Cavernoma on My Mind 

The garden is divided into sections – each depicting and evoking feelings or symptoms that are common among patients with cavernoma, such as fragility of life, unconditional love, and a fresh start. A cavernoma is a lesion made up of abnormal blood vessels, often found in the brain or spine which can cause strokes, seizures, neurological deficits and even death. 

Acer griseum, commonly known as blood-bark maple, recalls the thin blood vessels of cavernomas and its peeling bark symbolises the fragility of life. Taxus baccata cushions in different sizes represent the stages of cavernoma with the prickly foliage echoing the shooting nerve pains that patients suffer from. The dark flowers of Rosa ‘Nuits de Young’ and Aconitum napellus denote the despair and fear of death that cavernoma patients feel. Raspberries also feature in the garden for their physical resemblance to cavernoma.

Above the planting, glass steps ascend to a viewing platform and a water feature which flows gently down a wall, completing the garden.