City Hospice opens annual Forever Flowers display at Cardiff Castle

Max Taylor - Journalist

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City Hospice’s annual Forever Flowers display has opened to the public at Cardiff Castle, featuring more than 1,000 handcrafted metal pink poppies in tribute to loved ones.

Returning to the castle for a sixth consecutive year, this year’s display uses the pink poppy to represent love, compassion, peace and admiration. The installation will remain open until Sunday 16 August.

The route to the display features artwork created by local school pupils as part of the Garden of Memories project, with contributions from Birchgrove Primary School, Bryn Celyn Primary School, Busy Bees Nursery Llandaff, Howell’s School, Roath Park Primary School and St Joseph’s RC Primary School.

The display was officially opened on 6 August during City Hospice’s Celebration of Life event, which brought together supporters and members of the local community at the DEPOT stage. The event featured performances from Rock Choir and harpist Rhiannon Dutt-Yeung, alongside contributions from Lord Mayor Michael Michael, ambassador Gareth Rhys-Davies, City Hospice counsellor Ishah Speers and families supported by the charity.

Forever Flowers raises funds for City Hospice, Cardiff’s specialist provider of home-based palliative care. The charity supports people with terminal or life-limiting illnesses, alongside providing welfare advice, complementary therapies, bereavement support and counselling for families.

The campaign is sponsored by Green Willow Funerals and supported by Dragon Signs, Eversheds Sutherland, McLays, Premier Forest Group, Quantum Advisory and Wales & West Housing Association.

Rhodri Beynon said: “It was an honour to deliver a reading at the Celebration of Life last night. Through the care they provided for my dad, and the wider support for us, I know the positive impact City Hospice can have on families.

“We began supporting Forever Flowers while Dad was being looked after by City Hospice and have chosen to dedicate a pink poppy this year in his memory. It made us smile to see our poppy with so many others. Seeing the flowers at the display and everyone uniting for the event shows just how many people City Hospice help.”

Dr Liz Booyse, Chief Executive of City Hospice, said: “Forever Flowers is all about celebrating the lives of our cherished loved ones together, so opening the display last night with our Celebration of Life event was an incredibly special moment for us and the perfect tribute to those represented by each pink poppy.

“We look forward to welcoming visitors to the castle, from Cardiff and beyond, to experience this wonderful display over the coming week.”