Always on
This project successfully funded on 31st May 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
'Threads of Life' BBC Gardeners' World 2026
Bolton, England, United Kingdom
Aim
The'Threads of Life' design celebrates my 50th year through plants whilst raising awareness & funds for Motor Neurone Disease Association
I can't believe Im sharing this or even saying it out loud, however, after submitting a new beautiful border design for 2026 to BBC Gardeners’ World Live it has been accepted!!
The 'Threads of Life' design celebrates my 50th year through five decades of lived experience, where planting, path and sculpture form chapters that are still being written. Inspired by a lifelong love of sewing and creativity, textiles provide both language and structure. Colour, texture and form are stitched through prairie drifts, needles, mirrors and fractured elements, echoing growth, loss, illness, repair, reflection, grief, survival and hope. The garden speaks of fragility, mending and resilience.
This year, the project raises awareness and funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, honouring a close friend and their family, whose thread is closely woven into this narrative,whilst also standing alongside all those living with, caring for, or affected by MND.
In addition, books inspired by themes that have shaped and impacted my life will be donated to local libraries, schools, hospices, care homes, community groups as well as being included in 'Willow' special experience boxes extending the garden’s message beyond its boundaries, each bearing a Threads of Life and MNDA legacy bookplate
Why I’m Fundraising?
Although I am incredibly grateful to have received significant sponsorship towards the planting and build elements of the garden, there are still substantial practical costs involved in bringing Threads of Life to BBC Gardeners’ World Live, including:
• 11 nights of level-access accommodation
• Transport and build materials
• Structural elements and finishing details
Your support will:
help bring the garden to life and contribute to the Motor Neurone Disease association MNDA through a minimum 40% donation from all pre-show donation funds received (after transaction fees).
Where funds allow after essential costs, support the donation of up to 20 or more books to local libraries, hospices, schools, care homes and community groups, ensuring the thread and the story continue beyond the show itself.
A minimum of 40% of all pre-show donation funds received (after transaction fees) will go directly to MNDA.
100% of donations made during the show via the QR code (after transaction fees) will go to MNDA.
100% of post-show plant sales will go to MNDA.
Here's how you can help, offer your support and become thread within the story and design.Every thread from small stitches to larger ones and all of those inbetween will have a huge impact.
🧡Threads of Life – Donation Tiers🧡
🪡£5 – Quiet Stitch
• Your name included in the Community Weave Instagram highlight. A simple way to become part of the story.
🌿£10 – Woven In
• A thread woven into the Community Weave frame within the garden• Your name included in the Instagram highlight.Your support becomes part of the garden itself.
🧵£20 – Keepsake Bobbin (Limited to 50)
• A named wooden bobbin, wrapped in thread, placed within the garden• Instagram Highlight acknowledgement.After the show, supporters may choose to have their bobbin returned (postage cost only) or have it carefully held as part of the Threads of Life archive.
📖£50 – Chapter Supporter
• Named wooden bobbin placed within the garden• A thread woven into the Community Weave frame• Instagram Highlight acknowledgement• 1 packet of blue cornflower seeds in support of MNDA*Seed packs will be sent to you by our sponsorship partner Collie Flowers following the show
🌸£100 – Woven into the Heart (Limited to 10 supporters)
• Named wooden bobbin placed in a focal area of the garden• A thread woven into the Community Weave frame• Instagram Highlight acknowledgement• Personal photograph of your bobbin in situ after the show• Two tickets to BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2026• 2 packets of blue cornflower seeds in support of MNDA*Seed packs will be sent to you by our sponsorship partner Collie Flowers following the show. After the show, supporters may choose to have their bobbin returned (postage cost only) or have it carefully held as part of the Threads of Life archive.
Ticket allocation is limited and will be offered on a first-come basis.
Please note,because donations are split between the project and the charity , Gift Aid cannot be applied, but I will share updates and confirmation of the donation made to the Motor Neurone Disease Association once the fundraising is complete.
The garden will also help support the charity other ways. By bringing the story of motor neurone disease to a national audience at BBC Gardeners’ World Live, it will help raise awareness and encourage conversations about the condition. Plants purchased for the garden will be sold after the show with proceeds donated to the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and visitors will also have the opportunity to donate directly to the charity during the event.
Every contribution becomes a small “stitch” in the Threads of Life garden, helping this story take shape and a reminder that none of us can create something so meaningful and impactful entirely alone.
Thank you for your encouragement, your kindness and your support in whatever form it comes. If you choose to become a thread within this story, I would be so grateful.
Jan🧡x
@theflowermummysgarden
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made