Head Gardener Imogen Jackson has been incredibly busy in her first month with Horatio’s Garden, not least because progress throughout June at our new Oswestry garden has been rapid!
Gardening and construction have continued to progress at an astonishing rate, with the addition of ten elegant raised beds arriving in the final week of June. These will not only ensure that every inch of the garden will be beautifully planted, but also provide an area for patients to tend to the garden and their own plants throughout their stay in hospital. The Osmanthus is all planted in large pots around the garden now too, and thanks to Imogen’s careful selection a stunning spectrum of summer colour has been introduced to the garden.
The architectural elements of the space are now really coming along too, particularly the garden room with its fabulous hearth taking centre stage!
Imogen has also been busy chatting with both NHS staff and our Oswestry volunteer team as they prepare for the garden’s opening later this summer. Volunteers have received their initial induction, giving everyone the chance to get to know each other and the hospital, as well as offering the opportunity for all to gain a greater understanding of spinal cord injury. Everyone found this to be immensely valuable and Imogen has started to work with the Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy teams to develop a complementary horticultural therapy programme.
With a great deal more still to be done, Imogen has got her hands on some basic gardening tools so that all the volunteers can start getting stuck-in to the garden. Thanks to their support all our new plants have the opportunity to make the most of the perfect weather conditions, which are currently helping our brand new garden to thrive.
