11/09/2024
Olivia, David, Vicky H and all those incredible people who have seen the vision through to reality. You have all well and truly achieved Horatio’s vision. I have now seen the gardens at Salisbury and now at Stoke Mandeville through the eyes as a physio and latterly as a parent carer. I have seen people sharing a meal around a table with their loved one, children from the ward doing clay making and bug hotel workshops, patients being taken outside for the first time on their beds, patient’s next to the water features and in the greenhouse away from the sterile surrounds of the wards. You have created that healing, restorative, calm in the storm sanctuary and oasis that is really not possible to find anywhere else in hospital.
The choreographing of sights, sounds and smells through the months (having now seen the gardens in February and September) is nothing short of amazing. The eagerness and dedication of the volunteer gardeners, the amazing cakes and coffee, I could go on.
I just wanted you to know, all the effort, time, fundraising and passion is not lost on any of the patients and their carers. We may not be able to show it at times but we are thankful beyond any words that we could find.
