HINCHINGBROOKE HOSPITAL

‘Dreamdrops’ Children’s Unit Sensory Garden

The ‘Dreamdrops’ Sensory Garden at the Children's Unit, Hinchingbrooke Hospital did not fail to impress the Rt. Hon. Sir John Major and Dame Norma, who unveiled the memorial plaque at the grand opening.

ELD was commissioned by the St. Neots St. Mary’s Rotary Club to create a quiet, healing garden, that stimulates the senses, designed around wheelchair users and children with special needs. Anne-Marie Hamilton, Committee Chair of Dreamdrops stated, ‘It is a wonderfully, safe and welcoming environment that challenges their imaginations, using an innovative simple design to produce a feeling of calm and wellbeing’.

The garden contains a multi-coloured safety surface with glass tiles, lizards, butterflies, dragon flies and flowers; combined with a brightly coloured, turreted spiral maze; at the centre of which the Dreamdrops flagpole is located. Children can move through the maze or just sit and soak up the magic, listening to the water feature.

Dr. Jill Challener, Medical Director of Cambridgeshire Community Services said, ‘We believe this design is unique. The therapeutic effect it will surely have on the children is, from the design point of view truly impressive, in that it creates a garden wonderland for them.’

Ruth Elwood, Director of ELD commented, ‘It was an honour to have been asked to design this garden for the Rotary Club as we felt it to be a most worthy cause. The project was made even more special when I met Sir John Major at the opening; he has a real passion for plants and gardening himself.’

Images: The plaque unveiled by Sir John Major and raising of the Dreamdrops flag, with other photos of the garden.