City United Reformed Church, Cardiff
On Sunday 17 March 2024 members and friends of City URC met in the welcome spring sunshine to celebrate their newly recreated city centre garden, and to dedicate the garden in the name of a much loved church member Mary Cashmore- whose generous legacy had enabled the transformation to occur.
The church had a vision to transform the smallish garden area beside the church, under two beautiful big trees, into an eco friendly, calm city centre space in which both people and nature could find a safe haven. Church members knew that this was something that Mary would have delighted in, as she had always loved the church garden, and believed that the outside of the church should reflect what happened inside the church.
The garden designer Pam Creed offered to design the garden as a gift to the church and the wider community, and her design which includes a curved area with benches for the public to sit on while enjoying the raised planter filled with bulbs and bedding plants, as well as a quiet area with a memorial bench and memory wall, and an open area with protective sails to meet under, completely fulfilled the church member’s vision for the garden. The garden was built by the Garden Design company Moruzzi Landscapes, late in 2023, and all the new plants were planted by church members and friends, under Pam Creed’s careful direction, in late December on a very cold wet winter’s day! Pam had kept most of the original bigger shrubs, and by early Spring, when the garden dedication was held, the newly planted bulbs and plants were all just beginning to sprout, and the garden looked gorgeous- filled with hope and signs of new life to come.
A short thanksgiving and dedication service was held, led by Revd Martha McInnes, City URC minister. Members of Mary’s family attended, as did Pam Creed the garden designer, Claire Boot from the Synod Office, and many members and friends of City URC. The dedication ended with all present invited to lay a flower on Mary’s memorial bench in memory of Mary and anyone else whom they wanted to remember that day.
The service was followed by sharing of tea and coffee and refreshments, and the sun continued to shine!
