Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (ASPH) welcomed the expertise from RHS Wisley to help judge the first ever ASPH in Bloom competition. Funded by the ASPH Charity, green fingered staff teamed up and applied for up to £500 worth of funding to develop outdoor areas across both hospitals into beautiful green garden/spaces for staff to enjoy and improve their wellbeing. Experts from RHS Wisley offered each team guidance and advice to make the most of the outdoor spaces they were developing.
The ASPH in Bloom competition teams and winners:
- First place: Biggest Transformation = ITU garden with edibles and flowers and seating and all sorts (pictured above)
- Second place: Most colourful garden = space outside of the St Peter’s Education Centre with the flowers and decorations
- Third place: Most practical / useful garden = Edukitchen Garden with the herbs to be used in cooking
- Most nature friendly garden = HR Cedar Unit at Ashford Hospital
- Most educational garden = concrete planters along the path out the front of St Peter’s with herbs and information / facts about those herbs
- Most future promise garden = ED garden, as it is still an early work in progress.
Each team was presented with a certificate and an RHS goodie bag full of garden treats and the top three winning teams also received a garden voucher to use in the gardens they created.
Julie Smith, Chief Executive of Ashford and St Peter’s: “This was a wonderful opportunity for staff to contribute to making our outside hospital spaces beautiful, whilst having fun and spending time with nature. We are excited about the future of this annual event, which is a key part of our ASPH Green Plan, and we are looking forward to launching our ‘ASPH Diggers Gardening Club’ for staff to share seedlings and swap advice in the coming months and years.”
Julie Jowett, Senior Community Outreach Advisor, Royal Horticultural Society said: ““It was an honour to be involved in the ASPH in Bloom competition and see the beautiful spaces that staff have created using sustainable materials and plants. We are hugely supportive of Ashford and St Peter’s who are passionate about improving the health and wellbeing of staff though nature and beautiful green gardens.”
St Peter’s Education Centre
Edukitchen Garden
Before: ITU, Education Centre, and EduKitchen
