City garden gives lasting link to Ukraine after Eurovision

Volunteers from Liverpool's Ukrainian community have helped create the garden

A city centre Ukrainian garden will be a "lasting legacy" for Liverpool's link with the country, organisers have said.

The city is hosting the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine next month.

The garden, on Park Lane near Liverpool One, is a place "to take some time out" from the "hustle and bustle of celebrations".

"We wanted to create a tranquil space for reflection and calmness," Donna Howitt, place strategy director at Liverpool One, said.

The garden will features plants and flowers native to Ukraine

The garden has been created by volunteers from Liverpool's Ukrainian refugee community and features plants and flowers of cultural significance to their home country as well as poetry by Ukrainian writers including Taras Shevchenko.

The memorial gardens, located at St Thomas Memorial Garden at the junction of Park Lane and Paradise Street, will be transformed to feature wheatgrass and marigolds native to Ukraine and poppies, mint and snowdrops to reflect themes of love, loyalty and home.

Ukrainian refugee Oksana Koshova, who arrived in Liverpool after fleeing the Russian invasion six months ago, said she had been "amazed" at how "wonderful and kind" people in the city had been.

She said helping with the garden had made her feel welcome and created "a heartfelt connection" with her home country.

"It is a brilliant idea and wonderful to feel that a part of Ukraine is here," she said.

'Extremely special'

Ms Howitt added: "The revamp of Memorial Gardens is extremely special to us and will enable us to create a lasting legacy to the Ukrainian community here in Liverpool.

"We're looking forward to giving not only visitors somewhere to visit during Eurovision, but also enabling local residents and Ukrainian refugees access to a community garden in the heart of the city, as a reminder of the time that we were united by music."

Following the Eurovision Song Contest the gardens will be managed as a therapeutic horticulture space by members of the local community.