A BLIND Chipping Sodbury veteran is playing a part in bringing beauty to a show garden at the prestigious Hampton Court Palace Flower Show this month.

David Thomas, 88, has pledged to contribute to the garden being created by charity Blind Veterans UK, a national charity for vision-impaired ex-service men and women at the event run by the Royal Horticultural Society.

A lifelong gardener, David, who served in the RAF from 1947 to 1949, will be making his own miniature garden that will appear in the main garden as part of a special week of activities for blind veterans with green fingers.

David, who first realised his eyesight was deteriorating in 2012, found out he had both age related macular degeneration and cataracts, resulting in a gradual process but one that’s restricted what hobbies I’m able to do. I’d have loved to visit Canada but now I’d need a carer to go with me.

“It makes me sad to think that I can’t see very well, however I always keep cheerful. It’s a shame that I can’t do things like DIY but there are ways round it; I’ve got a battery screwdriver which helps me navigate certain issues. So long as my mind is kept active by thinking of alternative solutions, I’ll be OK.”

For David, gardening began when he was 11 years old. After digging out a kidney bean trench for his father, it became a staple part of his life. He explains: “I’ve always had a garden, I even had an allotment in the 1950s and early 60s.

“There were two gardens in particular that I saw to, lovely large walled gardens in Horton and Chipping Sodbury.”

Despite David’s deteriorating sight loss, he maintains that gardening continues to occupy centre stage in his life. He says: “Gardening means everything to me. It is my life to have my hands in the soil and to use the water from heaven that I collect.

“If I couldn’t garden, if I couldn’t just sit in a garden and enjoy the plants, I’d be lost.”

The Blind Veterans UK ‘It’s all about community’ garden has been designed by celebrated designers Andrew Fisher Tomlin and Dan Bowyer and it will be one of the largest show gardens at Hampton Court this year.

Chief Executive of Blind Veterans UK, Major General Nick Caplin said: “This garden, at the prestigious RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, is a fantastic opportunity to reach out to the thousands of blind veterans out there who don’t know they’re entitled to our support.

“Blind Veterans UK has set an ambitious target to double the number of veterans we support in the next five years. This garden represents the community of blind veterans that we hope to grow.

"As the average age of the veterans we support is rising, we have now extended our services to provide more practical and emotional support closer to our beneficiary’s own communities.

“If you, or someone you know, served in the Armed Forces, including National Service, and is now battling severe sight loss then please do get in touch with us.”

For more information on the charity, visit blindveterans.org.uk/noonealone