Garden of wellbeing

In 2019 we created the Garden of Wellbeing at Stratford-Upon-Avon hospital. Staff at the hospital had often mentioned the lack of outdoor space to enjoy and unwind during their breaks and downtime from their shift, so we created the Garden of Wellbeing to offer a vibrant and tranquil green space to relax amongst nature.

The design for the garden incorporated a boarder of lavender and 12 raised beds in a clock formation which offers seating, storage and the growing of edible plants.

There have been many beneficiaries including hospital staff, patients and visitors, Café Lomas, community groups, corporate groups and our Green Therapy group/volunteers who help maintain the garden and fulfil their horticultural education.

Stratford-Upon-Avon hospital garden of wellbeing

We give thanks to BAM Construct UK and their team of apprentices for creating the raised beds with their fine craftsmanship and Lodders Solicitors, adi Group, Wharton NIC, Orbit Group, Benchmark, NHS Wellbeing and our Green Therapy group for planting up the raised bed which are now thriving.

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Kitchen Garden

We are turning a dull derelict area at the back of the hospital into a beautiful, vibrant Kitchen Garden for staff to enjoy a more private setting and to provide a space for plants and edibles to be grown.

Firstly after clearing the area, we had a 54 square metre polytunnel erected thanks to the incredible generosity of ValeFresco who donated and constructed it. The polytunnel has been used to sow and grow thousands of plants which we’ve planted at various locations in the local community, edibles which we’ve grown to supply the hospital café and local care homes and it’s provided the perfect training and education space to our Green Therapy group.

We had 4 brick raised beds built to grow plants and edibles, as well as providing seating. The large raised beds create a deep, wide growing area that encourages plant roots to grow down and outward. We chose bricks to create the raised beds as it’s long lasting material and fitted the aesthetic on the garden.

With help, hard work and the generosity of the team of apprentices and staff from BAM Construction led by Phil Eves and our team of volunteers, we now have two new covered areas for staff to sit out and enjoy the lovely garden and have outdoor meetings. Our volunteers can also make use of this flexible education space to learn new skills and enjoy the biodiversity.

Living Walls

We have created and installed many living wall planters at the hospital to cover and brighten up the structure of the car park. These vertical gardens systems have improved a sense of wellbeing for the staff and patients to enjoy, have provided urban greenery and will improve air purification.

Green Spaces

We have turned other derelict, overgrown areas of the hospital into beautiful garden spaces by planting colourful plants to add visual beauty and increase the biodiversity of the area by attracting pollinators such a bees and butterflies. We have planted over 1,000 Spring bulbs to bring a burst of colours come the season.

Planters

With help from our Green Therapy group we have placed self-watering planters around the hospital on concrete areas which desperately needed greenery and colour. We regularly maintain these self-watering planters by watering them once a week, weeding and replacing plants to suit the season. We have also brought life to some of the outdoor walls with hanging baskets.