Audrey Hepburn inspires show garden for Macmillan

A garden bringing to life Audrey Hepburn’s iconic quote: ‘To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” – will be on show at the 2019 BBC Gardener’s World Live show (13th to 16th June) at Birmingham NEC.

Created for Macmillan Cancer Support by award-winning designer, Martyn Wilson, the garden will be bedecked with brightly coloured presents and celebrates the idea of leaving a legacy. The ‘presents’ in Martyn’s garden will each contain a different species of tree and symbolise gifts left in wills to Macmillan. These vital legacy donations make up over a third of the Charity’s income and insure that they can be right there with people living with cancer throughout the UK.

Martyn (pictured left) comments that for him the famous words of Audrey Hepburn are tied in with the idea that to leave a gift in your will to Macmillan is to think of tomorrow. The varying sizes of the present planters will also hold a special meaning for him: “I wanted the differing heights of the planters to get across the fact that, no matter how big or small, every donation made in a will is of critical importance to Macmillan,” he said.

Each planter contained within the show garden can be moved, so that the garden has the potential to be relocated after the show – creating its own legacy for another community.

It will be enclosed on both sides, creating a glade-like feel and providing visitors with a calming space in which they can reflect: “So many of us have friends and family who have died of cancer, so it feels really meaningful to be supporting Macmillan with my garden,” Martyn adds.

The ‘vibrant gifts’ in the garden will be set against a background of greens and whites. As well as being the Macmillan colours, these tones will create a soothing atmosphere in the garden: “Hopefully, it will be a place in which people can think about loved ones who may have died and celebrate their lives and legacies,” Martyn said.

Macmillan Cancer Support Senior Legacy Promotions Manager, Ruthie Coverdale, points out that gifts and wills raised over £80 million pounds last year for Macmillan: “Without these vital donations we wouldn’t be able to support people dealing with the physical, emotional and financial impact of cancer,” she said. “Martyn’s garden is such a creative celebration of the power of legacy giving and we can’t wait to see it come to life,” she added.

For more information on how you can leave a legacy for Macmillan Cancer Support, visit:
www.macmillan.org.uk/donate/gifts-in-wills

For information, tickets etc for BBC Gardener’s World please visit: www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com

Photo credits: ©Macmillan Cancer Support/Martyn Wilson