Whilst we were hoping Horatio’s Garden London & South East would be open to the public on Sunday 21st August, unfortunately our National Garden Scheme Open Day has now been cancelled due to the ongoing risk Coronavirus poses to patients spending time in the spinal centre and the NHS staff who work there.
We really appreciate your understanding and hope to be able to welcome you to the garden at some point in the future. If you’d like to find out more about the garden, please continue reading below.
About Horatio’s Garden London & South East
Designed by eight-time RHS Chelsea Gold Medal winning garden designer, Tom Stuart-Smith, and part funded by the National Garden Scheme, Horatio’s Garden London & South East opened in 2020 in the London Spinal Cord Injury Centre at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, London. The garden was the fifth Horatio’s Garden to be built and was specifically designed for patients in wheelchairs and hospital beds. It is therefore fully accessible and was thoughtfully created to support people as they physically and mentally adjust to living with a life-changing spinal cord injury. Everything is of a high quality and the garden is designed to be a home away from home for people facing a long hospital stay far from their loved ones.
The horticultural haven offers something for everyone. The garden is cleverly designed to bring the sights, sounds and scents of nature to the heart of the hospital and is there for patients, their loved ones and NHS staff to enjoy whenever they like. As such, the haven features a contemporary garden room and garden pods designed by Stephen Marshall, as well as a charming original glasshouse. Both enable people to spend time amidst nature all year-round and are a real sight to behold.
Featuring smooth paths throughout, the design includes a social space, private areas for people to seek solitude with their loved ones, the calming sound of flowing water and a wealth of colourful, wildlife-friendly planting. Everything has been carefully chosen to offer year-round interest, whilst animals are also encouraged with bird and butterfly boxes. The sanctuary is also home to some rare treats, including Albizzia julibrissin (the Persian silk tree), Acacia boormanii (Australian snowy river wattle) and Tetrapanax papyrifer (the rice paper plant) amongst a host of unusual shrubs and herbaceous perennials.
The garden is an ever-evolving, thriving project cared for by Head Gardener Ashley Edwards, as well as our wonderful volunteer team, who both help Ashley to nurture the garden and support people using the sanctuary. A warm welcome awaits everyone spending time in Horatio’s Garden London & South East and we hope to one day be able to share all this and more with you.
