Award-winning Cardiff charity City Hospice’s popular Forever Flowers campaign which celebrates life will return to Cardiff Castle this summer.

Forever Flowers invites supporters to purchase a limited-edition flower to remember cherished family members, friends and loved ones. Expertly crafted by the British Ironworks Centre, this year’s Forever Flower is a sunflower, a global emblem of the hospice movement, which has been a symbol of positivity, admiration, loyalty and devotion for many throughout history.

The unique, lasting tributes will return to one of Cardiff’s most iconic locations, Cardiff Castle, this summer as part of a striking display from Saturday July 30 to Sunday August 14.

The flowers, which are on sale for £25 from today, will be available to collect during the final two days of the display and following the event. Supporters will also be able to have their Forever Flowers engraved after the display at a significantly reduced cost at participating Timpson Stores.

Purchasing a flower will support the work at City Hospice, the only provider of home-based specialist palliative care in the capital. The charity, Cardiff’s local hospice, provides care to people with terminal or life limiting illnesses, as well as essential counselling and support services for the families of the patients.

Experiencing a bereavement can be difficult in normal times, and even more so during the pandemic, when people may not have been able to grieve in the normal way. Others, who have experienced loss in the years prior to the pandemic, may also feel their grief has been heightened over the last few years.

City Hospice’s bereavement service has seen an increase in demand of 50% and continues to grow. As a result, the charity has introduced a new therapeutic interventions to meet people’s needs and opened outreach clinics in Llanrumney and Ely to increase access to their service thanks to last year’s Forever Flowers campaign and other fundraising initiatives.

This year’s Forever Flowers campaign could help City Hospice reach even more communities to meet the rising demand for their care and bereavement counselling and support more people across Cardiff with their grief.

Liz Andrews, Chief Executive of City Hospice, said: “Providing people with a means to remember, talk about and celebrate the lives of loved ones has always been an important part of City Hospice’s work and Forever Flowers is a perfect opportunity for people to come together to do just that.

“Following the overwhelming response to the campaign last year, we are delighted to bring Forever Flowers back in 2022 to allow even more people to unite in remembrance and cherish their loved ones.

“Forever Flowers is for everyone, not just those who have been cared for by City Hospice or experienced a bereavement during the pandemic, and we look forward to seeing everyone at Cardiff Castle this summer.”

Forever Flowers is sponsored by Jeff White Motors and supported by Azets, Cardiff Rugby, Dario Security, Eversheds Sutherland, Harlequin and Premier Forest Group.

Jeff White, owner of Jeff White Motors, said: “Forever Flowers is a truly special campaign; an opportunity for people to come together, remember and celebrate life. We are delighted to be involved in this year’s campaign and look forward to supporting City Hospice’s important work, providing specialist care and much needed counselling services.”