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Why is there a panda in a Dartford garden?
Visitors wandering through the roses and geraniums at Vanessa Jeans Glorious Garden this spring may notice an unexpected guest hiding among the flower beds. A small panda cub has taken up residence between the borders though unlike most garden wildlife, this one has been carefully painted by an artist.
The panda is an early glimpse of something much bigger.
This summer, Dartford will be filled with over 80 beautifully designed sculptures, including 30 large bears, as part of the Dartford We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Art Trail – a borough-wide public art event bringing colour, creativity and curiosity to streets, parks and public spaces.
The trail, led by local hospice charity ellenor in partnership with Dartford Borough Council and international public art producers Wild in Art, will raise vital funds for hospice care while inviting families to explore the borough in a completely new way.
And the panda in Vanessa’s garden is where the story begins.
On 31 May, visitors to Vanessa’s much-loved Glorious Garden will be able to see the cub up close as part of the annual open garden event she hosts in support of ellenor.
The friendly panda will sit happily among Vanessa’s eclectic collection of garden characters – which already includes dragons, demons and pigs – delighting visitors of all ages who come to explore the colourful garden each year.
Vanessa, an ellenor trustee, decided to sponsor one of the cub sculptures herself.
“I just thought it would be lovely to have a bear of my own in the garden,” she said. “It helps spread the word about the Bear Hunt trail and it’s another animal to add to the family here, so it’s a win-win.”
Across Dartford this summer, the Bear Hunt trail will see giant bears designed by artists appear alongside smaller cub sculptures decorated by schools, clubs and community groups.
Vanessa said the designs chosen for the trail are wonderfully imaginative.
“I think about 200 artists submitted designs and around 60 were selected to show to sponsors,” she said. “They were all so beautiful – some very abstract and colourful, and others really clever. One of my favourites was based on the Great Bear star constellation.
“You could have picked any one of them and it would have been amazing.”
Art trails like this have become hugely popular across the UK, drawing families and visitors into town centres to explore public spaces in new ways.
In Dartford, organisers expect more than 250,000 visitors to follow the trail over the summer.
Behind the playful sculptures sits a serious purpose.
The community-led project will raise vital funds for ellenor, helping the charity continue providing specialist hospice care for patients and families living with life-limiting illness across North Kent and Bexley.
The trail also aims to spark conversations about hospice care and help more people understand the support available from diagnosis onwards.
Vanessa, a retired GP, has seen the impact of that care first-hand.
She recently accompanied members of ellenor’s children’s team on a home respite visit to an 18-year-old boy with severe disabilities.
“They were just amazing with him,” she said. “They had been supporting him for years and they were incredible with his very complex needs. It brought tears to my eyes.”
After many years working in general practice, Vanessa says she has huge admiration for the charity’s staff.
“Some of ellenor’s patients and their families have incredibly difficult things going on in their lives. I take my hat off to the team for the way they support those families.”
She also enjoys playing her part in supporting the charity, whether welcoming visitors to her garden, joining the Twilight Walk or meeting fundraisers who take on challenges in aid of ellenor.
“The whole point of the trustees is to bring together people with different experiences,” she said. “I’m on the care committee, where my medical background is useful because I understand the conversations around patient care.”
Vanessa is now preparing to welcome visitors once again to Pencroft, Dartford for this year’s Glorious Garden event.
Last year’s gathering nearly didn’t happen after she underwent emergency surgery for a detached retina shortly beforehand.
“I spent most of the time lying face down,” she said. “But the wonderful thing was that all my friends and volunteers knew exactly what to do, so everything still went ahead.”
This year she is hoping the garden will be bursting with colour when visitors arrive.
“If we’re lucky the roses will be out,” she said. “There will be lots of colour with valerian and geraniums, and we’ll have plenty of plants for sale.
“People often come early to get first choice. Others just sit in the garden all afternoon eating cake and drinking tea and coffee. It’s a lovely relaxed afternoon.”
Visitors can also enjoy musical entertainment from the Rock Choir, along with tea, cakes and homemade treats.
Most of the garden is wheelchair accessible and well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome.
And somewhere among the flowers, watching quietly from the borders, will be the little panda offering the first playful glimpse of Dartford’s giant Bear Hunt to come.
ellenor’s Dartford We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Art Trail is delivered in partnership with Dartford Borough Council and Wild in Art, inspired by the animated television adaptation produced by Lupus Films. Supported by local businesses and community partners, the free trail will take place across the borough this summer, raising funds for local hospice care.
find out more about the Dartford – We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Art Trail
https://dartfordbearhunt.co.uk
To find out more about Vanessa’s Glorious Garden event here Glorious Gardens 2026 – ellenor
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