Horatio’s Garden

When Olivia Chappell asked me to design a garden for the spinal unit at Salisbury District Hospital to celebrate the life of her son, Horatio, who had died in a tragic accident I couldn’t refuse. A family member had spent a year in the spinal unit at Salisbury District Hospital after a life-changing diving accident so I knew the place well.

There was no garden to speak of save for a playground virtually inaccessible for any but the most adventurous wheelchair user.

The design of two broken spine-shaped walls dissected by a path leading to a complete spine drew heavily on the experience of patients being rehabilitated the metaphor being that patients arrive at the unit broken but leave mended spiritually if not physically. I realised that this may not always be the case and that some people will have differing opinions on how their path to recover has been handled but from the feedback we get from patients using the garden it’s clear that time spent recovering from life changing injuries has been made a little better.

Since the garden was completed in 2012 we’ve seen first-hand how access to a garden improves well-being of patients with life-changing injuries. We’ve seen how it affects other members of families affected and also the staff that toil day and night to heal them mentally and physically to come to terms with their plight. We’ve seen how plants encourage insects and birds accentuating the overall experience for patients providing distraction, privacy, entertainment and knowledge about the natural world for not everyone coming to the hospital is a gardener. We’ve also seen how communication between doctors and patients has been improved through the vital volunteer network of gardeners looking after the garden. Patients using the garden are generally more relaxed than they are indoors and often engage with volunteers occasionally imparting information that they may not have been able to express in the sterility of the hospital ward.

We were clear from the outset that this shouldn’t be a low maintenance garden. A perennial-heavy design would mean more maintenance but the benefits of a more dynamic landscape in terms of wildlife, colour and scent would heighten the overall impact of the garden, accentuate the seasons and provide a visual feast for art classes, poetry etc.

Celebrating the seasons also encourages visitors back at different times of the year for important fund-raising events like food fairs, plant sales, NGS open days and musical events. These not only help future proof the ongoing maintenance of the garden but also provide both seasonal and cultural interest for patients who often have to endure long stays (one year or more) at the hospital before being rehabilitated.