Children With Cancer UK ‘A Place To Be...’

The Garden is a place where children recovering from cancer can be themselves – away from doctors, worried parents and their own fears. A place to be happy, carefree, reflective, healed, refreshed, renewed and grounded by the natural world. Just a place to be...

A safe refuge, the Nest, is reached by a fun monorail or the more reflective winding path. This represents the luxury of choice, something children with cancer do not usually have. The pool is a playful distraction along the path and can also be seen from the monorail.

The colour scheme is deep pinks and burgundy at the entrance of the Garden, from Rosa ‘Emma Bridgewater’, Allium ‘Forelock’, and Lysimachia atropurpurea ‘Beaujolais’. Splashes of white from Digitalis purpurea ‘Pam’s Choice’ introduce an element of fun and carefreeness – moving into different shades of green and white in the calmer healing area of the garden, with wood ferns and moor grass (Dryopteris wallichiana and Sesleria autumnalis). The fluffy heads of Stipa tenuissima ‘Pony Tails’ create movement along the route of the monorail, mirroring the movement of the monorail journey, and soft to touch as the children travel through.

At a glance

Who would use this garden?
Primarily children affected by cancer and their families who are staying at Raines Retreat.
Where is the garden set?
Raines Retreat, North Yorkshire the charity’s holiday retreat currently under construction.
Who or what is the design inspiration for the garden?
The children affected by cancer are the inspiration for the garden. They stoically get on with life as they know it, so we wanted to give them a place to be themselves, to escape the rigours and routine of their treatment, to have some fun and chill and make happy memories.
 

Garden legacy:

After the Show the Garden will go to Raines Retreat, North Yorkshire, the holiday retreat of the charity for the children and their families.