Finding Our Way: An NHS Tribute Garden

The garden is a celebration of the NHS and the relentless care and support it and its staff have provided during the Coronavirus pandemic – nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, pharmacists, porters, technicians, and other unseen and unsung staff who keep the health service running. It recognises the collaboration between UK university researchers and NHS staff to find new treatments and vaccines to counter Coronavirus.

With its beautiful hardwood canopy, rills, pools and planting, the garden offers an immersive experience. Water represents the collective efforts of NHS staff and researchers pulling together, and is depicted through its exploration of the garden’s series of rills and pools. Warm earthy, apricot tones run through the planting, anchored by Acer griseum, Rosa ‘Phyllis Bide’ and R. glauca.

In unison, the planting, hard landscaping and the gentle sound of water provides a safe space for reflection and contemplation, bringing optimism and hope of a brighter future. The message of the garden is that even in the testing times of isolation and lockdown we are all united by a common aim to support each other.