The founder of Careys Secret Garden, Simon Constantine, has rehabilitated the walls and garden and more recently launched the Berlin Wall exhibit on 9 November in honour of the date the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.

He explained that when the Victorian walls of Careys Secret Garden were rediscovered after decades of being untouched they exuded a sense of calm and refuge, and that setting about rehabilitating them and the garden felt as much a job of conservation of the precious atmosphere as it was of physical restoration.

The Victorian walls create a microclimate by capturing the sun and shielding from strong winter winds, but also create a feeling of sanctuary.

By definition, walls are meant to separate and stand as symbols of division or oppression. Border walls across the globe are used to define borders, prevent movement, discourage illegal movement of goods, repel migrants and refugees or even just to exert power or authority.

The new permanent exhibit at Careys Secret Garden aims to highlight the use of walls to unite by creating togetherness and cohesion, encouraging growth, providing safety, protection and a sense of belonging.

The garden is nestled within a wall, and seven full-size pieces of the Berlin Wall have been installed in the garden to draw juxtaposition between walls that separate people, and those that unite.

Adorned with graffiti and street art of the time, these special pieces had been relocated after the fall of the wall in 1989 and, through one misadventure and another, remained largely unseen since.

Once a symbol of oppression and division, the team at Careys hope to use them now to start important conversations about the use of border walls in different parts of the world.

Simon Constantine said: “In the age of division, with so many people requiring you to be either in or out, what if there was another way? What, if instead of deciding between building walls or building bridges, there was a way that both could be ok?

“Can people find space to grow, to cultivate their inner world to be strong enough for the wider world? Can we connect to the best aspects of our past but relinquish the ugly foundations some of those ideals were built on? Can we address the present ecological and social crises and, through a sense of belonging, build healthy futures together? Can these walls that have been built actually allow us to grow, to connect with one another?”

Careys Secret Garden is open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for pre-booked visits only. Entry to the new Berlin Wall exhibit will be an additional £2.50 for pre-booked garden visitors, which will be donated to the communities who are kept apart by war and walls.

All Garden Visit tickets must be pre-booked via Careys booking site.

The Berlin Wall Exhibit opened for garden visitors from Friday 18 November, there is an opportunity to visit it at 11am and 1.30pm each day the garden is open.

Further details can be found at www.careyssecretgarden.co.uk