Award-winning garden will go on show at Winchester Hospice

IT’S a jewel in the crown of the new Winchester Hospice – and now the public will have a chance to see the award-winning Psalm 23 garden in all its splendour.

The garden, which won a gold medal at the 2021 RHS Chelsea Flower Show as well as Best Sanctuary Garden and Best Construction for its class, was designed and created by multi award-winning designer Sarah Eberle.

Following last September’s show, the garden, which brings the famous text of 'The Lord is my Shepherd' to life through green pastures and still waters, was carefully transported and transplanted into the garden space at Winchester Hospice.

The Open Garden event will take place from 10am to 4pm on Sunday, May 29, and Hazel Southgate, Bible Society project storytelling manager, will be on hand to share the story of the garden’s journey.

Tours are limited to six people in 20-minute intervals, due to COVID-restrictions and the fact that Winchester Hospice is a working hospice, and they can be booked on a first-come, first-served basis.

There will be no charge but any donations from visitors will go to Winchester Hospice Fundraising Charity, which is raising at least £500,000 each year to help Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) colleagues to deliver outstanding care and support for the hospice inpatients, their loved ones, and other people who benefit from hospice services in the local community.

Nick Vaughan, chairman of Winchester Hospice Fundraising Charity, said: “Everyone connected with the hospice is delighted that we are able to invite our supporters to view this wonderful garden, gifted by the Bible Society.

"The garden is a haven of peace and calm which enhances the quality of life for patients in the hospice as well as their loved ones and visitors.

“I would like to thank Sarah Eberle for creating such a picturesque addition for our hospice, and Mark Gregory, managing director for Landform Consultants Limited, and the team for all the hard work that they have dedicated to installing the garden for us.”

To book a place on one of the May 29 garden tours, please go to here

Designer Sarah Eberle said: “I am thrilled that the Psalm 23 Garden has a permanent home at Winchester Hospice and I hope that it will provide patients, their families and the staff with a place to reflect and pause.

“This garden meant a great deal to me, and so it is a particular joy to know that it will be appreciated and enjoyed by many more people in the future.”

The hospice, in the grounds of the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, in Winchester, is run by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT), which has hospitals in Winchester, Basingstoke and Andover.

The hospice opened last September following the success of a £4.4million community-backed fundraising campaign which saw the former Burrell House nurses’ home converted into a 10-bed inpatient hospice.

Winchester Hospice is a hub for providing inpatient care, specialist outpatient services and therapies, and at home patient care within the community. The new build includes state-of-the-art equipment, including self-cleaning baths and self-assisted beds for patients, as well as skylights, heated floors and en-suite bathrooms for every room.