WINTER TIME 2013/2014

SPACE 2 GROW had a busy Christmas period and a very creative one too. We made a lot of pretty front door wreaths from natural materials and mostly from the gardens of places we had visited. We were all pleasantly surprised by our beautiful wreathes and each individual contribution to them. Great group efforts! All the best for 2014.

AUTUMN TIME 2013

SPACE 2 GROW has been busy with seasonal horticulture inside and out. Marking seasons with bulb planting in Autumn takes us to Spring time next year and many flowers to look forward to then. Harvesting continues and apple pressing begins with a number of community village centered initiatives for young and old, truly intergenerational. Freshly pressed apple juice is just so delicious!

Harvest time in October at the Hospice 

 Autumnal jobs in the raised beds in warm sunshine

Accessible gardening. Potato harvesting from pots

Intergenerational Community initiative - village apple pressing

Marking the seasons with bulb planting

GARDEN SPACES REDESIGNED FOR RESIDENTIAL HOME

Bank before works commenced

Bank cleared, seating area and access added with shade and seating

Old seating area

Old seating area enlarged and with shade and new access

 Re designed garden opening party!

31 August 2013 celebrated the opening of the rejuvenated outdoor spaces at a residential home in Wallingford.  SPACE 2 GROW has redesigned outdoor spaces and project managed construction to increase user participation and enjoyment while providing gardening opportunities for all. Access, circulation, seating provision, shade and new planting are encouraging a wider connection to the outdoors. Residents and staff have “dressed” the garden with items to give residents a domestic garden feel all of their own. The results of the re design have delighted all and noticeably more residents, visitors and staff are now using the garden spaces.

Outdoors in the Summer time

Outside in the summer time with SPACE 2 GROW

As soon as summer finally arrived we have all spent as much time as possible outdoors. With the hot sunny days we have been enjoying it is essential that sufficient shade is provided for all. Investment in good quality shades or gazebos is money well spent and will ensure a safe garden environment.

 SPACE 2 GROW has been busy harvesting vegetables, flowers, fruits and herbs in a busy growing season. The pleasure of watering plants with a hosepipe is a simple one but one enjoyed by many, particularly those who get a bit carried away!

 

Sowing and growing with SPACE 2 GROW

The delayed sowing season has slowed the progress of seed preparation for us all.  SPACE 2 GROW has maintained table top sowing programmes with all garden groups. Using large, easy to handle seeds in big containers, the process becomes achievable for all participants. Those with dementia can often find activities involving co-ordination, concentration and dexterity difficult and often find themselves excluded; however with an adaptable approach inclusiveness is guaranteed. Social and therapeutic horticulture can be a very positive undertaking for those diagnosed with dementia – those groups who regularly work with SPACE 2 GROW find great benefit arising.

SPACE 2 GROW celebrates spring time

Observing nature through seasonal changes can stimulate interests beyond an institutional environment so often prevalent in residential homes. SPACE 2 GROW assembles programmes of therapeutic horticulture to realise such interests using seasonal markers.   

Rejeuvenating garden spaces in residential homes

SPACE 2 GROW has redesigned outdoor spaces at a residential home in Wallingford to increase user participation and enjoyment while providing gardening opportunities for all. Access, circulation, seating provision and new fruit, flower and vegetable planting will encourage a wider connection to the outdoors.

Getting ready for new designs in 2013

  

SPACE 2 GROW has been making final preparations for a spring start on site at a residential care home in Oxfordshire. Improving garden spaces with therapeutic garden design in mind will provide easy access to new parts of the gardens and introduce vegetables, fruits and flowers to enrich the outdoor experience for residents, staff and visitors alike.

ENJOYING WINTER

Winter with SPACE 2 GROW.  We have enjoyed marking the winter season with craft and therapeutic horticultural activities at hospices and residential care homes across Oxfordshire.

SPACE 2 GROW  has also been busy designing outdoor spaces and improving existing garden space provision for older people. We look forward to completion in spring of 2013.

Getting Fruity

SPACE 2 GROW  has  been getting fruity in therapeutic gardens. Autumn is a good time to introduce fruit to the garden space. The pleasure of eating freshly plucked fruit or the benefit of turning it into jams and juices for sale or personal enjoyment is immense. Garden spaces can be so much more than just a visual aesthetic. Adding a small fruit tree such as a trained specimen – espalier, cordon,fan, or a small rootstock tree such as an M9 or M27 together with a mixture of soft fruits will hugely increase the diversity of the garden while producing a fruity crop that will bring financial reward.

Accessible Gardening

SPACE 2 GROW  has  been developing edible landscapes and sensory gardens in raised beds at a number of residential care home locations throughout Oxfordshire. Raised beds offer opportunities for accessible gardening while offering a connection to garden activities where previously none existed. Outdoor spaces have been enriched and enlivened as a result and significantly more people engage with them now.

Developing Garden Spaces with SPACE 2 GROW

SPACE 2 GROW  has been working with Sobell House Hospice to develop the garden space. This summer the space is developing nicely into a vibrant outdoor area that attracts a wide range of visitors who dip in and out of activities there. Flowers and vegetables are regularly harvested and taken home by those attending the Hospice.

Social and therapeutic horticulture and palliative care

SPACE 2 GROW  has been delivering regular sessions of social and therapeutic horticulture to both Sobell House Hospice in Oxford and Katharine House Hospice in Adderbury. Both hospices offer specialist palliative care for those with life limiting illnesses where SPACE 2 GROW  has increased the breadth of creative therapies available. Therapeutic horticulture provides opportunities to sow, grow and nurture for the future reminding us of the cycles of life and reconnecting us with nature. Enhancing the interaction between outside and inside and making improvements to outdoor spaces has been key to this process.

BUSY CHRISTMAS SESSIONS IN 2011

A busy programme of seasonal sessions with a Christmas theme saw great craft and horticultural activity at over 10 residential homes/nursing homes/day centres and hospices in Oxfordshire. Over 50 people participated in a number of creative projects resulting in some amazing outcomes with a sprinkling of seasonal therapeutic horticulture.

BANBURY DAY CENTRE

A bespoke programme of seasonal horticulture and craft based activities has been greatly enjoyed by participants attending the Day Centre.

Introducing therapeutic horticulture to Katharine House Hospice

With great success, therapeutic horticulture sessions have been delivered to Katharine House Hospice. We harvested potatoes, tomatoes, onions, carrots, beans, herbs and flowers. We plan bigger and better next year.

SENSORY GARDEN OPENED AT GLEBE HOUSE: Easter 2011

Jennifer Cawood designed a sensory garden for residents at Glebe House Kidlington.  Elements of the sensory garden included: a water feature; reminiscence planting of traditional homely favourites; sensory planting for touch, smell, taste, sight and sound; seasonal planting and raised beds offering accessible gardening opportunities.

GLEBEFIELDS CARE CENTRE

July 2010
Space 2 Grow has recently introduced therapeutic horticulture to Glebefields Care Centre. Taking advantage of existing raised beds, a fabulous rural location and fine weather, the new group has enjoyed numerous outdoor sessions. Working collaboratively in small groups or individually, the residents continue to enjoy the gentle exercise, social interaction and fresh air that the sessions bring. Friends and relatives join in too adding another dimension to the friendly sessions.

As with groups elsewhere, the reconnection with horticulture is very important to this group of people and recognized by them as a meaningful activity.

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FREELAND HOUSE NURSING AND RESIDENTIAL HOME

January 2010 onwards

Specially designed raised beds built on site at the beginning of the year have proved to be a great asset for the weekly gardening group. Using the wheelchair as a reference, Jennifer developed the design of the beds to suit the gardeners’ needs. The entire group either gardens from seats or from wheelchairs and the easily accessible, lightweight beds have extended their gardening experiences.

Therapeutic horticulture sessions are delivered all year round and participants have taken ownership of their own “mini allotments” with great enthusiasm and pride. Some have grown seasonal flowers, others vegetables and some a mix of both. The potato harvest was particularly successful this year and the Blue Danube blue skinned variety was the source of much amusement and delight. Carefully selected plant material has ensured a very long flowering and gardening period in the raised beds from spring bulbs to autumn vegetables.

There was much excitement and pleasure arising from the craft and flower displays created by the gardening group for the recent August “Regency Day” at Freeland House. A very special day.

Reminiscence work continues to add value to the sessions, often resulting in humorous gardening recollections shared with the group.

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WANTAGE DAY CENTRE GARDEN REJUVENATION PROJECT

April 2010
During April 2010 as part of an initiative introduced by Space 2 Grow, participants at Wantage Day Centre cleared derelict raised beds, sowed seeds and planted them out in anticipation of summer crops of flowers, herbs and vegetables. The chef on site at the Day Centre was very keen to use any culinary herbs and vegetables as they became available and the participants were keen to sow, grow and eat their produce.

Many of the group had recently downsized their homes and lost their garden spaces. All agreed that the opportunity to re-connect with horticulture and to work outside in the fresh air in small groups was very beneficial.

“Gardeners revive vandalised plot”

Wantage Herald

Tuesday 20th April 2010

Gardeners are reaping what they have sown after bringing back to life a vandalised bit of scrubland.

About a dozen members of Wantage Day Centre, in Garston Lane, have transformed a dilapidated patch of land at the site into an attractive space brimming with herbs, flowers and vegetables.

The gardeners used trowels and forks, some specially adapted for use for elderly people, to plant fennel, parsley, beans, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, chives, courgettes, sweet corn, thyme, mint, pansies, marigolds and sweet peas.

Jennifer Cawood principal of Space 2 Grow, who led the project, said the plot was ideal because the raised beds are at waist height – meaning there is no need to bend over to ground level.

She said: “I think the lovely thing about this has been watching the older people rediscover horticulture. It’s nice when you hear them talk about the feel of the soil between their fingers and reminiscences about past gardening experiences.”

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