St Barnabas House

About St Barnabas House

St Barnabas House hospice has been open since 1973, and provides specialist palliative care for adults with cancer or advanced, progressive, life-limiting illnesses in the Worthing, Adur, Arun and Henfield areas. In 2011 we moved into our new, purpose-built hospice, and the main entrance features beds with Sorbus trees with a classic combination of rudbeckia and miscanthus.

The gardens are an integral part of caring for patients, and every room in our In-Patient Unit has a door to the private patient gardens. Areas have been created where patients can watch birds at the bird feeders, and plants are chosen for their sensory feel, texture, smell and colour.

The central courtyard is known as the ‘Green Heart of St Barnabas’ and is open to all. The principal idea of the Green Heart is to have a densely planted area with a temperate approach and a contrast between shape, form and colour. Tree ferns give a sub-tropical feel, as well as a spectacular tetrapanax, the rice paper plant, and banana plants. Also in this area are beautiful katsura, magnolia and aralia trees, the latter better known as the walking stick tree. On the back wall (to the right of the hospice chapel), paulownia is cut each spring to produce large leaves more than a metre across. It can produce spikes of violet flowers giving its common name, the foxglove tree. A nice mixture of clematis and golden hop scramble up the wall on wires to produce leaf colour and flowers. The atmosphere here is one that encourages you to relax, chat and reflect.

Moving on into the grounds, there are areas depicting roundhouses which were part of a settlement dating back to 800BC. A beautiful area to walk around with several benches to stop awhile is the pond area, which attracts plenty of wildlife, but also helps to balance the water table on the site. A stunning fountain-aerator adds tranquillity with the sound of running water. Moorhens and chicks visit nearly every summer and sometimes there are even ducks. Damselflies and red and blue dragonflies, long and short-tailed, as well as butterflies, love it, and we have also seen newt tadpoles and water voles. The pond contains a mix of reeds, rushes, iris and water mint. Large and small-leaved water lilies bring colour to the pond, with blocks of yellow and purple loosestrife.

Beside the pathway around the pond is the lavender maze which reflects the ‘circle of life’ and attracts bees and other insects – the smell is just wonderful! A mix of ash, alder and sweet chestnut trees form a barrier between the garden and the road, all of which are commonly found in Sussex. Up from the maze, the wild grass and flower meadow with mown paths provide natural summer colour and scent, attracting bees and butterflies, birds and small mammals. In front of the meadow is the vegetable growing area, with all produce given to the kitchen.

The bank next to the meadow is planted to give a mix of shape, leaf and colour, with buddleia, cotinus, hazel and dogwoods, wintersweet, hydrangeas and eleagnus. In this mix there are also golden elders, California lilac and mahonia.

We are very proud of our gardens, which we maintain with help from a team of volunteers. We know they give a great deal of pleasure to our patients and their families and we look forward to sharing them with you when you visit.