Katherine Holland has been chosen to create a grief-inspired garden in the ‘all about plants’ category, on behalf of the national healthcare charity Sue Ryder.
Having grown up near Marlborough in Wiltshire, Katherine spent all of her time as a child in her family garden where she first developed her love of plants.
According to Katherine, she always shared a love of nature with her mother who taught her all she knew about gardening.
The green-fingered youngster went on to study Maths at the University of Exeter and became a financial risk manager for 10 years.
But her true passion remained in the garden, and Katherine soon hung up her spreadsheets to launch her own award-winning garden design studio.
She previously won a silver medal at the Hampton Court Garden Festival in 2022 for a showcase inspired by her mum’s death and hopes to do just as well representing Sue Ryder at the Chelsea Flower Show.
“The Sue Ryder Grief Kind campaign is one that is so close to my heart,” said Katherine.
“My own experiences of grief and other people’s misunderstanding of it has made me want grief to be talked about more openly, to help support those who are grieving and those who are close to them.
“At the RHS Hampton Court Show, we found so many people connected with the space and shared their stories of grief with us, highlighting a real need to discuss it.
“So, for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, I really want to build upon the conversations we started about grief using the medium of plants.
The designer hopes that her garden will create the type of green space she needed when she was grieving her own mother.
After the prestigious show, the garden will be relocated to Sue Ryder’s St John Hospice in Bedford as a dedicated space for grieving for the hospice staff, patients and the community.
“Sue Ryder is delighted to be working with Katherine Holland on this exciting opportunity with Project Giving Back at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024,” said Heidi Travis, chief executive at Sue Ryder.
“We firmly believe that together, we can make sure everyone has access to the right support, at the right time, so no one has to face grief alone.”
The charity offers a range of bereavement support services including hospices, counselling and an online bereavement community.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show takes place between May 21, and May 25, 2024 and will be showcasing an array of amazing garden designs and floral displays.
Source: swindonadvertiser.co.uk
