The Safe Green Space: Gardens and Health.

Posted on Nov 7, 2024 Tagged #gardening, #gardening4health, #gardeningforhealth, #gardeningismytherapy, #greentherapy, #horatiosgarden, #mentalhealth, #nature, #sergehill, #socialandtherapeutichorticulture, #socialprescribing, #suestuartsmith, #wellbeing, fitness, healthLeave a comment

It was a wonderful day of learning, sharing, and connecting yesterday at the Serge Hill Project.

Sue Stuart-Smith gave the keynote speech: it was at the same time beautiful, educational, and inspiring – and the tone was set.

Arit Anderson and Keely Siddiqui-Charlick followed, moving us seamlessly from laughter to tears, as they showed us how projects like Sunnyside can impact people, gardens, communities, and the planet, and how anything’s possible if you have enough cake!

Richard Claxton gave a brief update on Gardening4Health and our plans now we’re officially a charity.

Next up was Ruth Madder from brilliant Bridewell gardens – an in-depth look at working as a Social and Therapeutic Horticulture practitioner.

After a yummy lunch with time both for chat and wandering in the stunning Barn Garden and Plant Library, Kurosh Davis brought us back to calm and focus with a stunning solo performance of Bach on the viola.

Then came an afternoon of immersion into Horatio’s Garden – Olivia Chapple – founder and Chair of Trustees spoke about their incredible journey, before interviewing Joe Darrell. Joe’s been a patient in both the Glasgow and Stanmore spinal units. With modesty, humour, and honesty, his story will leave a profound impression on all who heard him.

Tom Stuart-Smith described the challenges of designing the Stanmore garden and illustrated the beautiful and functional space it has become, and then head gardener and horticultural therapist Ashley Edwards explained the many ways the space is used, and the phenomenal impact it can have.

Horatio’s Garden is not just about the gardens. It’s shone a spotlight on just how dehumanising our healthcare system – both in terms of its space and its processes – can become. The gardens in many different ways are showing us a better way forward for holistic healthcare.

Thank you Millie Souter and Derek Hunter for the garden tours, and an especially big thank you to Becky Fincham for masterminding the day for us. It ran without a hitch.

Lastly, thanks to Tom and Sue; the Safe Green Space they’ve created here was the perfect setting for such a brilliant day.

Gardens Illustrated – Horticultural Heroes 2024

Posted on Oct 8, 2024 Tagged #gardening, #gardening4health, #gardeningforhealth, #gardeningismytherapy, #gardens, #gardensforgoodcauses, #GIhortiheroes24, #greentherapy, #holistichealth, #mentalhealth, #naturebasedsolutions, #socialandtherapeutichorticulture, #socialprescribing, #sth, #vitaming, #wellbeing, @gardensillustrated, @greenfingerscharity, @project.giving.back, flowers, garden, horticultureLeave a comment

“Gardens Illustrated’s top 20 horticultural heroes 2024 is a list of extraordinary garden champions who are making a difference to places, people, plants, and the planet.”

Gardening is, for me, the ultimate in holistic healthcare interventions. It’s been such a massive help to me personally over the years, as well as to my patients.

I hope being included on this list helps raise the profile of gardening as a means to better physical and mental health for us all, as well as for the benefit of the world and it’s fragile ecosystems: upon which we all depend.

Whether I’m working as a GP, for Greenfingers charity, Project Giving Back, or on behalf of @gardening4health – I’ll happily share this message to anyone who will listen, and in time, we can together make Social and Therapeutic Horticulture as widely available as possible.

To this end, I’m also delighted to become a contributor to the magazine – exploring these issues in a series of articles over the coming months – the first of which is published in the October edition. Thank you, Gardens Illustrated, for highlighting so many of the wonderful ways Horticulture can make a difference!

I’m deeply honoured and somewhat amazed to find myself featured in the @gardens_illustrated list of Horticultural Heroes for 2024. Indeed, I’m all the more incredulous when I see who else they’ve chosen – I’m in extraordinarily good company! “Gardens Illustrated’s top 20 horticultural heroes 2024 is a list of extraordinary garden champions who are making a difference to places, people, plants, and the planet.” Gardening is, for me, the ultimate in holistic healthcare interventions. It’s been such a massive help to me personally over the years, as well as to my patients. I hope being included on this list helps raise the profile of gardening as a means to better physical and mental health for us all, as well as for the benefit of the world and it’s fragile ecosystems: upon which we all depend. Whether I’m working as a GP, for Greenfingers charity, Project Giving Back, or on behalf of @gardening4health – I’ll happily share this message to anyone who will listen, and in time, we can together make Social and Therapeutic Horticulture as widely available as possible.

Thank you, Gardens Illustrated, for highlighting so many of the wonderful ways Horticulture can make a difference!

RHS Wellbeing Gardens – Lewisham Wellbeing Garden

Posted on Dec 30, 2023 Tagged #adamfrost, #gardening, #gardening4health, #gardeningforhealth, #gardeningismytherapy, #gardens, #greentherapy, #lewisham, #lewishamwellbeinggarden, #london, #mentalhealth, #nhs, #nhsstaff, #rhs, #socialandtherapeutichorticulture, #socialprescribing, #universityhospitalslewisham, #wellbeing, health, mental health, newsLeave a comment

The RHS is building a national wellbeing gardens network

“Our vision is to create a UK-wide network of Community Wellbeing Gardens across the country. This will be a green web of welcoming, safe, neutral, accessible and inclusive spaces – social hubs where plants, skills, ideas, kindness and support are shared. Our RHS Wellbeing Gardens initiative is being piloted at University Hospital Lewisham with the aim of rolling out the model and benefits to healthcare sites across the country.

The wider network will be informed by learnings from Lewisham Hospital Garden and will also be designed by our RHS Wellbeing Gardens Ambassador, Adam Frost. We are currently working with healthcare trusts and community organisations to deliver two more wellbeing gardens at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds and Colchester Hospital in Essex. There is potential to expand the programme in future years.

Gardening for wellbeing is a key focus for the RHS. We are conducting practical scientific research into the environmental and social benefits of gardens and plants, and raising the profile of gardens and gardening to support people’s wellbeing through strong links to government, the horticultural industry and our community partners.

A partnership between the RHS and NHS to develop wellbeing spaces for staff, patients and the local community.

During the pandemic, Maria Leong, an anaesthetist registrar at UHL, contacted the RHS requesting support to develop a garden, to enable NHS staff to take a break from their intense workloads – a space to breathe and to reflect and remember colleagues they had lost to Covid-19.

Maria explains, “For patients and their relatives, it will be a chance to escape the clinical environment and talk with their loved ones. We are working on involving lots of different patient groups, such as paediatric patients, and those with chronic pain and dementia. The path will also be able to accommodate hospital beds, enabling staff to bring stable but critically ill patients outside to feel fresh air, sunshine and be in a green space.”

Leading garden designer Adam Frost, who is passionate about celebrating our NHS heroes, designed the scheme.

Our Community Outreach team have forged close partnerships with many local organisations to develop an inclusive wellbeing programme and promote the garden as a safe, peaceful and tranquil local asset for everyone to use. There is a weekly club in the hospital garden where staff and patients are invited to switch off, learn a new skill and meet new people in a safe space, where activities include everything from yoga, meditation and wellbeing walks to dried flowers, houseplant care and mosaic making. There are also sessions for adults with additional needs, patient and carer support groups such as a dementia group and a perinatal group.”

https://www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/community-gardening/lewisham-hospital-garden

London Landscapes Blog June 2022

Posted on Jul 9, 2022 Tagged #chelseafringe, #gardening, #gardening4health, #gardeningforhealth, #gardeningismytherapy, #gardens, #greentherapy, #londongardenstrust, #mentalhealth, #socialandtherapeutichorticulture, #socialprescribing, #wellbeingLeave a comment

Click below to read my Blog Post written after speaking to the London Gardens Trust in May

https://londonparksandgardens.wordpress.com/