RHS Chelsea 2022

This ‘Sanctuary Garden’ offers a quiet, secluded area within a larger garden, providing a place of calm and respite for those staying at Norton House, run by SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity.   Norton House offers free supportive accommodation to families and friends of service personnel being treated at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC).

The last few years have highlighted the importance of the garden at Norton House.  This sanctuary garden provides an additional area of security and quiet reflection, but also provides a place in which to sit and enjoy. The wing-shaped roof structure echoes the lines of SSAFA’s Norton House, whilst the gentle sound of the infinity water feature and the movement of the layered planting are intended to restore and lift the spirit.

The backdrop of the Royal Hospital Chelsea gives the perfect setting for this garden, providing a military connection to the ‘SSAFA Garden supported by CCLA’. 

We were thrilled to be awarded a Silver Medal for this garden, which has now been rebuilt at SSAFA's Norton House and already providing a special space to enjoy by all the visitors.