On Wednesday 27 May 2026, the garden was officially opened at the hospice and named as the Malcolm Family Forest Bathing Garden. Members of our team, the Malcolm family, and Glasgow City Council attended the official ribbon cutting.
Two years ago, we were sharing the news that our Forest Bathing Garden received two of the most prestigious awards at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show – a Gold medal and Best Show Garden.
But we always knew that having a garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show was about far more than that week alone, and we were delighted when we confirmed the garden’s new home as The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow.
From Chelsea to Glasgow, the Forest Bathing Garden was made possible thanks to funding from Project Giving Back, a charitable organisation that supports gardens for good causes at RHS Chelsea Flower Show and, following the show, in communities around the UK. Their generosity and support enabled garden designer Ula Maria to create something truly unique to help us raise awareness of muscle wasting and weakening conditions, open up conversations, and highlight the importance of accessible outdoor spaces.
Ula Maria created the Forest Bathing Garden based on the personal experiences and stories she had heard from the Muscular Dystrophy UK community and shared how pleased she was that the garden was being relocated to a hospice.
“It means a lot to me to know that the garden will be given a new lease of life and have a positive impact on the local community. I can’t think of a better place.”
When the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 ended in London on 25 May, our garden was carefully packed up and transported more than 400 miles in five articulated lorries, kindly supplied by the Malcolm Group. Once at the hospice in Glasgow, the trees and plants were cared for by a team of volunteers while land was cleared to allow it to move to its permanent home.
The Forest Bathing Garden was designed to showcase how an outdoor space can provide a safe, accessible, sanctuary-like environment to support patients and their families during their most challenging times.
After the Chelsea Flower Show, the intention was always that the garden would go somewhere that would benefit people living with neuromuscular conditions, as well as the wider community. We believe the hospice is the perfect place as it provides care and support for those affected by life-limiting conditions, helping people to achieve the best quality of life, and we’re delighted to provide support alongside staff there.
Explaining what the garden means to the hospice, Rhona Baillie OBE, Chief Executive at The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice said: “We’re truly delighted to provide a permanent home for the Malcolm Family Forest Bathing Garden and know that it will make a real difference to our patients, their families, and our local communities. The whole design of The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice is focussed around bringing the ‘outdoors inside’. We believe in the therapeutic benefits of safe and accessible gardens for people and this incredible and unique garden complements the wonderful outdoor areas we already have available.
“Our care is all about helping people to live as fully and as well as they can to the end of their lives, however long that may be – looking after their physical needs but also their emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing.
“It’s a privilege to host a ‘Best in Show’ garden to Glasgow and we’d like to say a huge thank you to both Muscular Dystrophy UK and the garden funders Project Giving Back for making this possible, as well as The Malcolm Group for helping to transport the garden. We are delighted to recognise the significant support the Malcolm family has shown to the hospice for many years by naming it after them”
The land for the garden was kindly donated to the hospice by Glasgow City Council.
Now that the garden is in its permanent home, we hope it will provide a peaceful space that everyone can enjoy.
