The beautiful gardens at Trinity Hospice were open for the first ever sunflower memory event, and the glorious weather brought a bumper turnout of hospice friends and supporters.

The Sunflower Appeal was launched in the spring, and over 550 sunflower plaques have been dedicated in memory of loved ones. They are on display around the hospice gardens, and the appeal is expected to have raised around £10,000 – a huge thank you to everyone who has taken part.

Jodie Prenger launched the Sunflower Appeal and became its ambassador, and she was back at Trinity to see for herself what a huge success it has been. Jodie chatted to visitors, patients and staff, who enjoyed drinks and snacks in the gardens on the longest day of the year.

She said: “It is a glorious day and a glorious sight to see the hundreds of sunflowers inscribed with names and dedicated by friends and family. Being here and seeing this makes it all so meaningful for me; this is what the sunflower appeal was all about and I’m really pleased to have been a part of it.”

Trinity’s Fundraising Manager Linzi Young said: “This is our first ever sunflower memories appeal and we have been overwhelmed with the response. It seems to have really captured peoples’ imaginations and to have so many visitors in the gardens today has made it very special.”

Trinity’s team of volunteers helped with the event – serving drinks, showing visitors around and helping behind the scenes in the run up to the day. The beautiful gardens are also the work of the volunteers, and earned plenty of compliments from visitors.