Horatio’s Garden Gift Ideas for Mothering Sunday

Living Magazines Horatios Garden Gifts for Mothers Day

Horatio’s Garden Stoke Mandeville opened in 2018 at the National Spinal Injuries Centre in Stoke Mandeville Hospital. The spinal centre is one of the largest and oldest in the UK, with an inpatient capacity for 106 adult patients and 9 additional adolescent and paediatric beds. Consequently, it serves people from across the British Isles and Ireland, primarily taking referrals from the south and Home Counties.

Celebrated garden designer and RHS Chelsea Gold Medal winner, Joe Swift, created the garden. Thanks to his careful, thoughtful designs, the space beyond the spinal centre has become a valued place of natural beauty and repose, giving patients and their loved ones a fully accessible oasis to retreat to.

Head Gardener, Amy Moffett, nurtures the garden and holds regular horticultural therapy sessions, with patients often joining her in groups and on a 1:1 basis. Seed sowing and potting on are popular pursuits, particularly in the spring. She is supported by a part time garden administrator, Louise and a fantastic volunteer team, who often run creative and therapeutic activities for patients, including the relaxed, ever entertaining Poetry & Patisseries group. Recently the patients and volunteers have tackled willow weaving with local artisan Jools Hopton.

Each Horatio’s Garden requires constant funding of £75,000 a year, please consider volunteering or becoming a Friend to support the Stoke Mandeville garden’s ongoing running costs. An alternative way to help this Mothering Sunday is to purchase gifts from their online shop. A range of bespoke and ethically sourced giftware items are available to tempt you, to look, go to the website and click on the ‘Shop’ Button www.horatiosgarden.org.uk