Wellbeing at RHS Partner Gardens
Explore how RHS Partner Gardens use green spaces to support physical and mental wellbeing, offering restorative activities that help people feel healthier and more connected
Green spaces have a profound impact on our wellbeing in so many different ways. Keeping active in the garden is great exercise for the body, but also fosters social connections and enhances overall mental health. Many RHS Partner Gardens recognise the therapeutic benefits of horticulture and promote activities or design gardens specifically to support wellbeing.
Normanby Hall Country Park, North Lincolnshire
Normanby Hall Country Park developed a Wellbeing Garden to offer a contemplative space for visitors
One of the latest additions to Normanby Hall Country Park is the Wellbeing Garden. Initially developed in the later stages of the 2020 pandemic lockdown, the garden officially opened in 2022. This project was designed to offer a quiet, contemplative space where visitors – particularly those significantly affected by the pandemic – could sit, reflect and find solace in the natural beauty surrounding them.
The garden features several sculptures created by chainsaw artist Sarah Mitchell, whose work can also be seen along the woodland trail. Some sculptures are integrated into the planting, which includes herbaceous perennials, shrubs and grasses that provide colour, scent and movement within the enclosed space. The garden is intended for quiet, passive reflection.
- Free days out for RHS Members in 2026: Daily (when open)
- Find out more about Normanby Hall Country Park
Helmsley Walled Garden, North Yorkshire
A volunteer at Helmsley Walled Garden taking part in a wellbeing activity
Helmsley Walled Garden offers a range of nature-based programmes to support individuals dealing with issues such as depression and social isolation, aiming to build confidence, encourage mobility and promote wellbeing. Originally established in 1759 as the Kitchen Garden for Duncombe Park, it was abandoned in the 1980s and left derelict for a decade. Since 1994, when Alison Ticehurst discovered the estate and brought it back to life, therapeutic horticulture has been at the heart of Helmsley’s mission.
Ticehurst was a local resident. She began restoring the garden with the help of local volunteers, having one goal in mind: to create a beautiful space for visitors while also providing a place for therapeutic horticulture. Her understanding of the benefits of working outdoors was ahead of her time, and this ethos remains central more than 30 years later, with dedicated programmes designed to support the mental health of the volunteers involved in maintaining the estate:
- Free days out for RHS Members in 2026: Wednesday onyl, March – December. Daily, October, when open
- Find out more about Helmsley Walled Garden
Wentworth Woodhouse, South Yorkshire
Sunshine spills over the plant‑filled borders at Wentworth Woodhouse
When visiting Wentworth Woodhouse, you will receive a wellbeing guide, developed in 2024 to encourage visitors to take mindful walks in the nature and spend more time outdoors, all while promoting positive mental health. The guide invites you to participate in mindfulness activities, reflect on your mood before and after walking through the estate and focus on what you can see, hear, smell and feel – allowing your mind to unwind and relax as you wander through the historic grounds.
- Free days out for RHS Members in 2026: Tuesday – Sunday, when open
- Find out more about Wentworth Woodhouse
Knoll Gardens and Nursery, Dorset
Knoll Gardens Foundation Trustees and Kingston Maurward staff in the Winter Moon Garden at Kingston Maurward
Working with its charity, the Knoll Gardens Foundation, Knoll Gardens supports local community groups and schools in creating green spaces that enhance wellbeing. Among recent projects, grasses from the Knoll Gardens Nursery were gifted to help with a sensory garden in Wimborne Minster and a student project at Kingston Maurward College. At Kingston Maurward, students designed and created a winter moon garden featuring a spectacular display that incorporates stems, berries, winter-flowering shrubs and striking ornamental grasses to create texture and movement.
At Wimborne Community Garden, the Foundation provided grasses for a sensory garden designed by one of the community garden’s volunteers. This initiative was particularly significant, as the Community Garden is associated with Beaucroft College, which supports students with additional needs. Community groups interested in working with the Knoll Gardens Foundation can find out more and get in touch via the website.
- Free days out for RHS Members in 2026: When open
- Find out more about Knoll Gardens and Nursery
Cambo Gardens, Fife
Visitors learning about snowdrops at Cambo Gardens
Registered charity Cambo Snowdrops operates as a social enterprise focusing on skills development and training for young people and adults. The learning and engagement programmes run by the team at Cambo are directly supported by the sale of ‘bulbs in the green’, all of which are cultivated in the woodlands at the Cambo Estate or neighbouring estates. Crowded clumps are dug each year and the
Bulbs in the green are gathered for sale every year from January to April and include single and double-flowered snowdrops, aconites, wild garlic and specialist snowdrop varieties. These can be purchased through Cambo's online shop or onsite in the plant centre. All bulbs are supplied damp-packed and will be ready for immediate planting at home.
- Free days out for RHS Members in 2026: Wednesday – Thursday, when open
- Find out more about Cambo Gardens
Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens, Essex
A peaceful Silent Space area within the Beth Chatto Gardens
The 7.5 acre gardens at Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens, renowned for ecological and sustainable planting, provide a serene setting for relaxation throughout the changing seasons. Through the Beth Chatto Education Trust, the gardens are used for school visits as well as for therapy sessions for people living with dementia, to promote wellbeing through nature.
The dedicated Reflection Area, located at the edge of the Woodland Garden, invites visitors to take a moment to switch off from distractions, with benches offering an opportunity to sit and reflect. This space was never part of the original garden and has intentionally been left to feel more ‘wild’, with long grass and seasonal bulbs.
- Free days out for RHS Members in 2026: Tuesday – Saturday, February – March and October – December, when open
- Find out more about Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens
Silent spaces
Lush, layered planting in the calm surroundings of Cae Hir Blue Garden
Many RHS Partner Gardens, along with RHS Garden Wisley, RHS Garden Harlow Carr and RHS Garden Rosemoor, have joined the Silent Space network, whose aim is to provide green and biodiverse areas with places for silent reflection for their visitors. Here is a list of the current RHS Partner Gardens part of the charity:
- South East: Waterperry Gardens, Waddesdon Manor, Ham House and Garden
- Scotland: Teasses Gardens, Castle Kennedy Gardens
- Wales: Cae Hir Gardens, Dyffryn Fernant Garden
- South West: The Bishop’s Palace and Gardens, American Museum & Gardens, Hidcote, Dartington Hall Gardens, Stone Lane Gardens
- North West: Lovell Quinta Arboretum
- Midlands: Middleton Hall & Gardens, The Dorothy Clive Garden, Hill Close Gardens
- East: Markshall, Shuttleworth Swiss Garden, Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens
Please check the gardens’ websites before you visit, as times and access may change.
