The Seeds of Hope Children’s Garden is a vibrant living space designed to help children and young people explore feelings of loss with the support of their families, teachers, and carers.




The loss may be as a result of many
  different things including death,
   divorce, adoption, separation, a change
    of school, because a best friend has
   moved away or a treasured possession
  has been lost. In a garden, change, loss and death
can all be seen as a natural part of the cycle of life.

The Seeds of Hope Children’s Garden incorporates 4 separate areas, one for each season.


The Winter Garden (‘Garden of Thought’)

Home to a labyrinth, an ancient symbol for the journey of life, this Garden represents the early days of loss when someone has died
or moved away, when life is hard and there’s no sign of colour.
But inside the seedpods, things are happening, reminding us that life goes on. More colourful times are on the way. Spring is coming.








The Spring Garden (’Garden of Hope’)

  Trees blossom and bulbs burst out of the ground. A path leads the way
   forwards after the shock and pain when someone dies or moves away.
    New life is appearing showing us that loss and death can be a
  beginning as well as an end.










The Summer Garden (‘Garden of Light’)

Colourful flowers, roses for love and rosemary for remembrance,
remind us that even in very sad times, there are happy times too
when the world is bright and it’s OK to have fun. At the centre
is the Seeds of Hope sculpture representing the spirit of childhood.








The Autumn Garden (‘Garden of Change’)

  Fruits, seeds and berries show that the outside shape of things changes
   with time. A bud becomes a flower, a flower becomes a fruit and
    the fruit will eventually drop from the tree.
   But in the fruit are the seeds from
  which new life will grow. Life is a journey full of change.

Our thanks to:

· Sue White BSc Hons, Hort cert RHS, MI Hort, GradDiplCons (AA) for her help in the design of the          Garden
  ·  Sophie Buchanan and Alison Lainton Beasley for their help in the early concept of the
       design
    ·  Gerald Abrahams of G.A. Landscapes for the excellent quality of work on establishing
      the Garden
  ·  Norbury Wood Products for their craftsmanship in wood
 ·  Dave, Ian and Lester at Guildford Signs for their expertise in the creation of the signs
·  Unity-Joy Dale BA Hons Fine Art, MCSD, for her beautiful artwork on the signs

The Seeds of Hope Sculpture

We commissioned a local
   sculptress, Christine
    Charlesworth SWA ARBS
     (Society of Women Artists and
     Royal Society of British
    Sculptors) to produce a bronze
   sculpture of two life-sized
  children.

      An older girl is blowing a
     dandelion seed-head, making
     the ‘seeds of hope’ fly for a younger boy who is trying to catch them.
   Childhood is about having fun. But time passes and nothing
  stays the same. Sad things happen. All living things eventually die. But their essence lives on in the new life that grows from the seeds of the old.


Our thanks go to Christine Charlesworth for her outstanding work and personal empathy with the project and its purpose.