At St Mary’s Hospice, we are grateful for our beautiful and tranquil gardens. They provide a calming atmosphere for patients, families, staff, volunteers and visitors, set against the backdrop of Hoad. Our dedicated volunteer gardeners and staff continuously work hard to maintain and grow this peaceful outdoor space.
Accessible greenhouse and shed
Thanks to funding support, including the Ulverston Town Lands Trust, we have recently made great additions to our gardens with an accessible greenhouse and shed. These provide essential storage space and house the vegetables, fruits and plants grown by our Family and Bereavement Support’s Forget me not gardening club.
Forget me not gardening club
Our gardens are the setting for our Forget me not gardening club. The group started with the aim of bringing people together through gardening to help those in the community experiencing loss in challenging times around and post Covid. And has been made possible through the generous support of the Co-op Community Fund.
St Mary’s Family Bereavement Support Service Practitioner Lead, Donna Parker: “As restrictions begin to ease, we wanted to create an opportunity for people to come together in a safe and supportive outdoor environment. Our gardening group was founded with the intention of providing face-to-face support during these tough times, creating a space where those who have lost loved ones can share experiences and gain comfort from each other. We are very grateful to the Co-op Community Fund for making it possible.”
St Mary’s Hospice’s gardening club meets every Tuesday 10am to 12pm, until September. The Forget Me Not gardening club is for anyone bereaved or facing bereavement to come along, chat, learn new gardening skills, have a cuppa or simply just be. The group is run by the Family and Bereavement Support team with volunteer gardener Paul.
St Mary’s Family Bereavement Support Service Co-ordinator, Linda Nott: “The club is now up and running, and we are delighted with the feedback so far: it’s about talk and friendship, meeting people and learning a bit about gardening too. We want as many people as possible to come along – whether it’s just to drop in for some of the time and you don’t have to commit to every week. We are happy to create more groups to help support this as needed.”
Home grown …
The fruit and vegetables grown by the gardening club is enjoyed by our Orangery café or in meals on our inpatient unit.
Linda adds: “Our group love the idea that the produce grown is then served to our patients or café customers. Last year our delicious strawberries were converted by our talented chefs into an Eton Mess for patients. And tomatoes served in salads.”
For more information …
St Mary’s Hospice’s Forget Me Not gardening club
To find out more information about the Forget Me Not gardening club or St Mary’s Hospice Family and Bereavement Support Team’s services just speak to Donna or Linda on 01229 580 305 option 6
St Mary’s Family Bereavement Support Service
St Mary’s Family Bereavement Support Service provides psychological, emotional and spiritual support for patients throughout their illness, regardless of whatever their long term illness may be, and for their families and carers, leading up to and following bereavement. The service is available to anyone over the age of 18 who is experiencing loss, irrespective of time lapsed, cause or relationship. There is also no requirement to have had previous contact with the hospice services.