A tranquil oasis for our key workers - Llanfrechfa Grange Walled Garden

For the past seven years volunteers have been renovating the neglected Victorian Walled Garden which was found on the site. Their aim is to bring the garden back to life, creating an inspiring, tranquil and open space for the local community and for patients and visitors using the new hospital.

The group applied for funding for a Japanese Lantern to be part of their Japanese garden, one of a few ‘demonstration’ gardens designed to give green fingered visitors inspiration for their own garden designs.

Jan Smith, Chair of the charity explained: “The Walled Garden is split into four quadrants, as a nod back to the Victorian era when it was originally built. One of the quadrants is a demonstration quadrant for the local community. We’ve built little gardens all the way around it, including an apothecary garden, a wildlife garden, an ornamental vegetable garden and this Japanese garden.

“The Japanese garden encompasses a mock teahouse, some huge granite stones and traditional Japanese planting. Sitting in pride of place, is the 5ft granite Japanese lantern which was funded by the Charitable Foundation and is such an important part of the garden.

“The lantern brings another interest to the garden and another design potential. The gardens are designed to give people inspiration and ideas and they actually bring us a lot of joy. People who work with us and people who visit the Walled Garden all say it’s quite magical.”

The Walled Garden spans just over half an acre and sits on the site of Llanfrechfa Grange, an old manor house. Llanfrechra Grange was once used as a hospital with babies born in the manor house during World War 2. To link old to new there has now been two new entrances made to the garden, linking the manor house directly to the new hospital via a path through the middle of the garden, allowing staff, visitors and patients to walk to it easily once the build is fully complete.

The Friends of Llanfrechfa Grange Walled Garden hope to open the garden fully to the public later this year.

For more information about how our Charitable Foundation can support your local community, visit out Charitable Foundation webpage.