10/06/2026
We recently refreshed Heathcote Garden at Royal Leamington Spa Rehabilitation Hospital for South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust in time for an open‑garden event held in memory of Sarah Salisbury, a Specialist Palliative Care Nurse who died on February 14th 2025.
🌿 We first created this garden in 2023 as a space for staff, patients and visitors, and this update focused on preparing it carefully for the occasion.
🎨 With support from our community volunteers, we repainted the arbour benches and picnic benches and added a simple coffee table to make the seating area more practical and welcoming.
♻️ We installed handmade signs at both entrances to the garden and added garden art we created from reclaimed wood. We also built bird boxes from recycled pallet timber and fixed them to the fences to support small birds and increase biodiversity, keeping sustainability central to the improvements.
🌺 Plants grown from seed and cuttings and lovingly cared for by our Green Therapy group at the Stratford Hospital polytunnel were added to the planters to bring colour for the summer.
🌸 The team at CERU installed a new memorial bench and bird bath for Sarah, and donations from nurses and colleagues enabled them to add fresh plants and flowers around this area.
💙 This was a genuine team effort, with many people contributing time, skills and materials to prepare the garden for summer and create a fitting tribute for Sarah’s colleagues.
