New St Barnabas sensory garden debuts at Lincolnshire Show

The show garden was originally meant to be developed in 2020 for the new St Barnabas wellbeing hospice in Boston, but due to Covid, this couldn’t take place, so the staff at St Barnabas incorporated elements of the design of the garden into their new Boston Wellbeing Centre.

This year’s sensory garden was featured at the Lincolnshire Show last week, where visitors were able to sample St Barnabas Hospice Est. 1982 40th Anniversary gin, produced at Bottomley Distillery in Louth.

The garden will then be moved and incorporated into the St Barnabas Wellbeing Centre in Louth.

It was designed by Caroline Stanley, a local landscape gardener from Inspirational Gardens, who said: “The garden has got the title ‘The Circle of Life’, which makes you think of the energy of nature, which is all about renewal. It’s very important to try and create a garden which will be a lovely vegetated space.”

The garden encapsulates dementia-friendly elements and senses of the mind due to the fragrant plants, reminiscent of gin botanicals like thyme and rosemary, with some of the flower beds raised to allow patients with limited mobility to touch and smell the flowers.

Both the staff and students from Riseholme College helped with the development of the sustainable garden, using reclaimed metals, recycled potato boxes, donated pallets, and coffee sacks from Branston Ltd and Stokes Tea and Coffee.

St Barnabas have also extended their thanks to Rudies Roots Nurseries for the donated compost needed for the garden, as well as Crowders Nurseries for their support with the plants required.

Head of Wellbeing Services, Mandy Irons, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the Lincolnshire show and Riseholme College to create a new sensory garden for the patients and families to relax in and use as part of their therapy.

“I think people just see a garden, and it’s not until you really start to think about it and what helps people and their families right across the age range that you really understand that it is so much more than just a garden. It is going to be such a huge benefit to everybody and our staff as well will be able to enjoy it.”