Category: Courses

This Creative Therapeutic Horticulture Course for Health and Care Professionals is a practical study day using social horticulture as a therapeutic medium; the March 12th 2020 course at Waterperry Gardens near Oxford will have a “Spring activities theme” and will run from 10:00 to 16:00. To book a place on this course, please click here.

This new POP Gardens course will enable participants to:

• Explore the use of horticulture as a meaningful socio-cultural occupation and gain valuable insights into the relationship between plants, people and places;

• Learn how horticultural activities can be applied to NHS Wellbeing initiatives and how it has been an effective therapeutic medium over time;

• Be introduced to a range of resources & tools for use with children and adults;

• Practice tried and tested artistic & cultural plant related activities for use in group sessions or at the bedside;

• Explore outcome measures and protocols;

• Take home resources provided & used during the course. Further resources will also be available for purchase on the day.

The course is to be delivered by POP Gardens’ OT Lynne Evans together with Speech & Language Therapist Caroline Cook and will include:

1. A pre-course reading pack to be provided by e-mail;
2. A4 paper hard copy of the presentation slides; presentation pack
3. Take home items crafted during the course of the day;
4. Access to downloadable activity ideas.

This course will be run on a number of dates throughout 2020 at both Waterperry Gardens near Oxford and at Chesterfield’s Staveley Centre. The activities selected for the courses are tailored for the four seasonal themes of Winter, Spring, Summer & Autumn.

Highlights from POP Gardens’ 2019/20 courses attendee feedback to date (from 54 respondents) include:

• 100% of attendees would recommend POP Gardens courses to their colleagues;

• ‘This has been an amazing start to my Social & Therapeutic Horticulture journey. I will be keeping in touch’ OT from a Brain Injury Unit;

• ‘I loved all the different little useful ideas on how to carry out seeding activity and how to make it interesting. I will be using it with children. Thank you. I feel very inspired’. OT at a Child and Adolescent Mental Health unit;

• ‘Really useful day for getting going with horticultural therapy with a whole range of settings. Thank you so much.‘ Neuro-Rehab Assistant;

• ‘You’ve done an amazing job. I’m so pleased I managed to get on your course.‘ OT from a Palliative Care Team;

• ‘I had no idea there were so many creative activities to use with planting seeds and plants. Thanks for a lovey day and please do create a WhatsApp group so that we may all share our ideas’.

This POP Gardens course in Cornwall is designed for individuals wishing to use horticulture as a therapeutic medium, social cultural activity and/or leisure play activity. It is suitable for health professionals, teachers, social prescibers and anyone who wishes to understand why working with plants is good for us.

Horticulture has been employed by occupational therapists for over a 100 years to improve their clients health and wellbeing. The discipline of growing plants has broad appeal at many skill levels from nursery age children to older adults. Come and join us for this interactive and hands on practical workshop to:

• Gain insights into the use of horticulture as a meaningful socio-cultural occupation;
• Be introduced to a range of resources & tools for use with children and adults;
• Learn how horticultural activities can be applied to NHS Wellbeing initiatives and how it has been an effective therapeutic medium over time;
• Become familiar with tried & tested indoor & outdoor activities relating to art and culture;
• Meet and share ideas with other health professionals;
• See resources available for purchase, which will be available to buy on the day.

This course is to be held in the Tin Room at Heartlands, Dunance Lane, Redruth, Cornwall, TR15 3QY from 10:00 to 16:00 on Thursday 5th September 2019. To see full details and to book a place on this course, please click here.

Health professionals discovered that plants are part of our day to day life. They are present in virtually all daily activities. Part of the day was spent looking at the relationship that people have with plants and nature and how this influences our cultural and artistic practices. We enjoyed a bit of poetry – ‘The Last Hedgehog’ by the brilliant Pam Ayres and thought about how poetry can be used therapeutically.

The afternoon practical session focused on the art of making hanging baskets and flower bowls. These beloved seasonal creations provide a comforting visual treat. We also delved into the world of seeds looking at associated creative activities, activity analysis and tried out a variety of seed sowing materials! We used a mixture of reliable and pretty flowers – petunias, calibrachoas, geraniums and verbenas as well herbs and dwarf beans.

You can find some of my personal favourite gardening related poems at the the Poetry Archive; these include The Trees by Philip Larkin, Summer of the Ladybirds by Vivian Smith, A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns, Five Years Trying to Win the Flower Show & The Preservation of Flowers both by Julia Bird, Marigolds by Vicki Feaver and In the Tool Shed by Andrew Greig. There are also a fine collection of gardening poems in Jeremy Naydler’s book ‘Soul Gardening”; two I particularly like are I The Gardener & The Nettle in the Basil Pot.

I have also enjoyed reading the work of the poet & artist Edward Lear (1812-1888). This has inspired me to mix poetry and horticultural therapy. I loved his humourist take on people and plants and his simply brilliant sketches. This one below I have at home and it represents how chaotic and stressed individuals can present to Occupational Therapists whilst in recovery.

Finally, for more information on how occupational therapists help recover ordinary lives click here.

Health professionals and gardeners at the POP Gardens‘ therapeutic horticulture workshop were able to experience first-hand, the restorative effects of the lovely surroundings at Trebah Gardens in Cornwall on Tuesday 2^nd April 2019.

Many thanks to Trebah Gardens for allowing the use of a room with a view of one of the UK’s most beautiful gardens!

Spring time therapy at Waterperry Gardens

Well done to all the brilliant and dedicated Occupational Therapists and Rehab Professionals who travelled from far and wide to attend POP Gardens’ Horticultural Therapy Workshop on the 26th March 2019.

Clinical staff from forensic & acute mental health, neuro rehab, CAMHS, paediatrics and hospice care learnt about how to sow self-pollinating sweetpeas, sunflowers and tomatoes and the benefits of saving these seeds.

These useful plants offer multiple therapeutic benefits, particularly for individuals who are receiving end of life care. We also covered offering a daily dose of nature from the plant trolley!

Keep up the good work girls, Beatrix Havergal would be proud.

We’ve received some great feedback on the course, including:  “Everything was so useful – thank you so much”; “Enjoyed the planting & could see using the coir pots being useful. Great resources & course pack provided – Thanks”; “I loved the course – totally inspired & can’t wait to start/ continue.”; “The ideas for the trolley and bedside activities will be really useful.”; “All very useful & enjoyable & thought provoking.”; “Course content has all been useful.”; “This has been an amazing start to my STH journey. Will be keeping in touch”; “Really enjoyed the day & can’t wait to get on with our group”; “Really useful day for getting going with horticultural therapy with a whole range of settings. Thank you so much”; “You’ve done an amazing job. So pleased I managed to get on your course”.