The Joy Garden sits at the heart of the hospital’s main campus, providing a space for play, socialising and outdoor workshops as well as a much-needed sanctuary for staff, patients and their families.

Building on our ongoing relationship with renowned artist and designer Morag Myerscough, the garden was realised in collaboration with ethical cleaning company, Method.

In workshops with families, staff and a fragrance expert from Method, the team looked at the colours, words and patterns that were evoked by different smells. The outcomes from these sessions have been used to design a sensory garden, which centres around a vibrant pagoda for play and socialisation.

“I know how much outside space makes a difference to mood when you are confined to one space. Some of the children and families stay in the hospital for extended periods of time and need to get outside and feel the sun on their faces.

We’ve all realised the value of outside spaces and interacting with each other over the last couple of years. And although aesthetics are secondary to treatment in hospital, it’s obvious that they bring much needed value and support to the human experience. Hopefully this garden will bring some joy when patients, families and staff need it most.”

- Morag Myerscough

The Joy Garden also includes new flooring, lush planting, and quiet zones to take a break, with a mix of outdoor and sheltered seating. Sustainability has also been a central theme throughout the project, both in the materials used and their local suppliers. The flooring has also been repurposed from a previous project which was cancelled before installation.

The inspiration for the Joy Garden came from Morag Myerscough’s first project at Sheffield Children’s, the design of the en-suite bedrooms and six multi-occupancy suites in three world-class new wards. -

Ruth Brown, Chief Executive at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust added:

“The new Joy Garden is amazing - Morag has just brought such life and colour into the space. I love it and I know that our families, our colleagues and our patients will find it fabulous as well.

Access to outdoor space and fresh air can be so important for our wellbeing, we’ve got patients who have long stays with us and others that attend our Outpatients Department regularly, so having this new vibrant space will be of huge benefit to them.

As a dedicated children’s trust, we want to put our young patients at the heart of our environment and ensure it’s a friendly, welcoming, warm and fun place to be. I’d like to say a huge thank you to Method, to Morag our artist, as well as everyone in the Art+ and Charity Teams that have helped make this project a reality.”