Gardens that heal & lift the spirits
By Jean Vernon
Anyone with a love of gardens and nature will agree that gardening, in all its guises, is a therapeutic pastime. Plants, gardens and the natural world all have a capacity to re-energise the spirit, revive the soul and to actually speed healing.
At RHS Show Tatton Park every garden has its own energy and spirit, but some gardens have been specifically designed to confer a therapeutic effect on the garden owner for whom it has been created.
Soothing sounds
A Sound Garden by the Trentham Estate combines sensory planting with a sound installation that soothes the mind, body and spirit. Unlike a piped soundtrack, this sound is interactive with movement and changes as you meander through the pathways. Its gentle, mesmerising effect relaxes those who stop awhile to listen.
The power of plants
Embracing Tranquillity takes a step towards healing and restoration. The design and colour scheme is calming yet rich and vibrant. You can almost breathe in the healing energy of the space. A closer look reveals that every plant has some sort of healing power, highlighting the importance of plant biodiversity in our constant quest for healing ingredients. The yew hedge, for example, represents the vital source of cancer healing drugs.
Garden designer Elizabeth Daley explains: “There are also quite a lot of plants for palliative care, such as lavender for aromatherapy and chamomile for complementary therapy. Then there’s echinacea and even the verbena and achillea have healing powers of some sort.”
At one side of the garden is a spiritual shrine, enveloped by a reflective pool that feeds a rill of slow moving water. “I wanted to show the value of rest, relaxation, recuperation and restoration in a quiet tranquil setting with beautiful plants.”
Dream gardens
Most gardeners have the garden of their dreams at least inside their heads, if not in their gardens. But have you ever thought about creating a garden from a dream? One garden at Tatton Park Flower Show has taken the concept of dreaming and created a, pardon the pun, dream garden. Dreams, Just Dreams is an ornamental, theatrical garden with curving pathways softened with grasses, silver foliaged perennial and bright jewel-like flowers. The paths lead towards a central, giant dream catcher created in the form of a pergola dressed with soft fabrics. Beneath, the garden hammock entices visitors to dream away within the safe boundaries of this enveloping garden.
“The dream catcher captures any horrible dreams so you can only have pleasant ones,” explains garden designer Claire Skidmore. “Once you are inside it gives you a sense of tranquillity. Walk through and enjoy the dream,” she invites.
Personal development
Sometimes the creation of a garden is simply therapeutic for its creator. One dramatic garden at this year’s show takes a garden concept, nurtures it and then explodes it into a cacophony of subconscious thought, explosive colour and radical ideas. Space Ritual: Tony Heywood’s Chamber Gardens is a deep, thoughtful creation of one man’s inner psyche. It’s wild, creative and inspiring, and uses shamanic journeying techniques that are recreated in five dimensions within the circular space. It’s a personal, contemplative garden. Don’t miss this rare chance to tune in to something very spiritual and to see something that pushes garden design boundaries in every sense and every direction.