Shropshire hospice opens special garden space for honouring loved ones missed
A hospice charity has created a new garden area and ‘living sculpture’ for relatives and friends to remember loved ones lost.
Severn Hospice commissioned Maesbury Metals in Oswestry to create the sculpture that will hold ‘Hospice Hearts’ – tributes engraved with personal messages from families and friends.
Taking inspiration from the heart flower Lamprocapnos spectabilis, a symbol of love and loss, the sculpture will become adorned over time with heart-shaped petals each bearing an inscription.
The hand-crafted sculpture is the centrepiece of the hospice’s new Garden of Memories, formally opened in Bicton Heath on Monday by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire Anna Turner JP.
The first person to place a Hospice Heart on the sculpture was Copthorne resident Patricia Bevan, in memory of her husband Ron, who received care at the Bicton Heath hospice. Mrs Bevan reflects on the hospice as her husband’s ‘final posting’ – a fitting tribute to his military background.
Mrs Bevan said: “Ron received such wonderful care here. I wanted to place a heart in his memory and the Garden of Memories is truly a beautiful place for that.”
Becky Richardson, Director of Care at Severn Hospice, said: “Our gardens are such an important part of our care for patients and families and this new area has been designed to offer a quiet space where people can come and remember.
“Today’s opening marks many months of the community working together and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone involved. This includes Maesbury Metals, who created the amazing sculpture; Joseph Ash, who galvanized it; and Kier Transport who delivered it to us.
“This has truly been a labour of love for all involved and I hope we’ve created something beautiful that will bring comfort to people.”
The Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire said: “I found it very moving to see a sculpture that showed such empathy, within a beautiful garden that gives patients, family and friends the opportunity to find a small piece of quiet and calm”
Becky Richardson added: “Anyone can come to the garden and anyone can make a dedication on the sculpture, they don’t have to have had any connection with the hospice at all.”
Details of how to dedicate a heart are on the Severn Hospice website: severnhospice.org.uk/hospicehearts.
