Beth’s Sunflowers: Our Charity of the Year 2026
We are delighted to announce that our chosen Charity of the Year for 2026 is Beth’s Sunflowers.
Beth’s Sunflowers is a local charity set up in tribute of Beth who died of blood cancer in 2018. Beth’s Sunflowers was selected primarily due to its close proximity to Ashwood Nurseries and John’s Garden, the local connection to Beth, and its commitment to supporting local blood cancer patients. We also share a strong connection to horticulture through our sunflowers and successes at the BBC Gardeners’ World Show.
About Beth
In August 2018, Beth lost her battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. She was two months away from her 21st birthday. She fought the disease for nearly 2 years and went into remission, only to relapse. Her mother, Andrea, felt strongly about continuing Beth’s passion towards fundraising and has since raised over £80,000 towards blood cancer charities. In 2023 Andrea set up ‘Beth’s Sunflowers’ as a tribute and lasting memory to Beth, as well as to raise funds to help find a cure to blood cancer and support blood cancer patients.
The Significance of Sunflowers
In 2019, a year after Beth had passed, another Leukaemia Mum from The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham grew some sunflowers in tribute to all the young people who had fought but tragically lost their battles with cancer. She called them her Young Persons Unit (YPU) Sunflowers.
Each year, the seeds from these sunflowers are grown by friends, family and supporters. The seeds are harvested from the flowers every year, and from those original sunflowers they now produce thousands of seeds each year. The seeds are sold in aid of Blood Cancer Charities, predominantly Blood Cancer UK, A Gift to Lift and Cure Leukaemia.
Beth’s Sunflowers in Schools
Beth was a student at Liverpool John Moores University studying Primary Education, as it was her dream since the age of 6 to be a primary school teacher. Many of the schools she worked and volunteered in, the children had no garden at home or even experienced growing a plant before.
Since then, Beth’s Sunflowers have launched ‘Beth’s Sunflowers in Schools’ to help encourage children to get out in nature, learn about their environment and learn how plants grow. The project donates all the seeds and basic equipment to the schools, including Beth’s own primary school, and the children are encouraged to sow and grow the seeds in and around school and at home. In doing so they are helping children to learn about science, nature, the weather, basic measuring/maths as the flowers grow and bloom whilst keeping Beth’s legacy alive.
If you would like to know more about the project, please visit Beth’s Sunflowers for more information.
How will Ashwood Nurseries raise money?
This year Beth’s Sunflowers will be working with John’s Garden and the team at Ashwood Nurseries to organise sunflower themed growing events for children and other fundraising activities.
The Ashwood Charitable Trust supports our Charity of the Year, its main fundraising for this coming from John’s Garden Open Days. We are also fortunate to receive a number of individual private donations from our generous customers and friends. We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who supports our charity in any way, no matter how small.
More Information
Beth’s Sunflowers (Charity Registration number: 1211020)
Website: Beth’s Sunflowers – Supporting Blood Cancer Charities
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