Our eighth project has brought the 'Best in Show' show garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 to form the heart of Horatio's Garden Sheffield & East at the Princess Royal Spinal Cord Injuries Centre at Northern General Hospital in Sheffield in 2025.
“I can't put it into words - it's beyond all our expectations.” – Ali Mortimer, Nurse Director
Exactly two years after the garden began its life at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Horatio's Garden Sheffield & East welcomed everyone for the very first time. Located at the second largest spinal injury centre in the UK, the garden supports an extensive geographical area from the West Midlands to East Anglia, South Yorkshire to Lincolnshire. More than 360 in-patients, their family and friends, thousands of outpatients, as well as over 250 NHS staff looking after them, benefit from it every year.
Designed by Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg of Harris Bugg Studio, who also created the charity's award-winning Chelsea garden, and inspired by the history, geography and industry of its Yorkshire home, the garden was built by Sheffield-based contractors RLX Construction and project managed by Gleeds.
The garden is cared for by Head Gardener Ruth Calder, a RBG Kew graduate who has worked in heritage and botanic gardens, community horticulture projects, and as a freelance planting designer and consultant. Ruth is supported by part-time Garden Administrator Becky Silwa Webb and a fantastic team of volunteers.
Garden designers -
Harris Bugg Studio
Harris Bugg Studio is an award-winning landscape design practice led by Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg. Together, they have won six RHS gold medals, four of them at RHS Chelsea in addition to achieving 'Best in Show' for Horatio's Garden Chelsea. Their studio is consistently listed as one of Country Life Magazine’s ‘Best Garden and Landscape Design Practices in Britain’.
Understanding the spirit of the place is central to Charlotte and Hugo’s approach. Their designs always thoughtfully use vernacular materials, nearby nurseries and local craftspeople to ensure the garden speaks of and is connected to its broader setting, something strongly reflected in their designs for Horatio’s Garden Sheffield & East.
Harris Bugg Studio distilled the Sheffield design into a show garden for Horatio's Garden which won 'Best at Show' at the world-renowned RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2023. Generously supported by Project Giving Back, it was the first Main Avenue garden designed with the requirements of people with mobility needs at its heart. Every item has been reclaimed and relocated to form the heart of Horatio's Garden Sheffield & East. Find out more about Horatio's Garden Chelsea here.
"I can't put into words how I feel. It's absolutely amazing. I can't believe the transformation. It just looks beautiful and it'll be lovely for all of us to come out here."
— Jane
Key design features
- An accessible water feature inspired by Sheffield’s industrial landscape, uses historic cutlery casts to form a multi-height arrangement for gently brimming water.
- Stone cairns, symbolic of wayfinding when the path is unclear, have been built by master Yorkshire stone wallers Lydia and Bert Noble.
- A large garden room and garden pod offer a cocooning, warm and welcoming space for shelter and privacy – with views out at different heights.
- Layered and sensory planting allows interaction from various vantage points, reflecting how patients in beds or wheelchairs see and interact with the garden.
- Watch a tour of the Chelsea garden with Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg below
Before: Princess Royal Spinal Cord Injuries Centre at the Northern General Hospital
Now: Horatio's Garden Sheffield & East at the Princess Royal Spinal Cord Injuries Centre at Northern General Hospital
Find us
Horatio's Garden Sheffield & East
Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Centre
Northern General Hospital
Osborn Building
Herries Road
Sheffield
S5 7AU
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