Olivia Chapple Expert Interview
Dr Olivia Chapple OBE set up the charity Horatio’s Garden with her husband David in 2012, creating and nurturing fully accessible garden projects across the UK to give vital places for reflection and adjustment for people who have experienced spinal injuries, their families and NHS staff.
The charity is a legacy to her eldest son, Horatio, an aspiring doctor, whose research identified the need for a garden for patients in the NHS spinal injury centre where he was a volunteer and Olivia was awarded an OBE in the Kings’s Birthday Honours in recognition of her exceptional work for Charity.
Olivia also holds the Elizabeth medal of Honour from the RHS for contribution to horticulture by a non-horticulturalist.
Horatio’s Garden is one of the charities supported by the National Garden Scheme - find out more about their excellent work at www.horatiosgarden.org.uk.
Where does your passion for gardening originate?
My grandmother loved gardens and enthused me from a young age with her botanical knowledge and the joy her gardens gave her.
Does your family share your love of gardening?
My family love being in the garden, but I couldn’t say they love doing the gardening!
Horatio’s Garden promotes a positive message and provides sanctuary for many people during the most difficult time - was it an immediate choice to focus on gardens and gardening?
Yes, it was an immediate choice as Horatio had researched the idea with patients in the spinal centre at Salisbury District Hospital during his school holidays after he saw firsthand, patients struggling to cope with life changing injuries in a clinical environment. His research identified the need for a beautiful, subtly accessible garden for patients. So, almost immediately after he was killed the spinal centre suggested that the proposed garden should be called Horatio’s Garden.
Horatio's Garden London & South East. Photo Éva Németh
How long did it take to get the first garden underway?
Thanks to the incredible donations from many friends, family and the wider community within a few months we realised we could create something really pioneering that would benefit patients, families and hospital staff for years to come and change the way hospital gardens were thought about.
How do you choose a designer to work with?
Our first designer was the phenomenal Cleve West – we chose him after taking lots of advice and finding out that Cleve’s best friend had been a patient in the Salisbury spinal injury centre some years before, so Cleve deeply understood the need. Cleve created a beautiful, high quality, contemporary garden for everyone to immerse themselves in without reminding patients of their disability. We have since been fortunate enough to work with some of the UK’s leading garden designers – they are chosen by the Trustees and our advisors for their experience, design styles and their enthusiasm to work with the charity.
Horatio's Garden Chelsea 2023 designed by Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg
About Olivias Garden
Has your garden at home been influenced by your work with Horatio’s Gardens?
Yes! My knowledge of horticulture has increased hugely and the more I learn, the more the planting is evolving! Plants are so fascinating and there is a lifetime and more of learning to do – there have been some amazing successes like my lilies this year and lots of failures too!
Has your garden at home changed since working with such inspirational garden designers?
I am gradually changing my garden from being a boys’ playground into a garden with plenty of borders. I would love to lose the lawns and have planting everywhere!
Tell us a little bit about your own garden - do you have a favourite part and what does it mean to you?
When we came to our house 25 years ago it was mainly lawns and hedging. The first thing I did was to create a vegetable garden and for many years when the boys were small this was my special place (and the only space in the garden that footballs were banned from!). As the boys grew up and there were less footballs causing havoc, I started to grow perennials and have moved plenty of hedges, planted trees and changed a weed and rubble strewn chalk stream bank into a garden. In lockdown I created quite a few new flower beds – and I am now trying to maintain them! All the planting is inspired by the different Horatio’s Gardens – I wish it looked as amazing as they do all year round though. I need a few more hours in every day…
Have there been any particularly challenging spots in creating your garden?
Plenty! The house was originally a pig farm and there is masses of rubble under the topsoil.
Do you have any future plans for adding features or new schemes to your garden? What do you plan on growing in your new fruit cage?
I would love to change the lawn at the front of our house into a rill with planting around it, but I think my husband would despair!
I can’t wait to build the new fruit cage. It’s going to be for my most favourite fruit - blackcurrants - as well as red and white currants and I may try some pink ones too.
Gardening Advice & Design
What advice would you give to a gardener starting out?
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Find a gardening friend – gardeners are the most generous at sharing expertise, cuttings, seeds and plants.
Visit gardens for inspiration – the National Garden Scheme has thousands of private gardens open and you will have a fascinating time, a warm welcome and come away with lots of ideas. Visits to these gardens support charities like Horatio’s Garden too.
Gardening is good for you – a short burst in the garden each day will help your psychological health, your fitness and your sleep – and of course the environment too.
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Which other gardeners and gardens do you admire?
I admire all the Horatio’s Garden Head gardeners – they are an extraordinarily talented group of experienced gardeners and garden therapists who maintain our beautiful gardens, enthuse the gardening volunteers, encourage patients to get involved with gardening and create a warm welcoming sanctuary away from the wards. Of course, I admire every Horatio’s Garden for their unique designs and the meticulous way they are kept all year round.
What do you think have been the biggest changes in gardening in the last 10 years?
There is a far greater awareness of the responsibility of gardeners to think about biodiversity and sustainability. Thankfully we now understand the catastrophic consequences of using pesticides and herbicides on pollinators and we have improved our knowledge of how to create healthy fertile soils with composting, mulching and moving away from chemical fertilisers.
Are there any trends that you see coming that you think will be incorporated into future Horatio’s Gardens?
With the impact of climate change we are ensuring that the style of planting we use is drought tolerant. We are also incorporating more natural shade in the gardens. Sustainability in everything we do is a focus – this is part of the culture of the whole organisation.
Credit: Zoe Norfolk & Horatio's Garden Stoke Mandeville at Stoke Mandeville Hospital
