The MEMORIAL garden at Millenium Green, Albaston is now complete.

Little Blossoms Memorial Garden for bereaved families was created by Christie Ferrari and her partner Ed Facey after the loss of their stillborn daughter Violet in June last year.

Christie wanted to created the garden to provide a space for people that have lost children.

Work for the garden started at the end of March and now the garden is finally complete and in full bloom.

In response to the garden being finished, Christie said: ‘It’s relieving.’ Christie and her partner have been working tirelessly to shape the garden into the space that they hoped it would be.

Becky Marshall, a friend of Christie’s said: ‘Christie has done such a positive thing. It gets Violet’s name out there and the word out there.’

The garden features an arbour, a fairy garden, a wishing well with wishing pebbles, a postbox for families to send letters to the lost children and relatable books covering the topic of bereavement for both adults and children. The space also features an abundance of plants and wildflowers that have drawn in wildlife such as dragon flies and birds.

This magical garden for the lost children is a beautiful, peaceful space for bereaved families to come and sit and use the space in any way they choose.

Christie said: ‘It’s everyone’s garden.

‘Anyone can use it as their space to grieve and remember.

‘If you’re struggling and sit on a bench, it has no meaning. Here is meaning around you.

‘There are resources to make you feel better like books, sending a letter, or installing a plaque.’

A particular driver for creating the memorial garden was the lack of resources available to bereaved families.

‘The support for people is very minimal’, said Christie. ‘There are not a lot of groups around Cornwall. People are left in the dark.’

Christie added: ‘Losing a child is a taboo subject.

‘In the beginning it’s very much a daze.

‘You don’t know where to go. Don’t want to speak to people. This is a spot for the inbetween.Disconnected but connected in the same way.

‘The idea of this garden is to ground yourself.’

Little Blossoms memorial garden is a space open to grieving families and the whole community to allow rememberance and a needed space for these families to know that they are not alone, that someone else understands, whilst also increasing awareness of child loss.

Funding for the garden has been met by setting up a fundraising page which raised £1,200, a donated gravel base by Calstock Parish Council and Christie walked up Snowdon last June for Violet’s birthday which raised another £1,000. More funds will be needed for the upkeep of the garden and Christie has booked to walk Ben Nevis next June. Christie aims to raise money to maintain the memorial space and also branch out to set up a coffee morning or support group for bereaved families.