A secret oasis has been created in the heart of a busy hospital thanks to an extraordinary community effort.
The idea for a secret garden at Northallerton’s Friarage Hospital was conceived by pub landlady Beth Robinson who runs The Beeswing Inn at East Cowton.
Beth’s father Les Robinson died in 2018 after receiving care in the Friarage's palliative care unit and following his passing, Beth reflected on what could have made his final weeks in hospital more bearable.
She identified a lack of attractive, outdoor spaces for patients at the Friarage so she set about raising funds and rallying the local community to create one.
Beth explained: “The environment you are in when you are going through hard times can make a difference to how you feel.
“My dad was a Dalesman, he loved the outdoors and he would far rather be outside than stuck behind hospital doors, so that’s where the idea came from really and it just grew from there.”
And grow it did – the hospital community embraced the project and thanks to the hard work of volunteers, support from the Northdale horticulture scheme, generous tradesmen and thousands raised from the annual Cowtonbury music festival at the Beeswing, the secret garden is now complete and was officially opened on Friday (November 25).
Hambleton District Council leader Mark Robson cut the ribbon and said he was proud that the council played a ‘small role’ in supporting the garden project.
He said: “To turn a space that clearly wasn’t used into something that will help people find some peace and reflect on their situation is such a fantastic thing, not only for the patients but also their families and the staff here who I’m sure see tough things every day.”
Fellow Hambleton councillor Steve Watson, who represents the Appleton Wiske and Smeatons ward which includes the Cowtons, backed the project from the start.
He said: “It is great to see the project come to fruition; it has been a fantastic community effort and the bonus is that anyone who lives in the Hambleton ward is likely to come to the Friarage at some point, so everyone in the area is going to benefit from this.”
The garden was designed by Simon Cross, manager at Northdale, and volunteers helped to create it – a tough job that included having to transport 12 tonnes of soil by wheelbarrow into the garden.
The project was also hampered by the Covid pandemic, but speaking at its official opening, Beth said all the hard work had been worth it.
She said: “I feel really emotional, really proud, it has just been the sense of community that has come from it that has felt really special.”
Beth thanked everyone for their involvement in the project, particularly her friend Tracey Crammond who worked with the hospital and interested parties 'to make things happen'.
The secret garden will be planted out three times a year by Northdale members who will also be responsible for its maintenance, with funding coming from the Cowtonbury Festival.
The garden project is among several that Beth has led thanks to funding from Cowtonbury which has raised £164,000 since it started in 2014.
As well as the secret garden, which cost £45,000,Cowtonbury has helped fund a special family room at the Friarage and supports the palliative nursing team who can request essential items from the charity funds.
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