How gardening helps not only physical but mental wellbeing

It’s a connection the charity has made since its founding almost a century ago to support the Queen’s Nursing Institute.

‘The National Garden Scheme has always been aware that health and gardening go together, which seemed to come as a surprise to everybody else in 2020,’ says Vanessa.

Lockdowns that year brought into sharp focus the importance of access to outdoor space, and the use of ‘green prescribing’ where patients are sent to gardens and other outdoor groups has become more widespread since.

Work at the Cheltenham hospice was funded by the National Garden Scheme. (Image: Mandy Bradshaw)

The health benefit of gardening underpins much of the NGS’s work. It commissioned a King’s Fund report in 2016 on the links between gardens, gardening and health, runs an annual ‘Gardens and Health Week’, and publishes a Little Yellow Book of Gardens and Health.

Today, the charity supports not only The Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing, as it is now called, but a range of mainly health charities, including Macmillan Cancer Support, Parkinson’s UK and Marie Curie. Last year, gardens across England and Wales – Scotland has its own scheme – raised £3.5 million.

Little has changed since the original 1927 concept. A garden opens and visitors pay to look around, often with the chance to buy refreshments – the NGS is known for its cakes.

Corton steel planters now add colour to the Leckhampton Court terrace. (Image: Mandy Bradshaw)

Originally, most of the gardens were inaccessible to the public and many are still private spaces, although some bigger gardens that open regularly also give over dates to the NGS.

It used to be that only larger gardens with 45 minutes of interest would be considered, but Vanessa has increased the number of smaller gardens that visitors can see.

She says a garden just needs to be well kept and have something different, a beautiful setting or a good story, and points out that access to these otherwise hidden gardens is what makes the charity special.

Sudeley Castle is still part of the National Garden Scheme. (Image: Mandy Bradshaw)

‘If it’s small, it’s got to be unusual or plant-filled,’ she says. ‘A lot of people want to go to a garden to look for ideas and will linger if they find them.’

Some gardens open ‘by arrangement’ rather than having a set date and these are popular with art, gardening and photography clubs.

‘The small ‘by arrangement’ gardens are also a nice opportunity for friends to go and have tea,’ says Vanessa, who has led the team of Gloucestershire volunteers for seven years – only around a dozen head office staff are paid.

Hydrangeas grow alongside cotinus in a purple and white colour theme at Leckhampton Court. (Image: Mandy Bradshaw)

Gloucestershire is usually in the top 10 counties for money raised with the best year so far in 2023 when it made almost £170,000.

In 1927, it had 28 gardens open for the NGS’s debut – Badminton, Sezincote, Stanway and Sudeley Castle still open – and today there are around 86 county gardens and more than 100 if you factor in individual gardens in village openings.

Yet, there is always room for more and the team welcomes newcomers.

‘People can be quite modest and say they are not sure their garden is good enough,’ says Vanessa ‘and then you go and it’s a lovely garden.’

For details of the National Garden Scheme visit the website www.ngs.org.uk

Dr Richarad Claxton, CEO, of the National Garden Scheme, has long championed gardening for health. (Image: Mandy Bradshaw)

The National Garden Scheme’s work on gardens and health seems likely to be strengthened with the arrival of a new CEO, former GP Richard Claxton, who has taken over from George Plumptre who led the charity for 15 years.

Richard is the founder of Gardening4Health, a charity that helps healthcare professionals find therapy gardens and other schemes for their patients.

‘It started out as a map of therapy gardens that I slowly plotted and then kind of grew,’ explains Richard who worked as a GP in Tonbridge for 25 years.

‘I wanted a resource for a GP, social prescriber, practice nurse or psychiatrist to be able to access online. I also didn’t want it to be held in some private space online but freely available to potential punters, potential horticultural therapists and anyone who wanted to get involved.’

Ferns and acers give a restful feel to the hospice’s garden. (Image: Mandy Bradshaw)

A lifelong gardener who remembers growing sweet peas with his grandfather, he turned to gardening to combat the stress of long hours as a junior doctor.

‘I very much started gardening for my own wellbeing,’ he says. ‘I liked the gentle physical exercise, the creativity, the productivity, the craft, the learning and the seasonality.’

He hopes to build on the existing drive to extend the NGS’s reach not just in terms of the type of green spaces that open – in Gloucestershire there are allotments, a hospice and prison garden – but also the diversity of visitors.

The NGS, as Richard points out, supports charities that often plug gaps in provision by the cash-strapped NHS.

The courtyard garden was the first area Peter Dowle created for the hospice. (Image: Mandy Bradshaw)

‘I think of all the charities out there the National Garden Scheme is one of the pivotal charities for that shortfall.’

And he’s delighted to find a role that combines his two interests of health and gardening: ‘I don’t think there could be job out there that synergises the two strands better.’

Despite being on the outskirts of a busy town, the garden at Cheltenham’s Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court hospice is a tranquil space with long countryside views.

It’s this peace and link with nature that’s most loved by patients, their families and staff at the charity, which provides end-of -life care and support for those with life-limiting conditions.

‘Our beautiful gardens offer a peaceful sanctuary,’ says Louise Lucio, Regional Director of Healthcare Operations. ‘The outdoor space provides a calming escape from the challenges people are facing and a place for quiet reflection.’

White roses are mixed with lavender in a long border alongside the hospice’s main lawn. (Image: Mandy Bradshaw)

The garden has opened for several years for the National Garden Scheme and was recently improved thanks to an NGS grant.

It enabled the hospice to bring to life plans by award-winning Gloucestershire designer Peter Dowle.

Peter had gifted the designs as a way of helping the hospice that cared for his grandmother. ‘It was an opportunity for a bit of giving back,’ he explains.

His first scheme, for the central courtyard, was funded by donations with families buying trees and plants as a way of commemorating their loved ones.

Geranium Rozanne (‘Gerwat’) spills out of Corton steel planters on the terrace at Leckhampton Court.NB: Geranium needs to be in italics. (Image: Mandy Bradshaw)

The most recent phase, funded by the grant, has seen more areas transformed, including a long bank alongside the main lawn, once part of a leisure garden when Leckhampton Court was a private house.

A north-facing part overlooked by several rooms was, Peter recalls, a ‘dingy little space when we first saw it’.

His team from Leaf Creative have added ferns, hakonechloa and Japanese maples to create a calming, green outlook.

Further along, beds in dappled shade have been planted with shrubs and perennials designed to give year-round interest. Working with existing plants, Peter has incorporated mahonia, daphne, acers and more hydrangeas.

The newly planted terrace at Leckhampton Court has lovely views out towards the Cotswold Hills. (Image: Mandy Bradshaw)

The terrace, where the view can be best appreciated, is now softened by large Corton steel containers planted up with specimen acers, carex and Geranium Rozanne (‘Gerwat’).

For Peter, a connection with nature has always been important and it’s something he hopes those who use the garden will experience.

‘It’s very much a space for families and for individuals,’ he says, ‘and if any of the planting can bring some calm and peace then that’s a good thing.’

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© Mandy Bradshaw