Eden Garden is now built and designed around the specific needs of the Cancer and Stroke patients at Wexham Park Hospital. It will now be open all year round and there is a pavilion to give shelter, provide a safe space for a bed for patients as well as facilities for refreshments and music.

UPDATE September 2019

The Eden Garden was officially opened on Thursday 19th September by Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo.

The 24-year-old, known as Toff, cut the ribbon (of course made from Frog Tape) for the Eden Ward garden, which has been transformed thanks to the generosity of you, the public and the business community.

The refurbishment has been funded entirely by donations it could otherwise have cost Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust an estimated £50,000 and all in one year and a day.

Complementary therapist Michele Martin, who was the driving force behind the garden transformation, said: This fantastic garden will make a massive difference to our patients.

We want it to be a sanctuary where people who have cancer can spend time away from the ward, either on their own or with their families and friends.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped to make this happen, from those who organised fundraising events, made generous donations or provided us with building materials, to others who physically toiled away to turn the plans into reality.

We will continue to fundraise for the garden to allow continuous maintenance, planting and more.

July 2019

WE the project appeared on BBC1! 'One Day that changed my life'.

You can still catch up on iPlayer....https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0006h6c/one-day-that-changed-my-life-series-2-episode-6

The project is well under way. The main team involved are:

Michele Martin:Complementary Therapist

Siobahan Whittaker:Matron

Emma Carr: Arts and Creative Health Officer

Andrew House:Director of Frimley Health Charity

Our pitch to Shurtape Director Colin Gadd and the Marketing Manager Alan Murray were wonderful hosts and so supportive to the project. Giving half the donation to the outbuilding , but also continued support for the next 2 years! They listened so much to all of our stories to the garden and we all got quite emotional!

Since then, we have had a few amazing donations from The local Round Table, Private donations and a staff 5K run! Now we even have a pub doing a quiz night! But we still need more....please keep donating what you can.

We are also please to announce that Georgia Toffolo (Toff) will opening the garden mid September!

Budget:

Paving and sand: In donation

Manual Labour: In donation

Ground works: £7K (Update: Funded)

Outbuilding: £16K (Update:Funded)

Furniture inside and outside seating: £5K (Update:Funded)

Artwork and Important Sensory equipment for the garden: £10K

Planting:£3K

Vision

We envisage the garden will be an idyllic place for patients to spend precious moments with their families. It will be a garden for quiet contemplation, peaceful reflection and privacy for both Cancer and Stroke patients to spend time on their own or with family members.

Patients often express a desire to spend time outside and to break from the clinical environment it is hoped the Eden Garden will enable them to fulfil this wish.

Donations

£44 would enable one family to use the Eden Garden

£100 will pay for refreshments for patients

£500 will help to provide comfortable seating

£1000 so the pavilion can be used in all weathers

Impact

A number of our patients have stays of up to 30 days, we do everything we can to help them through the stay. A garden that is safely accessible will improve mental health and well-being for all.

The impact the garden will achieve is best described from a conversation had with a cancer patient. They said "I sleep, eat, use the bathroom and have visitors all in this room, I look out at what could be a beautiful space where I could safely sit with my family and feel less like a patient for a while."

We are privileged to help our patients and aspire to the best for them during and after treatment, and sadly sometimes end of life. The garden will help create happy memory making moments.

The garden is currently being cleared by generous community help. Our vision is to then create a space that is accessible with brick paving to allow unrestricted movement of beds and wheelchairs.

Thanks to:

Ryan Cardrick was a haematology patient in 2018. Ryan said I sleep, eat, use the bathroom and have visitors all in this room, I look out at what could be a beautiful space where I could safely sit with my family and feel less like a patient for a while. Ryan's wife, Carol and family have donated £350 from a coffee morning last year then £1000 5th April from donations at his funeral which was October last year. Ryan inspired the Eden garden makeover with his words with Michele.

Hodgson and Sons have coordinating the removal of old decking, installing drainage, laying of paving, kitchen supply and fitting

Kier Construction have donated the paving and sand.

Coca Cola had a team join us to re pot and distribute plants.

We had an amazing team of volunteers clearing the garden on Saturday 30th March.

Team Smith Lucy Gardner Smith and her husband raised funds in memory of Lucy's wonderful mum. Matty and Lucy raised money to improve end of life care for patients and their families at Wexham Parks Eden Garden and Warrington and Halton hospitals by doing many fitness challenges throughout the 2019! https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiserdisplay/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=TeamSmith1&pageUrl=1&isTeam=true

Matteo the charge nurse on the ward did a 10,000ft foot sky dive on 17th April raising over £400! Matteo kept his promised and survived his skydive - all for the Eden Garden project at Wexham Hospital. Matteo says thank you to all that supported him and pledged money.

Hodgson and Sons donated all of the man power, experience and knowledge to the whole garden.

Local community for over 100 hours of hard work already.

Kier Construction for donation of bricks and sand.

Pinewood Nurseries in run a plant bank for us to replenish our plants. (http://pinewoodnurseries.co.uk/) Stoke Poges, SL3 6NB.

We hope you will support the appeal by making a contribution and by telling your family and friends about it.