The Greenfingers Charity is preparing for a significant year ahead, announcing further details of its hospice garden programme for 2026, following the completion of five new therapeutic gardens across the UK in 2025.
Gardens completed in 2025
During 2025, Greenfingers opened five new bespoke hospice gardens, each carefully designed to support children with life-limiting conditions, their families and the professionals who care for them. New gardens were completed at The Nook (East Anglia), Chestnut Tree House (Arundel), Hope House (Shropshire), Acorns (Walsall) and Bluebell Wood (Sheffield).
These gardens are already being used as vital outdoor environments where children can experience nature safely, feeling fresh air, colour, texture and seasonal change, often for those whose medical needs limit their access to the outdoors. For families, the gardens provide rare opportunities to be together away from clinical spaces, while hospice staff benefit from restorative areas that support wellbeing.
New Greenfingers gardens planned for 2026
Building on this momentum, Greenfingers is now progressing three new garden projects for 2026. Each will be delivered as a bespoke, highly specialist space, shaped around the specific needs of its hospice community.
Naomi House and Jack’s Place, Winchester
The new garden planned for Naomi House and Jack’s Place will be Greenfingers’ 75th garden, marking an important milestone in the charity’s work across the UK. Designed by Helen Elks Smith, with early design stages already underway, the project will transform existing lawned areas into a welcoming, inclusive outdoor space for children, siblings, parents and hospice staff alike. Carefully shaped to support both play and quiet reflection, the garden will give families a place to step outside together, to breathe, connect and create precious memories away from the pressures of indoor care.
This garden will also be the focus of Greenfingers’ 2026 Kilimanjaro fundraising challenge, with trekkers taking on the climb to help fund the creation of this very space. Their efforts will play a direct role in bringing this garden to life, turning extraordinary personal challenges into a lasting legacy for the children and families who will use it for years to come.
Little Havens, Essex
The 2026 project at Little Havens will see Greenfingers return to the hospice to deliver a major refresh and redevelopment of the existing Grow Your Own garden. The new design will focus on improving accessibility and sensory engagement, enabling children with complex needs to interact safely with planting, textures and the natural environment. Designed to support everyday hospice life, the garden will provide space for play, therapy and rest, while offering families precious opportunities to spend time outdoors together in a setting that feels calm, supportive and human.
Haven House, Woodford Green
At Haven House, Greenfingers will deliver a thoughtfully designed memorial and reflection garden within the hospice grounds. The project will be delivered by Baylis Landscapes, with the space carefully shaped to provide families with a calm, dignified outdoor environment where they can pause, reflect and remember. A central feature of the garden will be a Corten steel memorial tree, supplied by Caltef Designs, alongside screened seating, connected pathways and sensitive planting. Together, these elements will create a space that offers privacy, comfort and a sense of peace, supporting families through some of the most emotionally challenging moments of their lives.
Neil Sewell, Operations Director at Greenfingers, said: “Every unique Greenfingers garden starts with listening to the hospice teams, to families, and to what children need most in that moment. These are not decorative spaces; they are places where children can experience fresh air, colour and a sense of freedom, sometimes for the only time. As we move into 2026, we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve delivered so far, and deeply aware of how vital continued support is to help us create more of these life-changing gardens.”
Looking ahead – creating gardens that change lives
As Greenfingers looks towards 2026, its focus is firmly on turning ambition into action – creating highly specialist hospice gardens that meet complex needs and change daily life for children and families. These spaces take months of careful design, sensitive construction and long-term commitment to deliver, and they simply cannot happen without continued fundraising and support. Every penny raised plays a vital role, helping to transform bare or underused spaces into safe, welcoming gardens where children can experience the outdoors, families can spend precious time together, and memories can be made when they matter most.
