HORATIO’S Garden held at summer weekend of celebration, welcoming celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and raising £26,000 for the charity.

The celebrations began on Friday evening with a summer drinks party in Horatio’s Garden, which was designed by Cleve West for patients at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre at Salisbury District Hospital.

With laidback jazz played by Teresa Shaw and sculptures on exhibition by Mark Coreth, it proved to be an enjoyable evening in the sun and the auction raised £9,000 for the charity.

On Saturday more than 400 guests, many of whom were former patients and staff of the spinal centre, came from across the south and south west to Horatio’s Garden to celebrate the centre’s 30th anniversary. With cream teas, face painting and morris dancing, the rain couldn’t dampen the spirit of the event.

Sister Sen Manzano Peralta, who has worked at the spinal centre for more than ten years, made an impressive celebratory cake to be shared by the guests.

River Cottage founder Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall opened the food and plant fair on Sunday with a speech in support of the charity and its work.

He chatted to the stallholders, sampling their products, and he met many of the patients from the spinal centre who were at the fair.

The weekend’s events raised £26,000 for Horatio’s Garden. This will go towards the new garden room which is on-track to be built in September. The heated, glass garden room will help patients to enjoy Horatio’s Garden, even on the coldest of days.