The 2016 RHS Hampton Flower Show.

We were proud to have helped these lovely causes and gardens

Cancer Research UK's Life Garden © Adrian Brooks/Imagewise

The Abbeyfield Society: A breath of fresh Air

Older people’s charity The Abbeyfield Society is turning to good old-fashioned fresh air in a major campaign to improve the lives of people living with dementia, launched at The Royal Horticultural Society’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

The project was showcased with Abbeyfield’s A Breath of Fresh Air garden created by award-winning garden designer Rae Wilkinson. It breathes life into the campaign, creating an environment designed to draw older people living in care outside so they can step outdoors and experience nature.

The garden provides a rich, sensory experience with colours, sound and movement. It features a circular path with a sculptural handrail that threads through the central space, plus a soothing water bowl and a Mobius sculpture to represent continuous flow. Willow trees and blocks of grasses are also part of the stunning design. A curving wall was a major feature of the garden too – designed not only to continue the sense of flow, but also to raise up sensory plants to the visitors and provide areas to sit.

The Abbeyfield Society: A breath of fresh air

Residents living at Abbeyfield’s Victoria House in Kew have been working alongside Wilkinson to help create the garden. After the show was over, it was relocated there for residents, their families, volunteers and visitors to enjoy, while the Breath of Fresh Air project is rolled out at Abbeyfield houses and homes across the country.

According to research carried out by Alzheimer’s Society, just one person in ten with dementia goes outside each month, a statistic Abbeyfield aims to turnover with A Breath of Fresh Air. The project helps older people benefit from spending more time outside, enjoying the benefits that gardening brings. It aims to radically improve the health and wellbeing of people living with dementia and other degenerative illnesses.

For more information visit www.abbeyfield.com - www.raewilkinson.com

The Abbeyfield Society: A breath of fresh air

The Cancer research UK Life Garden

The Life Garden celebrated over 100,000 supporters who have left a gift in their Will to the charity.

CANCER Research UK created the first ever virtual reality tribute garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show this summer.

Visitors to the Show Garden were invited to walk into a stunning physical space created by designer Antonia Young, which will use Echinacea, Alliums, Geraniums and Hemerocallis as core flowers, alongside more naturalistic planting representing a classic British hedgerow or woodland edge. Visitors were then given the opportunity to put on a headset and be transported to the virtual reality tribute garden.

Eye catching visuals and sounds brought to life a multi-sensory, immersive experience for each visitor. Designed to be a peaceful and reflective space, the virtual reality garden featured over 100,000 flowers – one for each person who has remembered the charity in this way.

Caroline Kent, director of legacies at Cancer Research UK said: “We are thrilled to have a Show Garden at Hampton Court this summer and bring the first ever virtual reality tribute garden to the event. We believe using this exciting technology alongside our bright and beautiful physical garden is a wonderful way to thank and celebrate every generous supporter who has left a gift in their Will to Cancer Research UK."

“We rely entirely on the generous support of the public to continue our life-saving work to help beat cancer and over a third of our pioneering research was funded by gifts in Wills last year. We hope The Life Garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show will demonstrate our huge appreciation to all those who have supported us in the past with a legacy gift.”

Garden designer Antonia Young said: “I am honoured to be designing Cancer Research UK’s Life Garden. I wanted to keep the design simple - bright and beautiful vibrant planting through the middle of the garden will contrast with much more naturalistic planting around the edge that supports our native wildlife. The planting will reflect the images seen in the virtual reality experience, and mirrors at the end of the garden will give the sense of the landscape stretching away into infinity.

The Life Garden will live on at Tribute Events being held across the UK. These events will give family and friends the chance to experience the virtual reality experience as well as the opportunity to come together and celebrate the progress Cancer Research UK has made thanks to these generous gifts.

For more information visit www.cruk.org/lifegarden