It’s not just the plants and flowers that have blossomed since the Space to Grow project was introduced six months ago.
Patients with mental health issues have also benefited from the gardening activities available at Huntlyburn Ward in the Borders.
That’s why Jan Moffat – a mental health nurse with more than 30 years’ experience and the green fingers behind the project – has been nominated in the Care for Mental Health category at this year's Scottish Heath Awards.
Jan, 49, said: “An occupational therapist who used to work in the ward started the project. She left and when I started, the garden was a bit of a jungle.
“I like gardening, I like the outdoors and saw an opportunity to try to resurrect the garden.
“We started off small. There was a greenhouse, a shed and some tools.
“The first job we did was weeding then planting potatoes and getting tomato plants in the greenhouse.
“The patients really enjoyed it.
“They liked getting outside, away from the boundaries of the ward and having a better connection to nature. It has just grown from there.”
The project allows patients and staff to participate in social horticultural therapy, where gardening, plants and horticulture can help individuals develop personally and socially.
Jan added: “It can benefit everybody – not just people with mental health difficulties.
“Growing projects are beneficial for people with post-traumatic stress, schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.
“You need to nurture a garden and it helps to teach people to nurture themselves.”
Overall, the feedback from those who make use of the Space to Grow project has been very positive.
Jan added: “One person liked the garden environment so he could sit and meditate and be mindful.
“It wasn’t necessarily getting his hands dirty and digging – it was about being able to sit in the garden, watch the birds and have a bit of space away from the ward.
“Another patient said it had helped him reconnect with things he had done as a child with his grandparents.
“The project is a valuable resource for the ward. Hopefully in time it won’t just be for the ward, it will be for the whole of the service.
“If the award nomination gives recognition to the project, and helps people in the long run, then all the better.”
