Currently in the final stages of development, B&M Care’s Memorial Garden is a landscaped environment that will offer a reflective space to contemplate and reflect on the impact of the pandemic.

Situated adjacent to Ashlyns Care Home and B&M Care sister brand Fledglings Nursery on Berkhamsted’s Ashlyns Hall Estate, the garden has since been framed with inscribed railings, carpeted with astroturf, and decorated with ornamental features.

The next phase of development will see the bedding of thematic bloom, for example 'memory roses', and the interior design of the reflection room that will house a mural painted by Montrose Care Home in Watford, as well as a ‘Book of Remembrance’ where relatives can pay tribute to their loved ones.

The Memorial Garden was born out of B&M Care’s Memory Capsule Relay. Running throughout August, the relay observed a trunk being transported around each of the group’s 26 care homes, including B&M Care Head Office in Hemel Hempstead, to collect a historic cache of items and information which will now form part of a pandemic time capsule that will be buried at the Memorial Garden.

The aim of the time capsule is to primarily communicate the essence of living through a global pandemic to a future generation. Items of the trunk include: art and drawings, handwritten memoirs, photograph albums, memory books, an inscribed candle, and of course, a toilet roll.

The Memorial Garden will open early October for both staff and relatives from any B&M Care Home to visit.