New therapeutic gardening project supports mental health patients in Kent and Medway

Mental health patients in Kent and Medway are growing vegetables, learning practical skills and building confidence through a new therapeutic gardening project at Willow Gardens in Maidstone.

The project, delivered by Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust in partnership with community interest company Thin Raft, is creating a structured and purposeful outdoor space for people receiving care within forensic and specialist services.

Patients are taking part in activities including planting and caring for vegetables. The longer-term aim is to use some of the produce in the therapeutic café, linking gardening with cooking, teamwork and skills that can support patients as they prepare for life beyond hospital.

The project combines NHS clinical expertise with specialist horticultural knowledge from Thin Raft. Patients are supported to take part in activities that contribute to their recovery goals, daily routines and wider rehabilitation.

Clare Hardwick, Head of Allied Health Professions, Forensic and Specialist Directorate at Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust, said: "This project gives patients the opportunity to take part in meaningful, practical activities that support recovery and wellbeing.

"Growing food, caring for plants and seeing the results of their work can help patients build confidence, develop new skills and support their recovery both in hospital and as they prepare for life beyond inpatient care.

"The project has been developed in collaboration with our occupational therapy team and builds on many years of work they have led to create therapeutic, recovery-focused opportunities for patients. We are also making better use of our green spaces to create environments that benefit patients, staff and the wider service."

As the garden develops, patients will have opportunities to take on more activities, including harvesting and preparing food. The project also encourages patients to make choices, work together and take responsibility for shared spaces.

David Brogan, BSc MRICS, Founding Director and Head Gardener at Thin Raft CIC, said: “Gardening gives people a practical way to connect with nature, with each other and with their own recovery. At Willow Gardens, patients can see the results of their work grow over time. They are learning how to care for plants and understand what they need to thrive, with support from others.

“We are also growing food that can be used in other activities, such as cooking. Seeing something they have helped grow used elsewhere in the service can create a real sense of achievement and purpose.”

Corporate volunteers have supported early improvements to Willow Gardens, working under Thin Raft’s direction to help transform the space.  

The project supports the trust’s wider aim of providing recovery-focused and trauma-informed care. It also aims to reduce violence and aggression, improve patient flow by reducing delays in patients receiving the care they need, and making the best use of available resources.

Early progress has been positive, with potential to develop the approach across other green spaces within forensic and specialist services and, in time, more widely across the trust.