Service users and volunteers at a Mountbatten Hampshire have designed a special exhibit for the BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair.

‘The Garden of Life’ aims to give visitors a chance to learn more about the impact of the charity’s services in the local community.

It will be a fully tactile experience and feature a two-metre-wide sunflower made up of yellow plants and pinecones.

Michelle, a support worker in the hospice’s Hazel Centre, said: “This is an incredible opportunity to raise awareness of our work, particularly our social programme and rehabilitation services, which many people would not usually associate with hospice care.”

Mountbatten Hampshire is the local hospice for Southampton and large parts of Hampshire. On any one day, they support around 1,000 people who are facing death, dying and bereavement, in homes across the community and at the hospice in West End.

This includes bereavement support to anyone who has experienced a death, plus rehabilitation services and art, music, and complementary therapies, which support people to live well until they die. 

After the event on 3-5 May at Beaulieu, the exhibit will be brought back to the hospice to be displayed in the gardens, which will be part of the National Open Garden Scheme in July.

Tickets for the BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair are available at: bbcgardenersworldfair.com