Published 13 August 2024
More in
Our green-fingered volunteers can’t wait for St Christopher’s to open in June 2025
Green-fingered enthusiasts around south London have opened their gardens to raise money for St Christopher’s for years, but the hospice has not officially welcomed visitors itself for many years.
That’s set to change next summer and one person who could not be happier about the plan is St Christopher’s garden volunteer coordinator, Di Morgan.
After two years managing a tight-knit team of six enthusiasts one morning a week, Di is confident the garden is well worthy of a public event.
“St Christopher’s garden is an absolute joy. I’m so excited about the prospect of doing an official open garden and we’ve begun planning already.”
When Di retired as a head teacher in 2021, she knew she wanted to keep active, be involved in the community and that nearly 40 years’ working with children was quite enough. Initially, she started volunteering on the wards at St Christopher’s.
“If I’m honest, there wasn’t enough for me to do. I’m someone who needs structure and to be busy. I think someone must have noticed that I was bringing compost and plant food in with me so I could look after and repot the plants on the wards.
“I knew I wanted to carry on volunteering at St Christopher’s because I found it such a happy place, but I didn’t feel I was doing enough.”
That’s when the volunteering team suggested Di might like to coordinate the existing group of garden volunteers.
With gardening skills and knowledge honed over more than 30 years and the management knowhow from running three schools at once, Di was the ideal candidate for the role.
The group met, agreed to work on Tuesday mornings and, as visitors next summer will discover, the garden has flourished ever since.
“It doesn’t matter that we’re all different or sometimes want to do different tasks, we all get on like a house on fire and together we’ve made sense of the garden and made it look even nicer and more welcoming than it was.”
Di and one of her fellow volunteers arrive at 9am to spend an hour nurturing the indoor plants before meeting up with the rest of the team to set to work pruning, planting, trimming, sweeping and whatever other tasks are required.
Over the past year they’ve bought new plants and soil with a £900 grant and sorted through the large collection of garden tools. Di’s also propagated lots of plants for St Christopher’s in her own much-loved garden in Beckenham.
Everyone has their own small section of the garden to manage, and Di’s favourite area is the rotary garden, just beyond the koi carp pool.
“It’s so well designed and put together. I really love the bird bath bed. It’s my kind of planting style – loose and billowy.
“I got into gardening as a comfort during an unhappy marriage. I found it was my stress relief. I love getting plants to be happy too and just seeing them pop up somewhere.
“It always feels good at the end of a session. It’s a just a lovely feeling,”
“I like working in soil getting my hands in. It’s life affirming and I like the work aspect.”
At the end of each Tuesday morning’s gardening, Di and her colleagues have a cup of tea, review what they’ve done and plan ahead for the following week having recorded their progress in their gardening diary.
“It always feels good at the end of a session. It’s a just a lovely feeling,” she adds.
The positive impact of the garden on patients, their families and staff isn’t lost on Di either.
“Whether it’s on the ward or outside, patients and visitors often want to talk about their plants. I think it’s a way of taking their minds off things. The benefits of nature are so important, and I often see staff find a quiet little space to go, maybe to have their lunch.
“It’s just such an honour and so special for us to do be able to work there.”
That privilege can be extended to others, Di says. Her ambitious plans for the gardens could do with at least a couple more volunteers to guarantee their realisation. If you’d like to join the Tuesday morning St Christopher’s gardening team, use the link below. And watch this space for more details of the Open Garden at St Christopher’s Sydenham in June next year.
Fancy joining our volunteer team?
We need your help
We’re currently looking for green fingered folk to help with propagating and growing plants for the Plant Sale we’ll be hosting at the Sydenham Open Garden in June next year. If you’re interested, contact our Community Fundraising Team. We’d love to hear from you! Please email us on communityfundraising@stchristophers.org.uk
You may also be interested in
‘This is Hospice Care’ national campaign launched
We are proud to have joined a coalition of hospices from across the country.
Interdisciplinary Masterclass Programme: Blurring Boundaries
Why an interdisciplinary approach to palliative care isn’t a numbers game but about a different way of thinking
From Conversation to Connection: How St Christopher’s Is Listening to South East London’s Communities
Partnering with groups like the Pineapple Club, the hospice’s Community Action team is opening up honest conversations about culture, spirituality, and end-of-life care
