Garden Creation at Warwick Hospital
Thomas ward
After the success of our gardens at Stratford-Upon-Avon hospital and Leamington-Spa Rehab Hospital, we were commissioned to complete the trilogy of South Warwickshire Foundation Trust hospitals by creating a garden outside the Thomas Ward of Warwick hospital.
The original space itself was very dull and disused, but offered the perfect opportunity to create somewhere colourful, welcoming and enjoyable.
- Before
In pre-project questionnaires, the results showed an overwhelming demand for staff to have a green space where they could “relax in during their breaks”, “be amongst nature” and “have their lunch in an enjoyable, visually pleasing setting”.
It was then our aim to deliver this desired garden for the staff, patients and visitors.
- After
Accessible pathway
With accessibility at the forefront of our planning for the garden, we laid down a grass reinforcement mesh pathway making the benched seating area not only accessible via the tarmac path along the edge, but easy to get to from the entrance and through the garden.
Planters
We created four large rectangular planters made from recycled pallet wood and decorated them by painting them with environmentally friendly paint. These planters were installed in the central area of the garden to accompany 6 handmade rectangular planters which we installed along the front boarder at the garden entrance.
We filled all planters with peat-free compost before planting them up with an array of colourful pollinator friendly plants with the aim to boost the biodiversity of the area. Plants were either grown ourselves from seed/cuttings or sourced locally from gardens centres. We re-potted towering Ivies from our Hedera Helix show collection in decorative pots and displayed them around different corners of the garden to add some beautiful greenery.
Seating
We used a collection of different seating to suit peoples comfort needs. We refurbished benches and positioned them together to encourage socialising and recycled plastic seating and recliner chairs were dotted around the garden for those wanting to relax on their own.
Volunteers
To kickstart the creation of the garden we were joined by a group of nine volunteers from Coca Cola providing people power. By getting them out onto this project which results in giving something back to the community and nature, they also achieved their Corporate Social Responsibility aims.
Wellbeing and sustainability
The joy that people find in having a nice, natural outdoor space is striking and highly satisfying. We also note that people using the garden, and passers-by, are attracted to a sustainability initiative, commenting on the ethos of the space and the repurposed furniture. Importantly, this garden was one of the only designated green spaces for staff and patients to enjoy. It seemed, from feedback, that it was well past time that a space like this exists.
The creation of the garden itself is also a process in which wellbeing and sustainability are heavily linked. We have extensively observed the health benefits of group gardening through our long-running Green Therapy group at Stratford hospital.
The garden very much had sustainability in mind throughout the whole planning and creation stage.
Feedback
The immediacy of the impact that creating the garden spaces has had on staff and patients was highlighted in the feedback we received after the garden’s completion:
