Chelsea Flower Show winning design will be recreated for hospital garden

Horatio’s Garden Chelsea, which won a gold medal and the prestigious Best in Show prize at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, will be recreated eight times bigger for a hospital garden.

After its display at the world-famous horticultural event, an enlarged version of the garden, to be project managed by international property and construction consultancy Gleeds, will be created at the Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Centre within Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital next year. 

Designed by Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg of Harris Bugg Studio, and funded by Project Giving Back, this adaptive garden is the first on Chelsea’s famous main avenue to prioritise mobility needs. 

Gleeds CEO Graham Harle said: “The garden that Harris Bugg Studio has designed for its legacy home in Sheffield is the polar opposite of the traditional hospital setting, subtly reflecting the industrial history of the city while prioritising the specific needs of patients with spinal injuries. 

“Its Chelsea installation absolutely deserves the coveted Best in Show award and I look forward to working together to bringing their complete vision to life in its final destination.

“I’m thrilled that the project management team at Gleeds is involved in such a worthy scheme, transforming a bland concrete space into a beautiful, restorative sanctuary for people recovering from life-changing injuries.”

Its final incarnation, for which fundraising is ongoing, will be eight times the size and benefit over 350 inpatients and their families every year, along with thousands of outpatients, and hundreds of NHS staff. As well as being patient-friendly, the carbon footprint of the smooth, cement-free terrazzo paths is 77% lower than that of regular cement.

The scheme will become the eighth space created by Horatio’s Garden - a UK charity that nurtures wellbeing after spinal injury damage in NHS spinal centres - and the second with which Gleeds has been involved. The consultancy is also responsible for managing the delivery of Horatio’s Garden Northern Ireland, which is currently being built at the Spinal Cord Injuries Unit at Musgrave Park Hospital in Belfast.