St Elizabeth Hospice invites Suffolk Show goers to take moment of reflection in show garden
To mark the charity’s 30th anniversary, St Elizabeth Hospice has been donated a show garden at the Suffolk Show. The garden has been designed by award winning designer Frederic Whyte in memory of Penny Warburg and invites attendees of the show to stop and take a quiet moment of reflection.
Since 1989, St Elizabeth hospice has cared for over 30,000 patients with a terminal or progressive illness, and the families of those patients. The hospice needs over £10.5 million each year to run and relies on generous donations from local people for most of this funding.
Talking about his inspiration for the garden, Frederic Whyte said: “We are all unique, and have our own ways of dealing with illness and bereavement. We’ve created a space that invites individuals to commemorate, celebrate or contemplate upon the lives of loved ones. We have designed the garden to be a multi-functional, fluid space, suited to both solitary and more sociable forms of commemoration, and moments of solitude. The design has been inspired by woodland glades and green amphitheatres. The garden will be built with the generous support of D Taylor Landscapes, a Suffolk based landscape contractor specialising in bespoke builds.”
At the end of the show the garden will be taken to St Elizabeth Hospice on Foxhall Road and immediately rebuilt for the hospice patients to enjoy.
Tizy Wellesley Wesley, a highly dedicated supporter and former trustee of the hospice, who is leading the project, said: “I am extremely excited to see this garden come to life. The hospice helps so many people and it is a wonderful opportunity to allow those visiting the show a moment of reflection whilst helping to raise awareness of the incredible work that the hospice does”.
Attendees of the Suffolk Show are invited to visit the garden, enjoy its beauty and find out more about the hospice’s Great Garden Trail, which runs all summer and into the autumn with 44 open garden events across Suffolk, including 13 open village events. The Great Garden Trail sees several gardens which are not normally open to the public opening their gates to local people in support of the hospice. On Thursday 30 May a string quartet from Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing in the garden.
In addition visitors to the garden at 11am, 2pm, 4pm can enjoy a performance from Trumpet Creepers, an improvisation ensemble composed of dancers orchestrated by Flora Wellesley Wesley. The ensemble approaches improvisation through the use of movement, voice, text, and a listening yet daring engagement with one another and their audience.
More information about the show garden
The central area will be reached via a narrow path through multi-stem leading into an amphitheatre surrounded by trees, soft ornamental grasses and flowering perennials. It will nestle against a green embankment that embraces a semi-circular oak bench designed as seating for couples or small groups.
The palate of plants around the main garden will be accented with celebratory purple highlights which, combined with the invigorating greens of ornamental grasses, references the hospice’s signature colours. The colours surrounding a smaller, contemplative area will be calmer. Under a canopy of fragrant white lilacs, this area will provide a more secluded seating area for moments of quiet and contemplation. A reflective water bowl will mirror the green canopy and sky.
About Frederic Whyte
Frederic Whyte graduated with a Diploma in Garden Design from the prestigious English Gardening School in 2009. In 2013 he was awarded a Gold Medal with his second RHS Chelsea garden and in 2015 he returned to Suffolk where he established a design practice. He is committed to using his skills to promote the causes in which he believes in.
