Derian House garden with show-stopping hand carved Pinocchio wins gold at Chorley Flower Show
The Chorley Flower Show was held over the weekend at Astley Park.
Derian House Children’s Hospice has won gold at the Chorley Flower Show for a show-stopping display featuring a Pinocchio statue.
The award-winning display, titled 'When you wish upon a star', was inspired by Disney's Pinocchio and Derian Wishes – Derian House Children's Hospice's new wish-granting service that creates unforgettable experiences for children and young people with life-limiting conditions.
Designed around this year's American Blockbuster Film theme, the hospice's Community and Schools Garden Competition entry wowed judges with its colourful flowers, wishing pond and handcrafted Pinocchio centrepiece.
Created by Derian House gardener Gareth Elliott and an army of dedicated volunteers, the magical display invited visitors to step inside, pose for photographs wearing Pinocchio noses and hats, and make a wish of their own by tossing a coin into the wishing well – a feature so popular it was overflowing with coins by the end of the weekend.
The standout feature of the garden was a hand-carved Pinocchio, crafted by talented Derian House volunteer John Winders, 78, who regularly donates his handcrafted wooden creations to the hospice.
John said: “The garden looked fantastic and it was wonderful to see something I'd made take centre stage.
“Seeing so many people enjoying it made me feel incredibly proud. Winning gold was the icing on the cake."
Gareth Elliott, Gardener at Derian House, added: “It was brilliant to see so many people visiting our garden over the weekend. The hand-carved Pinocchio really stole the show.
“John has done an amazing job and it's fantastic that his work became the heart of the display.
“We also loved seeing visitors throwing coins into the wishing pond and making wishes of their own. By the end of the weekend there were so many coins we could hardly see the bottom!
“A huge thank you goes to all of our garden volunteers who helped bring everything together. It's been a real team effort, and we're absolutely delighted that all of their hard work has been recognised with a gold award.”
Derian Wishes
The garden celebrated the launch of Derian Wishes, which gives every child and young person cared for by Derian House the opportunity to have a special wish granted.
Whether it's meeting a hero, enjoying a dream day out, receiving something they've always wanted or creating precious family memories, each wish is tailored to the individual child by the hospice's dedicated Wishmaker.
More than 90 wishes have already been submitted by Derian House families, with dreams ranging from games consoles and sensory toys to family holidays and trips to Disneyland Paris.
As well as admiring the award-winning display, hundreds of visitors stopped by the Derian House stand to chat with the hospice team and learn more about the specialist care and support it provides to more than 400 babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions across the North West.
Care is free to families at Derian House, but it will cost £6million to run the hospice this year.
The charity only receives around 30 per cent of government funding, meaning it relies on kind-hearted supporters to raise 70p in every £1. You can find out more here: www.derianhouse.co.uk