HORATIO'S GARDEN
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Mission Statement
Horatio’s Garden nurtures the wellbeing of people after spinal injury in beautiful, vibrant sanctuaries within the heart of NHS spinal injury centres. Leading designers create the accessible gardens where the charity’s team, alongside volunteers and creatives, care for people and plants alike.
About This Cause
Horatio’s Garden nurtures the wellbeing of people after spinal injury in beautiful, vibrant sanctuaries within the heart of NHS spinal injury centres. Leading designers create the accessible gardens where the charity’s team, alongside volunteers and creatives, care for people and plants alike. Spinal cord injuries are traumatic events. The gardens are vital places for reflection and adjustment for people facing these life-changing injuries and long stays in hospital. The profoundly positive impact of a Horatio’s Garden is clear for people with spinal injuries, their families and friends, and hospital staff. Research shows that 100% of people with spinal injuries see an improvement in their wellbeing, with 95% reporting that the gardens have improved their mental health. The charity’s vision is to sustainably grow thriving communities and biodiverse gardens in all 11 NHS spinal injury centres in the UK. To date we have opened seven gardens in the South West, Scotland, Stoke Mandeville, Midlands, London & South East, Wales and Northern Ireland, with work beginning on our eighth garden in Sheffield in spring 2024. The charity’s projects are all designed by different acclaimed landscape designers who create the outstanding gardens following detailed consultation with all stakeholders and are situated immediately adjacent to the spinal injury centres. The calm, inspiring places showcase the best of contemporary planting design using carefully-chosen trees and plants to be enjoyed from different vantages and through all seasons. Smooth paths enable safe movement around the garden for patients in hospital beds and wheelchairs. The designers collaborate with prominent architects to create bright interior spaces with for all-year-round appreciation of the gardens whatever the weather. Every Horatio’s Garden has a team led by a Head Gardener, supported by a garden administrator and a dedicated team of volunteers who work together to nurture the gardens, with regular advisory visits from the garden designers. Garden therapy: The charity’s Head Gardeners lead regular garden therapy sessions, which are assisted by volunteers and organised in collaboration with the spinal centres’ occupational therapy teams. “I really enjoy garden therapy. It’s lovely to just feel my hands in the soil.” Every Horatio’s Garden has accessible greenhouses and an adjacent area of raised planters for patients in beds and wheelchairs to grow and cultivate their own herbs, salad leaves, vegetables and flowers. Arts programme: Regular arts and crafts workshops encourage patients to discover new skills. The creative sessions, led by a mixture of artists, facilitators and volunteers, offer a wide range of techniques and pursuits, from photography to watercolour painting, willow weaving to glass fusing and creative writing to woodworking. Garden sculptural artworks inspired by the natural world are exhibited in the gardens, generously loaned by notable sculptors. Regular programmes of live performances by musicians, poets and writers are also run. “I don’t know what I would have done without Horatio’s Garden and all the activities that I have taken part in. I have done gardening, painting, willow weaving, jigsaws, relaxation, reading, writing and others. These activities have been most therapeutic for me.” Families and friends: With only 11 NHS spinal injury centres in the UK, each one supports a vast catchment area. As a result, patients’ families and friends often travel many miles to visit their loved ones. Horatio’s Garden offers a warm, welcoming and comfortable place away from the ward, where visits can be more relaxed particularly for patients with children or grandchildren. The garden rooms give everyone a homely atmosphere, where patients can host their visitors and make their own tea as well as enjoying volunteer-made cakes. Many patients and families establish firm friendships through spending time in Horatio’s Garden and informal peer support flourishes in the natural environment. The charity organises a range of events throughout the year such as; live music, Easter parties, bank holiday barbecues, summer weekend lunches and Christmas festivities, which offer families the opportunity to spend time together and form new positive memories. “I think the garden is absolutely fabulous and makes visiting so much more enjoyable. It’s lovely for visitors and patients to have a private, relaxing space to visit loved ones. The outdoors, the fresh air and lovely garden are as much appreciated by my partner who is an inpatient and it would be much missed if it wasn’t available. Thank you for this wonderful space.”