Colleagues from University Hospitals Dorset have picked up a gardening gong at Bournemouth in Bloom, a competition celebrating community gardens and aspiring gardeners.

Jo Sheppard and Anne Creasey, pharmacy technicians based at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, turned an unused courtyard close to their pharmacy department into a flourishing staff rest space. Now the duo has won silver gilt in the ‘commercial spaces’ category and won gold in the ‘loving care homes’ category.

Jo and Anne took over the courtyard three years ago and have helped to fund the upkeep of the space via many bake sales and patient and staff donations, with work often taking place at the weekends.

Anne said: “I love this garden; it feels like it has heart and soul. Some colleagues get short breaks and in our large hospital it can be quite a walk to an outside space. The purpose of this garden is to bring the break to them and allow them to sit out in the sun to help them relax and recharge. We enjoy getting our hands dirty and seeing the results of our hard work.”

Jo added: “The garden evolves constantly, with all the new exciting building work our buildings are getting taller so our garden will become shadier. It’s hard work and we learn as we go but all staff who work on the garden comment on how therapeutic it can be. We have learnt lots this summer during the drought and will move forward making the garden more sustainable for those periods.”

As well as providing a safe place for staff, an element of the garden is aimed at providing a home for nature.

“We attract lots of insects with our bug hotel, bees and birds”, Jo explained, adding: “We were thrilled this year to see our regular hummingbird hawk moths paying a visit alongside many bees and robins.”