Wealden Times | WT184 | June 2017 | Kitchen & Bathroom supplement inside

Health
Plant Therapy
Alison Marsden highlights the undeniable health
benefits of getting out in a garden
Credit: FreeImages.com/AinaM
It’s official. Gardening is good for you.
How do I know? Well apart from a
lifetime’s gardening (and you could
say that gardeners are biased) there is
significant evidence from organised research
that gardening is one of the best, and
most accessible, ‘green care’ therapies for
supporting and improving mental health.
The breakthrough in this research is
because it shows that green therapies
benefit everyone, not just people who
like gardening and find it a good way to
unwind. A 2016 report commissioned by
Natural England concluded that ‘green
care’ offers significant benefits to patients.
These include a reduction in depression,
anxiety and stress symptoms plus increased
self-esteem and confidence, social contact
and inclusion, as well as a sense of
belonging and personal achievement.
The joy of using gardening to deliver
these benefits is that it is so flexible, from
the individual who enjoys gentle exercise,
fresh air and sociable gardening conversation
on their allotment to structured Social
and Therapeutic Horticulture projects
where qualified therapists support those
with severe, long term mental health
conditions. And there’s an increasing range
of organisation and projects in between.
Through Kent Adult Education I’ve worked
with several including West Kent Mind
at their Sevenoaks centre where a longstanding
gardening group tends a vegetable
Further information
Alison tutors for Kent Adult
Education who offer leisure and
accredited courses for adults across
the county. kentadulteducation.co.uk
West Kent Mind is affiliated to the
national mental health charity Mind
and delivers local mental health
support to anyone in need of help.
westkentmind.org.uk
The UK charity Thrive uses
gardening to bring positive changes
in the lives of people living with
and wildlife garden. This also allows
participants to sit quietly for that crucial
ten minutes becoming absorbed in a
natural, green environment, reducing stress
and restoring the ability to concentrate
– another finding from the research.
You don’t even need a garden at
home; allotment groups, community
gardening projects, local park and
garden volunteers all offer a way to
start, or keep on, gardening. Engaging
in social activities, learning from others
and feeling that you’re contributing
to the community are important in
maintaining good mental health, especially
for people who may otherwise become
isolated and lose confidence, often the
trigger for anxiety or depression.
And the end result of all that therapeutic
gardening? A beautiful outside space, flowers
for a vase and some of your five-a-day fruit
and veg. However you look at it, gardens
and gardening could be the simplest way
for us all to support our wellbeing.
Alison Marsden lives near Tunbridge
Wells and is a gardening advisor and
tutor providing advice, problem solving,
ideas and explanations to householders
and gardening clubs. She has a strong
interest in using gardening to promote
mental well being and holds the
Award in Social and Therapeutic
Horticulture. gardeningbydesign.co.uk
disabilities or ill health, or who
are isolated, disadvantaged
or vulnerable. Thrive offers
training and education including
accredited courses in Social and
Therapeutic Horticulture.
thrive.org.uk
The report A review of naturebased
interventions for mental
health care, Bragg, R. and Atkins,
G. 2016 was commissioned by
Natural England Commissioned
Reports, Number NECR204.
publications.naturalengland.org.uk
“Mental health is defined as
a state of well-being in which
every individual realizes his
or her own potential, can
cope with the normal stresses
of life, can work productively
and fruitfully, and is able
to make a contribution to
her or his community.”
(World Health Organisation 2014)
Busy bees
Bees are essential
pollinators of flowers, fruits
and vegetables and without
them our gardens would be
barren places. Bee Potion, from St
Leonards in East Sussex, supports bees by
promoting local hives and beekeeping with
educational workshops and natural beauty
products. Their fabulous Face and Body
Balm is created from honey, bee pollen,
propolis and beeswax from local beehives.
This all-natural blend of vitamin-rich oils
and beeswax is perfect for repairing and
moisturising hands, lips and cheeks after a
long day on the allotment or in the garden.
Bee Potion will be exhibiting in the Avenue
at Wealden Times Midsummer Fair on
8, 9 & 10 June at Hole Park in Rolvenden.
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