advertorial Greenfingers Charity –


completing magical gardens for children’s hospices


Our work


Greenfingers is a small national charity dedicated to supporting the children who spend time in hospices around the UK, along with their families, by creating inspiring gardens for them to relax in and benefit from. The charity is dedicated to creating beautiful, well-designed outdoor spaces for children to enjoy, whether through play or fun, or therapeutic rest and relaxation.


Greenfingers is driven by the belief that time spent outdoors, away from the bedside, can offer children and families under considerable stress a vital opportunity to embrace the benefits of being in the fresh air and engaging with the natural environment. We work closely with each hospice, to design and build a scheme that will suit their needs and the needs of the children who spend time there. To date, we have created 55 inspiring hospice gardens around the country.


Greenfingers Gardens


This year, Greenfingers opened a new pirate themed garden at Andy’s at St Andrew’s Hospice in Grimsby, designed and built by award winning garden designer, landscaper and Greenfingers Charity Ambassador Jody Lidgard. This enchanting garden will provide life-limited children with a feast of new sensory experiences, splashing through the water fountains, hearing raindrops on the galleon’s tin roof and enjoy the protective feeling of being surrounded by tall grasses. The interactive ‘Nest and Rest’ garden at Grace House, Sunderland will also open this year. This new garden will completely transform the existing garden space at the hospice. Designed by Sean Murray, winner of the BBC’s Great Chelsea Garden Challenge 2015, the garden will provide a place for recreation and enjoyment for the children and families who use the hospice services and provide a safe and peaceful haven.


With Greenfingers Charity celebrating 20 years of caring next year, there is much more in the pipeline with an exciting 2019 coming up. There are hospice gardens planned across the country including a sensory garden at Claire House Children's Hospice (The Wirral), designed by Carolyn Willitt, an all-weather garden at Little Harbour Children's Hospice (St Austell) which will be designed by Darren Hawkes and a woodland garden at Richard House Children’s Hospice (East London)


Get involved


Garden Re-Leaf Day is Greenfingers annual industry fundraising event which sees many supporters, old and new, come together to raise funds through events in their garden centres including quiz nights, coffee mornings, raffles, cake sales, curry evenings, as well as organising their own sponsored walks. Garden Re-Leaf raised over £70,000 in 2018, taking the total to £600,000 since its inception in 2012. An important date for the 2019 diary is the next Garden Re-Leaf Day which will take place on Friday 22nd March.


GCU July/August 2018


u01494 674749 uinfo@greenfingerscharity.org.uk


If you feel inspired by the work Greenfingers do and think you can help and support the charity in any way, we would love to hear from you. Perhaps you can contribute materials, old stock, time or expertise to help create the gardens, or maybe you could host an event to support Greenfingers, this would help raise vital funds to help secure wonderful outdoor spaces for children in need to enjoy.


To find out more, get involved or donate to Greenfingers, please do get in touch today.


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