Horatio's Garden

PRIVATE VIEW PHOTOGRAPHS CLIVE NICHOLS | WORDS VERONICA PEERLESS

This unusual garden designed by Cleve West is a welcome retreat for those recovering from spinal injury, and a fitting memorial to schoolboy Horatio Chapple

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oratio’s Garden is a beautiful and vital sanctuary for patients at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre in Salisbury - and a fitting tribute to Horatio Chapple. He was tragically killed by a polar bear in Norway in 2011, aged 17.

Horatio had volunteered at the hospital, where his father is a surgeon, and they had identified a need for a garden. A flood of donations after he died helped make this idea a reality.

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heroes: hospital garden The garden was designed by RHS Chelsea Flower Show Best In Show winner Cleve West, who already had a connection with the centre, as his best friend was treated there. ‘He used to go to outside to get out of the ward, and there were cars and people smoking - it was depressing,’ he says.

Cleve set about creating a sanctuary for patients forced to spend hours in a ward, and their families. The site was challenging, sandwiched between the brutal architecture of the hospital and a large car park. But beyond this is the Clarendon Way, a 27-mile footpath between Salisbury and Winchester cathedrals. ‘We angled the whole garden towards it,’ says Cleve.

The hospital environment inevitably posed restrictions.

The garden had to be safe for people in wheelchairs and hospital beds, so changes of level were out of the question. Space was also needed for functions. ‘Any gardener will want to put in more plants than hard landscaping, but this has much

more hard landscaping than usual.’

The space is broken up by dry stone walls in the shape of spines - two broken, one whole. ‘I’m not a great one for themes, but this just evolved,’ explains Cleve. ‘It signifies the journey that the patients are making. I saw my best friend go from utter despair to a ‘mended’ person - not physically, but mentally.’ The walls also draw the eye towards the Clarendon Way. The garden was planted with perennials to attract the wildlife of the Clarendon Way. ‘We’ve got so many birds visiting the garden now, and hummingbird hawk-moths,’ Cleve explains. The perennials also reflect the seasons, catch the light and move in the wind.

‘The planting is influenced by the likes of Piet Oudolf,’ says Cleve.

‘I was aiming for a mix of textures and a long season of interest. The main priority was to give patients as much to enjoy as possible.

There’s so much going on in there that it really is an all-round sensory experience.’

ROAD TO RECOVERY The drystone walls are made from reclaimed Cotswold stone with coping stones of French sandstone. The paving surface is resin-bonded aggregate, which is smooth enough for people in wheelchairs and hospital beds. Occupational therapists even use the space for wheelchair training. The garden includes several quiet areas where patients and their families can have some private time.

‘I was aiming for a mix of textures and a long season of interest. The main priority was to give patients as much to enjoy as possible’

A SITE TRANSFORMED The 1500 sq m site was previously an unloved and underused space. The trees are multi-stemmed river birch (Betula nigra) and Amelanchier lamarckii.

A native hedge screens the car park and a beech hedge was donated from Cleve’s award-winning 2012 RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden. The garden is now maintained by head gardener Tina Crossley, with the help of volunteers.

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the english garden October 2014

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WATER WORLD The shallow, ridged rill beside the arch provides sound, reflection and somewhere for birds and insects to drink.

Tulips, libertia and hardy geraniums are planted alongside.

APPLE OF HIS EYE A rusted steel archway leads to the summerhouse. Horatio loved apples, and Cleve wanted to include this personal element, but there wasn’t room for a traditional orchard.

He came up with the idea of this apple arch instead.

‘Worcester Pearmain’, ‘Queen Cox’, ‘James Grieve’, Katy and ‘Discovery’ are just some of the varieties trained onto it.

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HANDS-ON PLANTERS FOR PATIENTS Movable wooden containers are planted with a mix of annuals and edibles that were grown in the greenhouse and then planted up by patients. ‘It doesn’t matter how precious you are as a garden designer,’ says Cleve. ‘People will always want to have a go at putting their own plants in. They’re near the workstation where people can get their hands dirty, and we encourage that.’

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the english garden October 2014

PERENNIAL FAVOURITES Cleve chose perennial plants that attract wildlife.

‘If you have insects, you attract birds,’ he explains.

Perennials also make the garden more dynamic.

Individual plants including achillea and knautia were chosen as much for their form and texture as they were for colour; many catch the light and wind.

Olivia Chapple (Horatio’s mother) told Cleve about Aruncus dioicus ‘Horatio’, which works beautifully at the back of the border.

heroes: hospital garden PLANT PROFILES

FLAT HEADS ‘Achillea ‘Moonshine’ is a lovely acid yellow and it really wakes you up,’ says Cleve. ‘Clashes of colour don’t matter in this garden.’

SOFT TEXTURE Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’ provides structure.

Carder bees use the fluff from the undersides of the leaves to line their nests.

PINKY POMPONS Knautia macedonica contrasts beautifully with Achillea ‘Moonshine’ and threads itself through other plants.

SPIKY DRAMA With its distinctive spikes, Acanthus mollis is one of Cleve’s favourite plants for adding drama, structure and a touch of exoticism.

Individual plants were chosen as much for their form and texture as for their colour; many catch the light and wind

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SWEET ABANDON Looser perennials such as Centranthus ruber and white alliums contrast well with the verticals of acanthus, aruncus and the multi-stemmed trees. Shaggy box balls provide evergreen structure for winter.

Cleve says he was aiming for ‘an air of abandon’ in the planting.

SITTING PRETTY Cleve designed the bench, made from Bath stone and oak.

It’s surrounded by erigeron daisies, red-hued centranthus, Stipa gigantea, soft grey stachys, tall mauve Verbena bonariensis, fennel and alliums. Behind the bench is a temporary sculpture - each year, a different sculptor exhibits their work in the garden. Five parasols provide shade.

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heroes: hospital garden

ART OF GLASS The greenhouse is a Hartley Botanic model with specially adapted automated doors for wheelchair access.

A hospital bed can also fit in. It is used for growing plants such as annuals, tomatoes and salads for garden therapy sessions, as a meeting place, for shelter from rain and as a coffee house. Nearby is a ‘salad bar’ area and workstation, where patients can wheel up and plant salads.

A LASTING LEGACY Horatio’s Garden is now a national charity that aims to create beautiful gardens at other spinal injury centres around the UK. To donate, fundraise or volunteer, call +44 (0)7429 140918 or visit www.horatiosgarden.org.uk (the online shop sells beautiful fundraising items).

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the english garden October 2014

DESIGNER PROFILE

The greenhouse is used for growing plants, for garden therapy sessions, as a meeting place, for shelter and as a coffee house

CLEVE WEST is a garden designer based in southwest London. Five of his gardens have won gold medals at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and two have won Best In Show. He says his mission is ‘to create imaginative, timeless sanctuaries for any outdoor space. I don’t think I have a signature planting style, but I enjoy the play between informality and structure.’

Cleve is also a keen allotmenteer, and has documented 10 years of tending his allotment in his book Our Plot (Frances Lincoln, £20). www.clevewest.com