SMOOTHING THE PATH
How Horatio's Garden helps spinal patients in Glasgow
Horatio’s garden at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow, provides a much-needed escape for patients with spinal injuries finds Antoinette Galbraith
Somewhere to escape from treatment rather than a work and recovery place
At the official opening of Horatio’s Garden at the Scottish National Spinal Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow, garden designer James Alexander-Sinclair described the project to head gardener Sallie Sillars as ‘the most important garden I have ever made’. This, Sallie points out, was a significant statement from a garden designer with a portfolio of worldwide commissions.
The designer could have been referring to the contemporary planting scheme in the courtyard, the first of this two-part garden, where a dramatic scheme of asters, agapanthus, cosmos, salvia and rosemary form a vibrant backdrop to the raised pond set in a ripple of silver bands. Or he could even mean the furnishings, which include blue parasols, and pink and orange chairs with lime green cushions.
But, Sallie continues, Alexander-Sinclair was referring to the way in which the garden is used. ‘It is used all day long,’ she says. ‘Patients come out in their wheelchairs or they are wheeled out on their beds. Staff come and sit here for a few moments’ rest during a break. Visitors who are often here for long periods come out.’
We are sitting in one of three ‘pods’ or glassed-in spaces that transform this garden into an all-weather space. Press a button and the glass door slides shut while heat radiates from an overhead panel. Across the courtyard the larger pod is currently occupied by a patient who is entertaining his family using the specially adapted kitchen.
Scotland’s Horatio’s Garden is the most recent in a series of gardens inspired by Olivia and David Chapple’s 17-year-old son, Horatio, a medical student in waiting, who spent two summers volunteering at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre in Salisbury where David is a consultant spinal surgeon. While there, Olivia explains, Horatio, ‘who loved the outdoors, asked the patients what they wanted. He learnt that they wanted somewhere to escape from treatment rather than a work and recovery place.’
In 2011, Horatio was tragically killed by a polar bear while on a trip to Svalbard, Norway. His parents and Horatio’s two younger brothers, Titus and Magnus, immediately began fundraising to realise Horatio’s vision. By November the £350,000 to create the first garden in Salisbury was raised.
Although anecdotal evidence suggested the benefits of a garden for patients adapting to the life-changing effects of spinal injury were significant, this was confirmed recently by the King’s Fund 2014 Survey. ‘The report pulled together worldwide evidence and included evidence from prisons and schools, all the places where people are away from home,’ explains Olivia, a former GP.
Spinal injury has a major effect on family members, she adds, referring to the metal bands surrounding the pond that illustrate the ripple effects of such injury. The garden is a place where families can be together.
Equally beneficial is the second part of the space, the woodland garden, created on a narrow strip of land tucked between the unit and the M8. Here, a generously donated wooden fence helps soften the traffic noise.
‘Previously, bedroom windows looked out onto a hedge,’ Olivia explains. ‘Windows couldn’t be opened as the noise from the M8 was so loud you couldn’t have a conversation. The average stay is five months with many patients staying for a year or more.’
Now the garden, which is divided into different spaces, provides privacy. The woodland garden is the first area you see on entering. Your eye is immediately drawn to the length of a curved path framed with border where height comes from a striking combination of birch and hornbeam.
Repeat drifts of tall, airy perennials such as stands of purple Verbena bonariensis, deep red persicaria amplexicaulis fat domino and creamy hydrangea pan limelight and Annabelle combine with fluffy grasses such as miscanthus gracillimus to draw you in.
Here and there, bees and butterflies hover. Wildlife is encouraged and Sallie says it has been exciting to watch insects colonise the garden. Bird boxes have been installed and birds are finding their way in.
Seeing patients coming out and soaking up the space is amazing
Next comes the playground, an invaluable addition for visiting children. ‘It’s a joy for patients to watch their children play,’ Olivia says. Sallie, a horticultural therapist, helps patients plant seeds in the wooden planters, raised on casters, which are easily accessible for patients who want to plant seeds or simply pick herbs or lettuce. More seed growing is possible in the greenhouse where cuttings are propagated and there’s an area for scented plants. In the autumn, bulbs are planted, especially tulips. ‘We often just listen to patients,’ Sallie says.
A survey suggested patients wanted a beautiful space rather than a place for rehabilitation. However, a small area at the far end of the garden is devoted to learning paths laid out with curves, bumps and slopes to help patients acquire wheelchair mobility skills.
‘Smooth paths are key,’ Olivia explains. ‘Any bump taller than two centimetres high presents an obstacle for a wheelchair user. These paths are resin bonded aggregate.’
This garden, at Scotland’s only spinal unit, is the second Horatio’s garden: the third is due to open in 2018 at Stoke Mandeville. All are professionally designed and planted to a similar high standard.
Recently voted Scotland’s Gardener of the Year for her input into this garden, Sallie works four days a week and is helped by volunteers whose learning opportunities are enhanced by the training days she organises, such as rose or apple pruning. ‘Horatio was fond of apples,’ she says, ‘so Scottish varieties are espaliered up against the walls.’
James Alexander-Sinclair’s regular visits provide leadership and direction, while ensuring the planting evolves. Olivia visits the garden monthly while Edinburgh-based trustee Catherine Burns visits regularly and is also in charge of fundraising in Scotland.
‘So many of Horatio’s friends have supported us through fundraising,’ says Olivia. ‘The playground was funded by our god-daughter, Caternia Willis, who did a bicycle ride. The power of small donations is remarkable. Watching the garden grow and seeing the patients coming out and soaking up the space is amazing.’