“Everyone can leave their worries behind”

Lisa Rennison explains the therapeutic role of gardening at Helmsley

Lisa has been head gardener at Helmsley Walled Garden for nearly two years. Before that she worked for the National Trust at Gibside in Tyne and Wear. She has three full-time gardeners, two horticultural therapists and about 20 volunteers.

How does Helmsley differ from other gardens? We see ourselves very much as a therapeutic garden where everyone benefits from being here including the staff, volunteers and visitors, but we also provide a horticultural therapy service, which is available free to people suffering from a variety of physical and mental conditions.

How does the therapy work? Our eight-week programme teaches seed sowing and general cultivation along with meditation and yoga. You can’t rush plants and they give you a sense of seasonality, so working with them allows people to slow down, and gain confidence. We’re hoping to develop the horticultural therapy further so we can help as many people as possible.

What are the highlights in August? Our hot borders are the big thing. They’re about 120m long (393ft) and about 4m (13ft) deep and are packed with red, yellow, purple and orange flowers. Long-lasting f lower power is the aim, with plants such as Rudbeckia fulgida sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’ and R. fulgida deamii. Heleniums are fantastic too – ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’ is a favourite. These zing alongside Achillea filipendulina ‘Cloth of Gold’ and scarlet Lobelia cardinalis ‘Queen Victoria’. We put in lots of annuals too, such as bright zinnias we’ve grown from seed; I particularly like Zinnia elegans ‘Purple Prince’. It’s peak production time in the kitchen garden and the cut f lower border also looks fabulous at this point in the year. Some flowers go into the café, some are sold as bunches and local f lorists use them for weddings.

What jobs are top of the list in August? Weeding, weeding, weeding… watering, watering, watering… and lots of deadheading! The hot borders peak in midsummer but they’ve been planted with long-lasting perennials, annuals and grasses, so should still look good right into October as long as we keep maintaining them. We’ll also do some tree pruning on the special collection of Yorkshire apples, which we’re looking to add to with more local cultivars.

Are there any new areas in the garden this year? We’ve been creating an alphabet garden for young children and their parents. We had a dry stone waller come in and teach some of the volunteers and myself to build a wall, so we’ve got a beautiful entrance to this new area with a Heath Robinson-esque gate. The idea is to highlight plants in f lower at any given time and introduce children to the natural world.

What makes Helmsley a special place? It’s such a fabulous location – Duncombe Park is a Grade I-listed landscape and the magnificent Helmsley Castle overlooks the garden. But Helmsley also has a very special atmosphere. It doesn’t seem to matter how busy it gets, there’s always a sense of peace and tranquillity and people who come here seem to be able to leave their worries behind.

Rudbeckia fulgida sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’