Work has begun on a memorial garden in a nursing home in Hadleigh as a permanent tribute to the people of the city who have died of Covid-19.
Hadleigh supermarket worker Jo Sheldrake, who led a campaign for a commemorative bank in the city, was asked to symbolically plant the first lavender bush.
Ms. Sheldrake, whose father Eric Mee was one of the earliest British victims of the pandemic, said: “I am sure the garden will be very much appreciated. People will love the surroundings and the tranquility. “
From left, landscape architects Lauren Aldridge and Danielle Homer of Happy Homes Norfolk with Jan Seal, manager of Hadleigh Nursing Home, and Jo Sheldrake
– Credit: Kingsley Healthcare
Hadleigh was one of the hardest-hit areas across the country during the pandemic, and the city was reported to have lost 62 people to the disease over the year since March 2021.
The city’s nursing homes were badly hit and the Hadleigh Nursing Home lost a number of residents.
Landscapers are working on the garden of the house on Friars Road, which will be a quiet, reflective area for the entire community.
Jan Seal, home manager run by Kingsley Healthcare, said, “This memorial garden will make my employees’ wishes a reality.
Landscapers are working on the new memorial garden that will be created at the Hadleigh Nursing Home
– Credit: Kingsley Healthcare
“The height of the Covid pandemic was a really terrible time. Many of my employees are still quite young and it was almost too much for them. However, it brought us all together and strengthened us as a team.
“We wanted to create a garden as a memorial for the whole city, not just for our employees, residents and families.”
The garden will have wooden chairs with poignant inscriptions: “When we sit, we remember” and “Let the sun shine through”.
Some of the features of the new memorial garden being laid out at Hadleigh Nursing Home
– Credit: Kingsley Healthcare
There will also be a central pergola with seating and tables that will allow people to look over a rock garden and stone water feature.
And on the side there are lattice panels on which roses and jasmine plants can climb and form a fragrant arch.
The garden will officially open in early summer and will hold a memorial event annually.
Landscaper Danielle Homer, who co-runs Happy Homes Norfolk with Lauren Aldridge, said: “It is the first memorial garden we have designed and we are very excited to be doing the project.”
A poignant message in the memorial garden being created at the Hadleigh Nursing Home
– Credit: Kingsley Healthcare
Jan Seal, Head of the Hadleigh Nursing Home, with Jo Sheldrake in the memorial garden that has just been created
– Credit: Kingsley Healthcare
