Tŷ Hafan volunteers are transforming hospice gardens
As spring has sprung, so have the daffodils and tulips planted by the volunteer gardeners at the Tŷ Hafan hospice in Sully.
In September 2020, the garden at Tŷ Hafan was looked after by four or five volunteers, but numbers have now shot up to 18, with many celebrating their one-year anniversary this April. All the volunteers are amateur gardeners, but many tend their own allotments alongside the hospice garden. The volunteers are brought together by their love of gardening – and homemade cakes.
The volunteers meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings to tend the hospice garden. They feel that volunteering in a group allows them to “achieve something whilst working with like-minded people”, as they watch their hard work come to life in the form of blooming flowers.
They have also noticed many benefits to becoming a volunteer gardener, with the tranquillity of the garden and working in the fresh air near the sea. They all feel that it has had a positive impact on their mental well-being. There is no need to go to the gym for the volunteers, as the garden is also known as their very own “green gym”, as the hours of physical work is a good all-round workout.
But it is not just the gardeners who benefit from the new and improved Tŷ Hafan garden; the children who stay at the hospice, their families and even the staff have relished it. The volunteers have received a vast amount of positive feedback with one staff member saying it is “the best it has looked in 15 years”. The new life blossoming around the garden brings a sense of positivity to visitors, essential to many families who are going through tough times.
The fragrant plants around the garden bring another dimension to the garden as it not only looks beautiful but smells beautiful too. The volunteers aim to bring a variety of different colours – already visible thanks to the tulips in bloom at the entrance to the hospice. As the volunteers have been working in the garden for a year now, they have experienced the challenges each season has brought. They feel that they are constantly learning new skills and expertise through trial and error and are constantly planning ahead for the next season.
It has not been all plain sailing, though, as they have faced difficult challenges in restoring the garden, but perhaps the most difficult is the ever-growing weeds. The first challenge they had to overcome was to condense the overgrown weeds that had overpowered the garden. Now, with no weeds in sight, the garden has never looked better.
Hedge laying has been used to show off the magnificent view of the Sully coast, while increasing the interest and colours within the garden. Hedge laying has also contributed to the variety of wildlife that roam around the garden, from birds and bees to hedgehogs and foxes.
They have upcycled different materials including pallets, to create compost bins and their very own bug hotel called ‘the BnB’. They also plan to use leftover pipes and pallets to create new plant pots to decorate the garden.
The volunteers are always finding new inspiration from other gardens, as well as gaining advice from professional gardeners from St Fagans and Southerndown. The Tŷ Hafan hospice garden has gratefully received many donations in different forms. The garden has received tons of topsoil, 10,000 bulbs of daffodils and tulips have been planted, and they have created a wildflower bed from seeds donated by Wild Wales Seeds. Each volunteer supplies the garden by collecting their own equipment and plants and has previously raised money for gardening tools by donations given through a gofundme page, and by selling handmade Christmas cards made by one of the volunteers.
Not only are the volunteers passionate about gardening but also about making (and eating) homemade cakes. They often enjoy coffee, cake and a chat, bringing together the social aspect of the group of gardeners. They plan to bring out a recipe book, showcasing their homemade cakes as well as images of their luscious garden.
To raise money for the garden and hopefully a new shed for their equipment, the volunteer gardeners at the Tŷ Hafan hospice are hosting a plant sale this June. The sale, on 11th June, at All Saints’ Church in Penarth, will allow people to buy not only plants but also homemade jams, marmalades, chutneys made by the volunteers. There will also be a chance to taste their homemade cakes. The plant sale will also see a variety of stalls including, Charlotte Norton Miniatures, Herbs in Wales and Handcrafted by Tŷ Hafan.
- This article first appeared in the printed edition of the Glamorgan Star on 21.04.21.
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