Bury Hospice Garden
Supporting the wellbeing of staff and patients at Bury Hospice.
A Garden Transformed
Bury Hospice’s gardens were once maintained by external contractors at significant cost, and despite that investment, the gardens had fallen into a state of disrepair. We stepped in to help change that.
Working closely with Bury Hospice’s dedicated team, we took on the care and transformation of their gardens, and in the first year entered them into the RHS Northwest in Bloom competition. They achieved an outstanding 98 out of 100. For a garden that had been neglected, that result speaks to what is possible when the right people get behind something.
How We Work Together
The relationship with Bury Hospice is built on three things — professional expertise, community involvement and a long-term commitment to the grounds and the people who use them.
Professional Support
We work alongside Bury Hospice's own dedicated gardens team to maintain and develop the grounds throughout every season.
Community Involvement
Individual volunteers give their time regularly, bringing skills, enthusiasm and care to the gardens that no contractor can replicate.
Long-term Commitment
Corporate volunteering days bring teams from local businesses who want to give something back — a day's work that makes a visible difference.
More Than a Garden.
The gardens at Bury Hospice are not decorative. They are used daily by staff who need a moment of calm, and by patients and their families for whom outdoor space is genuinely therapeutic. A well-maintained, beautiful garden in a hospice setting is not a luxury — it is part of the care.
We are committed to supporting those gardens for the long term, not just through hands and plants but through an annual fundraising programme that builds a sustainable foundation for the gardens’ future. Every pound raised goes directly to the ongoing care and development of the Bury Hospice grounds.
“Your ongoing care is supporting wellbeing, and connecting the community.”— Joanne Johnson, Volunteer Services Coordinator, Bury Hospice
A Growing Space for the Hospice
At Heaton Park Walled Kitchen Garden we provide a safe, supported growing space where Bury Hospice volunteers can cultivate plants specifically for the hospice gardens, ensuring a steady supply of planting that reflects the character and needs of the hospice grounds.
This growing space is part of a long-term, sustainable model — one where the gardens become increasingly self-sufficient, and the community becomes increasingly involved in making that happen.
The Journey So Far
From a neglected garden to an award-winning space, this is what Jamie, James, Baillie, Tom and the wider volunteer community have built together at Bury Hospice.
We Step In
Bury Hospice's gardens had fallen into disrepair despite the cost of external contractors. Mark Concannon and the Heaton Park Garden Centre team took on the care and transformation of the grounds, donating plants, expertise and time.
Partnership begins
RHS Northwest in Bloom, 98 out of 100
In just the first year, the transformed hospice gardens were entered into the RHS Northwest in Bloom competition. The result: an outstanding 98 out of 100. Helen Lockwood, Bury Hospice CEO, expressed her delight at the result, crediting the volunteers whose care made it possible.
Award · Press coverage
Pop-Up Plant Shop Opens
A new pop-up plant shop opened at Bury Hospice, offering seasonal flowers and foliage. Part of a three-year strategy to make the garden model fully sustainable, the shop provides a peaceful space for patients and loved ones while raising vital funds for the hospice. Volunteer teams had by this point saved approximately £40,000 in maintenance costs.
Sustainability milestone
Spring Plant Sale
A week-long spring plant sale at Bury Hospice brought beautiful perennials, planted baskets and decorative tubs to patients, families and the local community, arriving just in time for Mother's Day. All proceeds go directly towards keeping maintenance in-house and supporting specialist care in Bury.
Fundraising
Growing at Heaton Park
Bury Hospice volunteers now cultivate plants at our dedicated growing space within Heaton Park Walled Kitchen Garden, feeding a sustainable supply of planting back to the hospice grounds. The next phase is being planned now.
In progressIndividual & Corporate Volunteering
Volunteering here looks different for everyone. Some people give an hour on a quiet Tuesday. Others bring a whole team for a full corporate day. Both matter, and both make a visible difference to the gardens at Bury Hospice and the people who use them.
Whether you are an individual who wants to get their hands in the soil, a business looking to give your team a day with genuine purpose, or simply someone who wants to find out more, you are welcome here. We will feed you, keep the coffee on, and make sure every hour counts.