Gardeners’ Question Time is back for 2022 and in his first appearance of the year, Head Gardener Ashley can be heard chatting with the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) first Therapeutic Gardener, Ozichi Brewster!
To catch up on BBC Sounds, please click here
You’ll find Ashley’s interview with Ozichi at approximately 11 minutes and 57 seconds
Leading the conversation, Ashley was thrilled to be interviewing Ozichi, asking her more about what her role as a Therapeutic Gardener at RHS Bridgewater involves and how she came to be in a position enabling her to share the power of gardening with just some of the people it can benefit most.
As much of Ozichi’s work takes place in the Community Wellbeing Garden at RHS Bridgewater, Ashley was also keen to find out more about how it was designed and why the plants featuring here were chosen. Naturally, Ozichi was only too happy to explain, weaving in details about how the artful design is a fundamental part of the support offered to patients, all of whom are referred by GPs to join her regularly in the garden.
With the intention to help people’s health and wellbeing at the heart of both the RHS Bridgewater Community Wellbeing Garden and each Horatio’s Garden, Ashley and Ozichi discovered that they and their work have a great deal in common.
As well as discussing how they like to engage people who have never gardened before, the two acknowledged that the winter can be a particularly difficult time for many. Whilst lots of us know that going outside is beneficial, it can be tough to motivate yourself when it’s cold and dark. Fortunately, Ashley and Ozichi combine their expertise to inspire first time gardeners and seasoned greenfingers alike, as well as those who simply need a small nudge to venture out into nature on those chilly New Year days.
To catch up on BBC Sounds, please click here
You’ll find Ashley’s interview with Ozichi at approximately 11 minutes and 57 seconds
Beating the winter blues may not be easy, but as Ashley and Ozichi share in this thoughtful episode of Gardeners’ Question Time, therapeutic gardening and getting outside are certainly good places to start.
