A bespoke planter for Horatio's Garden

Horatio’s Garden is a charity that creates and lovingly cares for beautiful, accessible gardens in NHS spinal injury centres. In March this year the charity launched a fundraising appeal to create a third garden sanctuary for patients with spinal injuries and quickly reached it's £850,000 target. Six months on, the build for the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Bucks is complete.

Designed by Joe Swift - RHS Gold medal winner and presenter of BBC Gardeners’ World, the new garden includes secluded areas for patients to be on their own or with visitors, a rill, water feature, benches, planters and even a garden room for use during the winter months.

Approached by Joe himself at this year's Chelsea Flower Show, the Tom Raffield team were commissioned to create an interactive, steam bent planter specifically for outdoor use with the intention of being filled with winter vegetables. The planter design carefully mimics the flow of the curated gardens, allows wheelchair access in close proximity to its curvaceous sides and is handmade from sustainable oak from the Pyrenees.

The finished result is incredibly eye catching, unique and of course pays homage to our signature aesthetic. The Tom Raffield team would like to thank the entire Horatio's Garden team, the other companies who supported the project, Joe Swift and everybody who attended the opening event.

“It is simply wonderful to see my design come to fruition and the garden finally ready for the patients of the NSIC to enjoy. Working with Horatio’s Garden has been a departure from the usual garden design projects I undertake but has been an opportunity to make a meaningful difference to people who have suffered life-altering injuries and share the therapeutic benefits of gardening with them.

- Joe Swift, Designer.

Posted: 25.09.18
Updated: 16.04.21