The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Garden grows confidence
Alan said that the atmosphere of security and the support he received gave him coping skills he didn’t know he had
The wooden graffitipainted fence in Dundee’s Dudhope Park gives no clue that the Dundee Therapy Garden lies behind it. And what a surprise you get when you poke your nose through the door.
A small charity, the garden describes itself as a supportive meeting place for military and uniformed (emergency) service veterans suffering loneliness and isolation who are offered support through horticultural therapy. Sounds like gardening, which it is, but the concept behind the garden is using horticulture to help veterans experiencing withdrawal from society to reconnect with life.
The garden is run by the veterans supported by Carol Pickthall, a horticulturist who trained with the National Trust for Scotland and the Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, and Christian MacGregor, a counselling psychologist.
I met Alan, who had served in the Royal Air Force Regiment and is a great ambassador for the garden. In common with many ex-servicemen, he found the adjustment from military life to civilian life, with the loss of the regimental family support, very hard. At the time, he needed breathing space to figure out how he was to deal with having had a heart attack while looking after a relative with dementia.
He said that the atmosphere of security and the support he received from the garden gave him coping skills he didn’t know he had. He wasn’t a gardener when he first found the garden, but he is now.
Most of the veterans have their own projects and Alan is in charge of the herb garden, growing herbs he’d never heard of, let alone eaten, before. He’ll tell you he enjoys Beechgrove Garden, but is critical of Monty Don.
Vegetables are grown in raised beds and the veterans are encouraged to eat their own produce which for some is an introduction to a healthier lifestyle and is all part of the ethos of the therapy. Excess produce is given to local charities such as the Cathedral Soup Kitchen and the Community Fridge on Perth Road.
A recent introduction was a polytunnel which extends the growing season and I was shown ripening sweetcorn and tomatoes. The tunnel provided the opportunity for one veteran to create a Mediterranean garden with olive trees and almonds and oranges and figs. There’s also a
banana tree which is definitely not Mediterranean, but I’m told it’s been adopted. Veterans interests are varied – another has created a bonsai garden.
The flower gardens attract butterflies and bumble bees and there’s a community of miner bees, so-called because they build their nest underground. Blackbirds, chaffinches, house sparrows and other songbirds are welcome visitors. Less welcome is the fox that sneaks in overnight and digs up some of the plants.
Working in the armed forces and uniformed services can inflict a great deal of stress on the body and mind. It is common for veterans to experience physical and psychological difficulties resulting from their time in service. Many withdraw into themselves when coming on to “civvy street”, feel isolated and struggle to understand and talk about their feelings.
Carol and Christian provide the support team to deliver horticultural therapy, using gardening to create an encouraging and non-judgmental atmosphere. Ten veterans work in the garden, but more would be welcome. So far, no ex-servicewomen have joined the men, but they would be very welcome, too.
No gardening experience is necessary. It doesn’t matter what reasons veterans have for seeking support, they will be helped to work towards specific goals to improve their physical, psychological and social wellbeing, spending time in a green, outdoor space. As this newspaper’s Man With Two Dogs, and spending much of my time in just such an environment, I can identify with that.
Dundee Therapy Garden is open to the public every Friday from 9.30am-5pm. The veterans are holding an open day today from 11am-3pm, where plants will be available to buy.