In bloom: Hospice UK's Garden of Compassion unveiled at RHS Chelsea

All photos by Rebekah Kennington

A year of hard work and dedication by the garden’s multi award-winning designer, Tom Hoblyn, and his expert planting, landscaping and design teams has today come to fruition.

The Hospice UK Garden of Compassion, which aims to raise the profile of hospice care in the UK, is on show from today (Monday), on what is known as ‘preview day’. Throughout the course of the day, visitors – which will include VIPs, celebrities, supporters, other special guests, and both national and international media – will be taking a look at the Hospice UK Garden of Compassion on its first full day on display.
 

The Hospice UK Garden of Compassion highlights the vital role that gardens play in end-of-life care. Thoughtfully designed spaces provide peace, reflection, and connection for patients, families, and hospice staff.  

Tom has taken inspiration for the garden design from his plant hunting trips in the Mediterranean, where ancient Olive Houses are built around monumental boulders.  

By rooting the space in the landscape, the garden offers a sense of peace and permanence—qualities essential for emotional wellbeing in end-of-life care.  

Tom has grown many of the plants in the garden himself from seeds legally collected on plant-hunting expeditions in the Mediterranean.  
 

The naturalistic design has been carefully curated by Tom, who worked closely with hospice occupational therapists, to ensure accessibility for all and easy access for both a wheelchair and a hospital bed.  

Artisans have crafted the features in the garden from reclaimed and sustainable materials, such as the steam-bent oak ‘Together Benches’ made from a fallen oak, and sculpted Roman [cement-free] water bowels using crushed Oyster Shells from Lindisfarne in the North East.  

The Hospice UK Garden of Compassion has been fully-funded by Project Giving Back, a unique grant-making charity that provides funding for gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.  

Following the show, the garden will be relocated to St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham, a location which has inspired Tom’s design, where it will be a place for comfort and contemplation for patients, families and staff.
 

It’ll be a hive of activity around the Royal Hospital Chelsea site, and especially so at the Hospice UK Garden of Compassion, which Tom Hoblyn has announced will be his final garden at RHS Chelsea. With RHS medal judging having taken place on Sunday morning, he’s hoping it will be one of a handful of those awarded the Gold Medal each year – in what would be a fitting tribute to the designer who has poured his heart and soul into the garden’s design and execution over the course of the last year.

Also taking place on Monday is the placing of the ‘Together Pebbles’ in specially made artisanal bowls by artist Thea Thompson. These pebbles, whose roots lie in the Covid-19 pandemic as a way for hospice patients to connect with loved ones that they were unable to see, have been painted by patients at St Christopher’s Hospice, together with comedian and St Christopher’s ambassador Tom Allen. 

Allen, along with two of the patients, will place the pebbles onto the garden as a quiet act of love and remembrance, on behalf of hospices across the UK.
 

On Monday 19th May at 8pm, viewers of BBC2’s Chelsea Flower Show launch programme will be able to watch a film about Tom, culminating with a live interview on the Hospice UK Garden of Compassion with Monty Don and Arit Anderson.

On Wednesday 21st May at 3pm until Thursday 22nd May at 8pm, voting will open for the prestigious BBC People’s Choice Award. It’s hoped that the Hospice UK Garden of Compassion will be among the frontrunners for this award: winning it would boost awareness of the incredibly important role that the UK’s hospices play in giving people the compassion, comfort and peace they need at the end of their lives.  

Then, on Friday 23rd May at 2pm, the Hospice UK Garden of Compassion will be featured on BBC1, as presenters Nicky Chapman and Angellica Bell explore the garden, joined by experts including Carol Klein.

Follow Hospice UK on Instagram for the latest updates on the Garden of Compassion at RHS Chelsea Flower Show this week, and beyond.

The Hospice UK Garden of Compassion will be on display at RHS Chelsea Flower Show from 20-24 May 2025. 

Photos by Rebekah Kennington