A £30,000 garden that won a silver medal at the 2024 RHS Tatton Flower Show is to be donated to mental health inpatients and NHS workers in Lancashire.
The 1804 Garden is designed by 2023 Tatton best in show winners, garden designers Carolyn Hardern and Jon Jarvis.
After appearing at Tatton, a scaled down version of The 1804 Garden will be constructed and then on show at Southport Flower Show in August.
Designers Carolyn and Jon are then kindly donating the garden to Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCft) where it will be rebuilt and used as a wellbeing garden in Blackpool where it will be renamed by our service users.
Carolyn Hardern said: “Jon and I designed the winning Constructing Minds garden last year which is only the second time we had collaborated to raise awareness of suicide in the form of a wellbeing garden. We linked it to the Band of Builders Charity and relied on donations. It won the title of Best in Show.
This year’s The 1804 Garden highlights skin cancer and the link between physical health and mental health and the benefits of the natural world to reduce anxiety and stress. Linking again to Band of Builders, outdoor workers have five to 10 times more sun exposure and are at an increased risk of developing skin cancer. Skin cancer was first mentioned in medical journals in 1804.
We plan to donate it to The Harbour at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust so that patients, NHS staff and visitors can enjoy the benefits of our garden.”
The garden created at RHS Tatton is the biggest on show in 2024 at just over 300 metres squared, with seating in the shade and a large central golden orb made from steel rings representing the sun. 
LSCft Deputy Chief Executive Ursula Martin said: “It is amazing to see the 1804 Garden here at Tatton in all its glory.
Carolyn and Jon are incredibly talented volunteer show garden designers and we are so very fortunate that they’ve chosen to donate their beautiful garden to benefit our mental health inpatients, their families and colleagues at The Harbour in Blackpool.
It will prove to be a relaxing and truly beautiful space for our service users to benefit from enjoy on their recovery journeys with us. Colleagues too will find it a welcome place to aid their wellbeing and it will benefit and be visible to the local community. It’s a stunning, fragrant and tranquil garden reflecting both the importance of mental health and physical health. We are really looking forward to welcoming it to Lancashire, it’s a wonderful gift to us at LSCft."
