“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.”
Luther Burbank
It’s just over a year now since our lives changed dramatically due to COVID19. Restricted from leaving our homes beyond 5K, not seeing our families and friends and working from home, changed our lives as we knew them and had a huge impact on our mental wellbeing. Thankfully spring arrived and with it came some glorious weather to lift our spirits. We felt blessed. The beautiful spring weather inspired us, we got creative and we did our best to reinvent any outdoor space we had. Those of us lucky enough to have a garden undertook our own garden projects and surrounded ourselves with outdoor comforts, colourful flowers and plants knowing we would be spending a lot our summer months at our own garden sanctuary.
Why Are Gardens beneficial to people especially during times of stress?
There is growing scientific evidence that gardening can measurably reduce patient stress, and improve health outcomes. Regardless of age, we as humans find nature restorative. There have been an increasing number of studies on the health benefits of just sitting in a beautiful garden with outcomes proving that people’s mood improved having spent time outside, changing from depressed, stressed, and anxious to more calm and balanced. These are just a few of the many benefits some of us have experienced first-hand within our own lives over the past year. Getting out for our walk or just being outside has become a big part of our daily routines and a lifeline for us at times.
“In Unity There Is Strength”
In spring last year Circle of Friends received some great news. Boston Scientific Employee Charity Fund confirmed to us we were successful applicants for 2020 for the proposed project of A Healing Therapeutic Garden on the grounds of the Circle of Friends. The centre was designed with a beautiful garden in mind and this news couldn’t have come at a better time in the light of the new restrictions that we will be facing in the future. Even though the employees at Boston Scientific were faced with new challenges in fundraising this most definitely did not deter them. If anything I believe it motivated them even more. Instead of postponing to the following year, they adapted and pushed forward in new creative ways of virtual fundraising and this January confirmed to us that they had reached and exceeded their goal for our Garden Project. It is now under way this Spring. Being able to provide a Healing Therapeutic garden space for our service users, their families and friends means so much to us, especially now we know too well how beneficial it will be to the overall well-being of everyone who visits and spends time here.
We’re excited…Things are underway!
