Memory garden renewed to honour children and young adults
Written by Test Author
Posted: 24 March 2026
1 min read
General News
We have recently renewed and refurbished our memory garden, which is a special space where families can remember their loved ones.
The memory garden has always been a haven for bereaved families of Naomi House & Jacksplace. It is an area where pebbles can be laid or leaves can be hung on a vine in memory of the children and young adults that have died, and friends and family can take a moment of peace and reflection to remember their loved ones. Families are able to visit the memory garden whenever they wish – it is always open.
After speaking with families and service users, it was clear there was a need to refurbish and extend the memory garden. A larger, more peaceful space was needed, which embraced nature, and took visitors on a gentler journey through the garden.
(Photos below before refurbishment).
The garden now features circular welcoming archways with climbing plants, more trees and beds with a variety of plants, flowers and shrubs, carefully chosen to attract birds, insects and wildlife, alongside maintaining a peaceful surrounding and calming scent. A lot of different textures and natural materials have been used throughout the build, including gabion walls and log benches. More seating has been added for reflection and there is a larger sheltered area (summerhouse) where families can leave messages and take a moment to themselves. The garden has been designed in such a way that makes visitors feel included in Naomi House & Jacksplace and the gardens, but with enough privacy and peace for a moment of reflection and gentler transition through the memory garden.
The garden was designed by Andy Kirk of Willow Tree Design Studio. Ahead of the initial plans, the Family Support Team at Naomi House & Jacksplace spoke to families, staff and volunteer gardeners to feed into the design. This was then landscaped by Johnstone Landscapes, who delicately and professionally extended and refreshed the garden.
Charlotte Roper, Head of Family Support Services at Naomi House & Jacksplace, said:
We are so pleased with the Memory Garden, from the point that Andy produced a design that really felt like it captured what we felt was needed, through to the team at Johnstone Landscapes who sensitively and diligently created it on site, we are confident that the garden will be a peaceful space for many years to come. The memory garden is a really important part of our bereavement support, and we have become more aware than ever of the number of people who visit – some regularly other intermittently, but all using the garden as a place to remember and feel connected.
— Charlotte Roper, Head of Family Support Services
As professional landscape contractors we were delighted for the opportunity to work on the memory garden for Naomi House & Jacksplace. We are immensely passionate about what we do, and upon meeting the team at the hospices, it was abundantly clear that they too are passionate about making a difference to the children, young adults and families in their care. This struck a chord with me as a parent, and with some of the team members expecting their first children, it was reassuring to know that such a supportive and fantastic place exists. It is a tragedy that it needs to, but a blessing that it does.
— Jake Stevenson, Director, Johnstone Landscapes
Gardens have a unique ability to provide us with a moment of solitary peace or communal joy, a place to laugh or cry, an opportunity to connect with nature and with each other. They are a sanctuary, and we hope this one is worthy of the memories collected here.
— Jake Stevenson, Director, Johnstone Landscapes
The refurbishment of the new memory garden was made possible thanks to the continued kind support of The Geoff and Fiona Squire Foundation.
