Volunteers Margaret and Pam have been working tirelessly over winter to look after the plants and trees in the garden and planting bulbs which have started to emerge with the arrival of spring! There is rarely a day at Rugby Myton Hospice where one or both these keen gardeners aren’t outside tending to the grounds.
Margaret has been volunteering with Myton for around a year – her husband attended Rugby Day Hospice and loved the gardens.
Before he died, Margaret promised him she would come back and make sure even more people could enjoy the gardens as he had. She spends time with patients on Wednesday mornings and is also a volunteer driver, helping patients get to and from the hospice so they can attend Day Hospice.
When my husband Chris was ill, being in our garden at home kept me sane. I regularly bring cuttings from my garden to plant here, and people donate plants and things like compost. The patients talk about the gardens they used to have and so it is nice for them to have the gardens here to appreciate.
Pam is now in her sixth year as a volunteer, with her Friday mornings being spent in the day hospice with patients. She also steps in as a reception volunteer when needed.
My son died in a hospice in Christchurch and the gardens there gave us all so much peace; we would all sit together in the gardens. At that time I just kept wishing I could do the same for someone else. I know we are making these gardens beautiful for the patients to enjoy, but I also get so much from doing the gardening. It’s therapeutic. We get to see the patients enjoying the peace of the gardens here, chatting to each other, asking about the flowers – it’s just so rewarding, it lifts your heart.
During his term as Mayor, Rugby Borough Councillor...
Tom Mahoney visited Rugby Day Hospice twice and was particularly keen to see the gardens. As a keen gardener himself, he thoroughly enjoyed seeing the gardens coming to life in the spring following Margaret and Pam’s hard work over the winter.
Camilla Lines, Sister at Rugby Day Hospice, said:
It was a pleasure to have Councillor Mahoney visit us again – he visited at the end of 2018 and was told about the hard work our volunteer gardeners were putting in and said he would come back before his term as Mayor finished. All of our volunteers are invaluable. Margaret and Pam are truly amazing and an inspiration to us all.
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