My name’s Aeneas. I’m a visual artist. I had a rather unfortunate incident where someone stepped out in front of my bike. I ended up with a spinal injury and had an operation in Edinburgh, and then I came here to start rehab.
We come out into the garden quite a lot. When the weather’s good, we’re definitely outside, and if not, there are little pods inside that are really popular. I honestly can’t imagine what it would be like to be in a spinal injuries unit that didn’t have a garden like this. It would be pretty grim. But here, you’re smelling the flowers, seeing the sunlight shimmering through the leaves. It helps take my mind off things.
My son, Roy, and daughter, Moira love it here too.
Roy
My name’s Roy and my dad’s been in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. This is honestly one of the best gardens I’ve ever been in. I really love it. It’s absolutely fantastic how they’ve designed it, it’s just fabulous.
Moira
I’m Moira. We come here a lot. We usually come for lunch and end up sitting around until evening, until it starts to get dark and we go back. We’re probably here a good five hours most days.
There are so many bees and birds, we just sit and watch them do their thing. I really think it makes a huge difference. It’s a bit of nature, a bit of the outside world, and it’s all so well looked after. The plants are flourishing and developing in their own way, and I think that really helps, even on a subconscious level.
For my dad, it’s about building back his aliveness, being around things that are alive, well, growing. I think being here helps him get into that mental state, without even really thinking about it.
