The Art in the Gart creative recovery programme at Gartnavel Royal Hospital has welcomed five times as many visitors as last year to the Growing Spaces sites in the hospital grounds during lockdown.

Whether it’s members of the public discovering the Walled Garden and the Summerhouse Raised Beds for the first time, members of staff volunteering to grow their own food on the Adopt a Bed Scheme, or patients and staff working together outdoors in the Applefield Garden – all have benefitted from the outdoor activity, the calm and tranquillity offered by the spaces and the chance to observe and listen to nature up close.

The consistent dedication of a small team of garden volunteers, throughout the last five months, has ensured that each of the Growing Spaces has been cared for and sustained. Regular watering and weeding have allowed for planned growth to happen alongside the return of many wilder areas and this has encouraged greater diversity in our insect and birdlife.

Long postponed, outdoor infrastructural developments have also happened as a direct result of Corporate Volunteer involvement and this has enabled planning to continue for future Scotland’s Gardens Open Days next year. 

One visitor to the gardens, said: “I had no idea this was here. I only live on the other side of the wall. What a find and what a special place to get away from all that is going on just now. I must bring my mother.”

Fiona Sinclair, Voluntary Services Manager at Gartnavel Royal Hospital, curates the Art in the Gart creative volunteer programme. Fiona said: ”We all appreciate knowing that nearby is a place where we can go to breathe deeply and be still. Here at Gartnavel Royal, we only need to step outside and we are there.”