An old walled fruit garden at Thrive HQ will soon be transformed into a Garden Gallery holding five small gardens designed to suit the needs of specific disabilities.
Hearts and minds garden – for people recovering from a stroke or heart attack. This garden will help people to tackle the effects of stroke including partial paralysis, reduced mobility, limited vision, loss of sensory capacity and physical weakness using a design which enables them to take part in gentle exercise to recover health, strength, stamina and co-ordination.
Find out about the planting and materials used in the Hearts and Minds garden.
Just for fun garden – for 14-19 year olds with special educational needs. This garden will provide opportunities for children to try gardening and growing for themselves and to experience nature. It will be a colourful and playful space which will include a social area, a wildlife area, and a grow and eat area.
Out of sight garden – for people with sight loss. Paths will be wide, level and straight and corners will be marked with landmarks. Any barriers and obstacles will need to be highly visible, the textures underfoot will be important for gardeners to discern changes of direction or height and plants will be chosen for scent, sound and texture.
The journey – an uplifting garden for people with a mental illness including dementia. This garden will promote well-being and stimulate the senses. It will inspire activity and creativity to reduce feelings of depression and anxiety and will promote a feeling of accomplishment and direction.
The Unexpected Gardener garden – is already at Thrive and was our 2010 Gold Medal Chelsea Garden. It will form part of the Garden Gallery.
This is a small urban garden designed by Jo Thompson using Thrive principles. It shows how age or disability need not mean an end to gardening or a compromise to good design.
The garden is designed for someone who is stylish and mature and loves their urban garden but is finding it slightly more challenging physically than in the past.
It features beds at different heights for easy access; sitting areas for resting and socialising. There are non-slip surfaces, easy maintenance plants and weed suppressing ground cover.
We will be transforming this area throughout 2011 and hope it will inspire visitors at Thrive to use our ideas.
Garden Gallery progress blog
Read about the designers involved in the Garden Gallery designs.
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