Winning gold at the Southport Flower Show

The ‘Every Breath is Precious’ Garden aimed to raise awareness of Pulmonary Fibrosis through garden design and support the work of Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust.

Pulmonary Fibrosis is a progressive and debilitating lung disease that occurs when lung tissue becomes damaged and scarred and this makes it difficult to breathe. This scarring causes the lungs to become stiffer and the transfer of oxygen from lungs to the body becomes more difficult. As the disease progresses more of the lung tissue becomes
scarred.

The title of the garden was ‘Every Breath is Precious’ because as this condition worsens, every breath is increasingly precious. The garden addressed cognitive and sensory accessibility and that gardens should be a place for enjoyment and fulfilment throughout illness. Gardening is a source of relaxation, comfort and enjoyment and can be hugely beneficial to mental and physical health which can enhance end-of-life quality.

I worked closely with Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust, who provide personal support to people affected by Pulmonary Fibrosis and Thrive, a charity who use gardening to bring about positive changes in the lives of people living with disabilities or ill health, or who are isolated, disadvantaged or vulnerable. This has enabled the final design to be as informed as possible in addition to the personal experiences I have after my Dad lost his battle with this illness in 2014.

I was very pleased with the overall impact of the garden which fulfilled the brief I set earlier in the year. When constructing a show garden, there are always challenges and uncertainty as to whether chosen plants will be ready, but the final piece all worked in harmony.

I was particularly pleased with the naturalistic theme and, because of the way I had designed and planted it, the garden promoted discussion about pulmonary fibrosis, as intended.  A great combination of echinacea and various grasses produced a colourful and soothing effect in the ground level bed.  I was also thrilled with the overall effect of the raised bed, which contained masses of fragrant and colourful herbs, including lavender and wild garlic … and the bees loved it too! My star of the show was hyssop, which, with its vibrant colour performed superbly in the border. Hyssop is also well known to have medicinal properties, and may act as an antiseptic, cough reliever and
expectorant.

It was great to hear such positive feedback from show visitors, with a lot of comments centred around the soothing nature of the garden, which was my intention, through using naturalistic planting. I was also commended on the use of verbena bonariensis with the perennial grasses and overall sensory impact across the garden through planting and using sensory materials, colours and textures in the hard landscaping. The ‘Every Breath is Precious’ Garden was designed to stimulate the mind and senses with fragrance, soothing sounds and visual effect. The garden was also designed for ease of getting around and tending to the garden for those with or without disability and promoted that gardens should be a place for enjoyment and fulfilment through illness. I am pleased that this was fulfilled in the final piece.

The show was a huge success for me and I was thrilled to receive a Gold Medal. I can only extend my sincere thanks to my team who made this success possible. I was also delighted to welcome representatives from Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust who travelled from afar for the duration of the show to support my work. I hope that the design and hard work by all at the show has gone some way to raising awareness of this debilitating and fatal lung disease.

“The idea of creating a garden using lungs as a focal point is the wonderful idea of Peter Lloyd. We are extremely grateful to Peter and his hard work in raising awareness at the Southport Flower Show, and wish him well with his endeavours” – Peter Bryce, Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust Chairman