Greenfingers Charity to make Chelsea debut
Thanks to the generosity of a private donor, Greenfingers Charity will present their very first show garden at the 2019 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. ‘The Greenfingers Charity Garden‘ will be designed by Kate Gould – no stranger to Chelsea – however, this year we will see her debut on Main Avenue.
Greenfingers is a national charity dedicated to supporting children in UK hospices, by creating inspiring, beautiful and well-designed outdoor spaces for life-limited children to enjoy through play, relaxation with their family, friends and siblings and for fun or therapeutic rest.
Intrinsic to the Greenfingers ethos is the belief that time spent outdoors, away from the bedside, can offer children and families under considerable stress a vital opportunity to embrace the benefits of being in the fresh air and engaging with nature.
The garden will also raise awareness of the Charity’s work as it celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2019. Chelsea is the perfect choice as the garden will be seen by 150,000 visitors and millions on BBC TV over the course of show week.
Kate’s design is a lush green split-level garden, a calming, interactive and uplifting space where life-limited children with complex needs, their families, friends and carers can come together for play and relaxation.
The design is set over two levels with a lift and sloped walkways, making it an accessible space for people of all ages and disabilities. With its sensitive planting and magical water-feature, the innovative garden design aims to highlight and promote the therapeutic benefits of the outside spaces created over the past 20 years by the Charity.
Kate has designed a large water feature that can be viewed from both levels of the scheme and from multiple seating areas. There are spaces to relax in the sunshine and under canopies, while the lower level ramps ensure disabled access. The second level of the garden is accessed via a lift system.
In another first, The Greenfingers Charity Garden, will be showcasing their very own new plant ‘Choisya Greenfingers’, sales of which will generate royalties for the Charity.
To date, Greenfingers Charity has created 55 inspiring gardens in children’s hospices around the country and has a further waiting list of hospices that need their help.
Kate Gould is an award-winning designer with over 20 years in the industry. Her diverse and talented team design and implement gardens tailored to fit their client’s life and style. 2019 will see Kate design and build her 10th show garden at Chelsea, having won five gold medals and three ‘best in category’ awards for her designs at the Show since 2005 – see www.kategouldgardens.com
It will be a delight to see her on Main Avenue for the first time and we look forward to seeing the team’s progress in the run-up to Chelsea 2019.
Photo credits: All images ©The Greenfingers Charity/Kate Gould
