Last week our day centre was a hive of activity as our volunteer gardener, Jim Goodwin, demonstrated the art of creating hanging baskets for our patients’ enjoyment.
Jim’s wealth of experience as a gardener and his position as Head Gardener at the hospice for 14 years means he is always ready and able to share his expertise as well as practical tips.
Jim showed our patients how to create colourful and exciting hanging baskets, which will now be displayed at the hospice. And just to show that anyone can have green fingers, Jim then helped our patients to pot up their own plants which they can tend to on their visits.
So many of our patients tell us how they have loved to tend their own gardens, but increasing frailty and reduced movement has affected their enjoyment of gardening. This workshop was a chance for them to get back to nature in a way that they haven’t been able to for some time.
Day Centre attendee Pamela Gay (pictured) said that she really enjoyed the workshop and it was a fantastic opportunity to get back into gardening.
These activities could only have happened because of the fantastic support we receive from Deri Stores who donated plants used at the workshops. We are incredibly grateful to them for their support.
With this in mind, we are currently working to develop much more patient-friendly spaces in our own hospice gardens, with raised beds which will allow patients to plant flowers and vegetables and contribute to our beautiful garden space. If you would like to support this activity, and help our patients get back to nature, please donate here.
The gardens at City Hospice are maintained entirely by our volunteer gardeners who come every Thursday to plant, prune and perfect our beautiful surroundings. They’re always looking for new helpers, so if you would like to get involved please contact our Volunteer Officer, Alex, by calling 02920 524150 or emailing volunteer@cityhospice.org.uk.
