Gardens and Health Week

Our Gardens and Health programme focuses on the important role of gardening and gardens in helping to create a positive path to health. In 2019 we brought together a host of inspiring gardens and stories about people whose lives have been transformed by their gardens which you can read below.

In 2020 the campaign officially launches with Gardens and Health week on May 9th but we will be championing gardens as places of solace, recuperation and relaxation throughout the year.

To be the first to hear more on this topic email joanne@ngs.org.uk and ask to be added to our Gardens and Health mailing list.

Our beneficiaries

Visit a garden: ‘It’s a renewal of yourself’

As part of our Gardens and Health programme we offer free garden visits for the service users linked to our beneficiary charities. Offering a few hours respite in a beautiful garden with a cup of tea, a piece of cake and good company really can help lift the spirits.

Our garden owners

More than a hobby, gardening is good for the mind and body too

Garden owner Joe Shannon was delighted when Mind was named as a National Garden Scheme beneficiary. Having suffered from mental health issues and volunteered at his local Mind shop for several years, he felt inspired to share his story about how gardening, and opening the garden he shares with his partner Alex, helps him cope with his mental illness.

Our beneficiaries

An exceptional garden provides a warm welcome to students and staff from Treloar School & College

The Thatched Cottage, Hampshire opened its gates to students from Treloar School & College in Alton, the UK’s leading centre for severely disabled children and young people and one of the National Garden Scheme’s beneficiaries.

Our garden owners

A flower to soothe the mind and soul

From a single rose gifted to her years ago, Michelle’s garden has bloomed into her sanctuary. Over the years Michelle has tried a number of ways to manage her mental health, from medicine to counselling but her garden has helped her like nothing else. Believing gardens are good for the soul, she decided to open her garden for the National Garden Scheme, so everyone can enjoy her lovingly-created space.

Our garden owners

Surviving Cancer: The therapeutic power of gardens

Barbara Johnson is opening her glorious garden at Neasham Abbey near Darlington for the first time, not only to share her love of gardening but to celebrate Cancer Survivors Day too.

Our gardens

Garden therapy in action

The Therapy Garden in Surrey is living proof that social prescribing can set young and old alike on a positive path to change. We visited to find out more.

Our garden owners

“I believe that the garden helped me continue to live my life”

When Nyla Abraham was struck down by a debilitating autoimmune disease she felt she had lost everything; dreams of her honeymoon and starting a family disappeared. But access to an outdoor space and plants to nurture helped aid her recovery and this year she is opening her garden at 70 Entry Hill to share the positive effects with others.

Our gardens

“The Growth Project is a sanctuary, it gives me the feeling of being wanted and valued.”

For people struggling with mental health, gardens can be a lifeline. Volunteers at one project in Rochdale are reaping the rewards of their hard work not only through the creation of rich, organic harvests but through a host of benefits that being outside and creating a special place bring.

Our beneficiaries

Sharing her sanctuary

For Christine Lane, who lives with Parkinson’s, opening her garden for the National Garden Scheme is helping her focus on what she can do, rather than the things she can’t. The result is a beautiful sanctuary that makes Christine – and the people who visit – feel better.

Gardens and wellbeing

Better than medicine - how gardens help grow your emotional and physical wellbeing

Visiting a garden, with a companion or otherwise, is a great form of social prescription – linking you to like-minded people in the presence of nature to nourish your soul. Counselling Directory helps us discover more about the benefits of gardens and gardening.

Our garden owners

A garden for Harriet

When Amanda Goode lost her daughter to cancer, and the much hoped for baby she was carrying, it was her garden that helped Amanda find respite from her grief and started her on a journey to recovery.

Gardens and wellbeing

For love and luck

Plants have long been prized for their perfume and their medicinal properties but few have been as revered as lavender and roses. Explore the rich history of these glorious plants and find your perfect scented garden this season.

Our beneficiaries

The joy of gardening for all abilities

A visit to Treloar School & College in Hampshire to join an outdoor lesson, gave the National Garden Scheme team the chance to see how much pleasure, and how many learning opportunities, simple garden activities can create.

Our beneficiaries

The National Garden Scheme commits funding to develop more ‘incredible sanctuaries’ at NHS Spinal Injury Centres

Our passion for gardens and for the benefits that gardens can have on physical and mental health are the drivers behind a new commitment from us to help Horatio’s Garden fund the completion of all eleven gardens at NHS spinal injury centres across the UK.

Our gardens

Gardens for wellbeing

Our research has shown that visiting gardens is both good for your mental and physical health. Reconnecting with nature, creating time for yourself to relax and reflect, enjoying a sense of community with like minded people have all been proven to improve our general health and all of these aspects can be found at our garden openings. Take a look at a selection to get you started.

Gardens and wellbeing

85% say garden visiting is good for the soul

New research conducted by the National Garden Scheme can reveal that visiting a private garden is good for the soul. Over 85% of our supporters report that being in a National Garden Scheme garden has a positive impact on their mental wellbeing and 8 out of 10 (80%) feel happier after visiting than before.

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