A new year and plenty to look forward to as we make plans for the season’s ahead.

January 31, 2023

A new year and a new gardening season begins. It’s such a good time to plan for the year ahead. We have ordered seeds kindly donated by Mr Fothergills, and a new donation of peat free compost recently arrived for which we are very grateful. We are going to order some plug plants in preparation for summer hanging baskets and hoping to grow more cut flowers which in turn will provide a wider range of therapeutic activities for patients. Our Farm Shops are in the diary, and we will be delivering wellbeing sessions for staff on the Unit from the end of February. The Village Green progresses with over half of the decking now laid. We would like this to be finished by Easter so we can start using the area as the weather warms up and we move outdoors.

Hardwood Cuttings

We have been taking cuttings from roses and currants to pot on and grow. This is a really good activity for upper limb function, grip, and manual dexterity but it’s also really useful for explaining and understanding the principles of pruning. For those patients with a keen interest, it’s an opportunity to learn and take away knowledge to apply to their own garden environment. It’s also helps to work on discrimination and decision making plus the added benefit of producing new plants for no extra cost.

Seed Sowing

The tail end of this month has seen us making use of our heated propagator to start sowing seed and in the space of just over a week our first chillies and tomatoes have made an appearance. Always such an exciting time. Aside from the physical benefits of working on manual dexterity through seed sowing the first signs of life continues to be such a positive sight for all.

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Jane

HG adheres to the latest government and unit policy in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

1st day back after Christmas.

Hardwood cuttings.

Peat free compost.

Mr. Fothergill's seed donation.

Seedlings.

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