time in the Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital.

The charity aspires to establish a Horatio’s Garden at each of the 11 spinal centres across the UK, with gardens currently open in Salisbury, Scotland and Stoke Mandeville. They also have projects planned for London and Cardiff, which are due to be complete by 2022.

Their latest garden has been designed by award-winning garden designer and Radio 4 Gardeners’ Question Time panellist, Bunny Guinness, who attended the opening. In her speech, Bunny described how she created the original designs in collaboration with patients, families, and NHS staff and spoke of how wonderful it is to now see the space being treasured by so many.

The garden evidently means a great deal to both patients and staff of the Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries, as a group gathered together to perform a song for the crowd expressing their joy and thanks to Horatio’s Garden. In an extraordinary gesture, the lyrics were written by a patient especially for the opening.

As the charity’s research illustrates that over 94% of patients say that having a Horatio’s Garden improves their sense of wellbeing, the contribution of all those who have supported the project is absolutely invaluable. The garden was funded entirely by donations, with the League of Friends, the National Garden Scheme and the Shropshire Freemasons all giving incredibly generous grants to help the charity plant hope here for everyone affected by spinal injury.

Chair of the hospital’s Board of Directors, Frank Collins, described it as a “truly palpable project, which is testament to everyone sharing in its belief and vision”. He thanked everyone at the League of Friends, including Chair Peter David, Charity Director Victoria Sugden and Vice Chair, the Lady Trevor, for her “marathon endeavours” in ensuring the project was supported from start to finish.

Horatio’s Garden Founder and Chair of Trustees, Dr Olivia Chapple, spoke fondly of the garden and shared how happy she was to see patients, their families and friends enjoying the space. Amongst the many people she thanked were Read Construction and Butler Landscapes, with teams from both working incredibly hard in all winds and weathers to bring the garden to life. She was grateful too to architect Andrew Wells, who designed the beautiful garden room and said that it was lovely to see the room flourishing as the social hub of the garden already.

Olivia made special mention of Head Gardener Imogen Jackson, Assistant Brian Kilty and all the charity’s brilliant volunteers, who have dedicated all their efforts to patients and the garden since it was completed. She also read a very special message from the charity’s Royal Patron, HRH Princess Eugenie, who congratulated Horatio’s Garden on their latest achievement.

Now that the garden is open, patients and their loved ones are welcome to visit whenever they wish. The design features a children’s play area and numerous cosy corners where families and friends can simply while away the hours in each other's familiar company. Patients will also have the opportunity to take part in the charity’s gentle garden and art therapy sessions, whilst everyone can join in with the seasonal events that Horatio's Garden will hold in the space throughout the year.

Guest of honour, Sir Algernon Heber-Percy, is a proud patron of Horatio’s Garden Oswestry and shared that he had “never known such a warm and generous response to an appeal.” In that spirit, he urged everyone to continue helping, asking the crowd to continue to support the garden to ensure it is maintained for generations to come.