Service users and staff of Sefton’s leading adult social care provider are celebrating after their garden won a major prize at Southport Flower Show.

Judges at the event awarded a gold medal to the New Directions Magical Memories entry, which was created by clients of the organisation who have support needs due to disability, age-related or mental health conditions.

The entry also received an additional honour, the Perpetual Challenge Trophy, as first prize winner in a special class for an outside informal garden.

Taking its cue from the show’s Curious Garden theme this year, the New Directions entry was based in part on Edward Lear’s famous nonsense poem, The Owl and the Pussycat. It featured a ‘bong-tree’ and a water feature suitable for a miniature version of the fabled ‘pea green boat’.

However, the exhibit also aimed to raise awareness of dementia, a condition affecting many clients cared for by New Directions.

As a result, other elements of the garden also put the spotlight on the golden memories of childhood by featuring items including a sandpit, a blackboard and a hopscotch court.

This is the third year that New Directions has produced a garden for the Flower Show, and this year’s entry has gone one better than previous years with Garden of the Blessed in 2015 and Lost Garden of Atlantis in 2016 both winning a silver medal.

Magical Memories was created by New Directions clients at services including its New Leaf garden centre and North Hub in Southport, and its New Creations art, craft, joinery and textile workshops in Netherton.

New Directions Business Development Manager, Dave Hughes, commented: “Everyone is delighted at the gold medal success of Magical Memories. It’s a real credit to our services throughout Sefton who came together to work on this exciting project.

“Our clients always get a huge amount of satisfaction and pride from seeing their work on display, and I know they were delighted to hear all the positive comments the garden generated from the huge amount of visitors who attended this prestigious event.”

New Directions was established in Sefton in 2007 as the first local authority social care trading company in the country.

Ten years on, the organisation remains at the forefront of the local care sector, with a team of more than 300 staff caring for older Sefton residents, or people with disabilities or mental health support needs.

For more information about the services offered by New Directions, or to find out about joining the team, ring 0151 934 3726 or visit www.ndirections.co.uk.

Some of the New Directions service users and staff who worked on the Southport Flower Show entry pictured celebrating the gold medal in the Magical Memories garden