The 2024 Best in Show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has been officially opened and named as the Malcolm Family Forest Bathing Garden.
Representatives from Muscular Dystrophy UK, The Malcolm Family and Glasgow City Council attended the official ribbon cutting, marking the garden as open at The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in Bellahouston Park.
The garden was made possible thanks to funding from Project Giving Back, a charitable organisation that supports gardens for good causes at RHS Chelsea and, following the show, in communities around the UK. This generosity and support enabled garden designer Ula Maria to create something unique for Muscular Dystrophy UK – the leading charity for more than 110,000 people in the UK living with one of over 60 muscle wasting and weakening conditions.
Following display at the Flower Show, the garden was carefully packed up and transported more than 400 miles in five articulated lorries, kindly supplied by The Malcolm Group. Once at the hospice it was cared for by a team of volunteers while land was cleared to allow it to move to its permanent home.
Rhona Baillie OBE, Chief Executive at The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice said: “We’re truly delighted to provide a permanent home for the Malcolm Family Forest Bathing Garden and know that it will make a real difference to our patients, their families, and our local communities. The whole design of The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice is focussed around bringing the ‘outdoors inside’. We believe in the therapeutic benefits of safe and accessible gardens for people and this incredible and unique garden complements the wonderful outdoor areas we already have available.
“Our care is all about helping people to live as fully and as well as they can to the end of their lives, however long that may be – looking after their physical needs but also their emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing.
“It’s a privilege to host a ‘Best in Show’ garden to Glasgow and we’d like to say a huge thank you to both Muscular Dystrophy UK and the garden funders Project Giving Back for making this possible, as well as The Malcolm Group for helping to transport the garden. We are delighted to recognise the significant support the Malcolm family has shown to the hospice for many years by naming it after them”
Andrew Malcolm, CEO of The Malcolm Group, commented: “We were delighted to continue our long-standing support of The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice by assisting with the transportation and delivery of the garden from London to Glasgow. Supporting organisations that make such a meaningful difference within local communities is extremely important to The Malcolm Group and to the Malcolm family personally.
“We are especially proud that the garden has been named in our honour and would like to sincerely thank the Hospice for this recognition. It is a privilege to play a small part in this project, and we hope the garden will be enjoyed by patients, families and the local community for many years to come.”
Andy Fletcher, Chief Executive at Muscular Dystrophy UK said: “As a charity, we always knew that having a garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show was about far more than that week alone. Seeing the Forest Bathing Garden take shape in its permanent home at The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice over the last couple of years has been really special and we hope it will provide a peaceful space that everyone can enjoy.
“The intention was always that the garden would go somewhere that would benefit people living with neuromuscular conditions, as well as the wider community. We believe the hospice is the perfect place as it provides care and support for those affected by life-limiting conditions, helping people to achieve the best quality of life; and Muscular Dystrophy UK is delighted to provide support alongside the staff there.”
The land for the new garden was kindly donated by Glasgow City Council. The Lord Provost of Glasgow, Jacqueline McLaren, said:
“We are very, very pleased to have played a part in bringing this wonderful, therapeutic space to Glasgow. The council has long supported the hospice so they can provide specialist care and support to people at times of great need. By donating a small corner of Bellahouston Park to the hospice, this award winning garden can become a place where patients and families can find comfort and a sense of well-being.”
The garden is open to hospice patients and their families during the week and open to the general public at weekends.
People can find out more about the hospice and how they can help support the charity by visiting www.ppwh.org.uk
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