Frimley Park Hospital Time Garden formally opened

The Time Garden at Frimley Park Hospital is in full bloom after it was completed last year

A hospital garden built especially for terminally ill patients has been formally opened in Surrey.

The Time Garden at Frimley Park Hospital was completed last year and is thought to be the only one of its kind in any NHS hospital in the country.

The hospital said many patients and their families had used it, and it had also been the setting for the wedding of a patient who died a few days later.

It was designed by TV gardener Diarmuid Gavin, and is in one of the courtyards.

A number of art works have been loaned for the courtyard by students from the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham.

The Time Garden was opened by former Surrey Heath mayor Roy Lilley, who said: "This garden works so well not just because of the design but because of the commitment of people like you to making it work."

Last year, it won the Best Landscape/External Space award in the patient environment category of the Building Better Healthcare awards.

The judges described it as a "beautifully-designed" project that "shows real thought and care for the patient pathway".